Strangers on the Move: Ethnic Entrepreneurs as Urban Change Actors

Abstract

Abstract:This paper aims to examine the critical conditions for success and failure for the new generation of ethnic entrepreneurs in the creative industries in modern Dutch urban areas, in terms of their entrepreneurial behaviour with a particular focus on their personal and business characteristics and their motivation and driving forces, which all determine their entrepreneurship and their business performance. An empirical application is presented, in which the results from an in-depth interview study of Moroccan entrepreneurs are discussed. The findings of our study show that, in general, these entrepreneurs are more open and are looking for new opportunities beyond the traditional markets using break-out strategies. This research study can help to explain how to achieve a better understanding of the important factors which influence entrepreneurial behaviour and activity, the business entry decision, and the creation process, and of the conditions for success and other factors that can have an effect on the performance of ethnic entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, within the broader context of entrepreneurship. This will have implications for various stakeholders such as other ethnic entrepreneurs, policy makers and business investors in this dynamic and promising business environment.Keywords: ethnic entrepreneurship, urban change, strategic performance management, culture, creative industries Pn371kk 1 The Modern City as a Multicultural Melting PotCreativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are often mentioned in the current literature as critical success factors that spur economic development and growth. Lee et al. (2004) argue that entrepreneurship is often associated with creativity, and that creative and innovative regions enjoy a high level of dynamic entrepreneurship, so that creativity offers a positive stimulus for new firm formation in an open and flexible economy.The development of today's business environment, as well as of the modern global economy, has in recent years brought cultural, creative and innovative activities into a new focus, viz. the 'New Economy'. It is often argued that the emergence of the 'new paradigm' of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship (Matheson, 2006) is mainly due to the perceived international success of the creative sector 1 (Marlet and Poort, 2005) and to Florida's (2002Florida's ( , 2003Florida's ( , 2004) and Scott's (2000) seminal work on Creative Industries (CIs) in modern cities.Entrepreneurship and innovation are two closely connected phenomena that are responsible for a nation's, region's or city's economic growth and cultures. They lead to new forms of productivity and act as the engine of continued prosperity. Entrepreneurship is often found in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, and hence it also offers new opportunities for immigrants with a business-oriented attitude.Migration is one of the most studied subjects in the social and behavioural sciences, e.g. in demography, sociology, geography, economics. Several academics speak now...

New Urban Economic Agents: A Comparative Analysis of High-Performance New Entrepreneurs

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“…This 'new entrepreneurship' -distinct from 'normal' entrepreneurship -started originally by an orientation towards migrant products and services ('ethnic goods'), migrant market customers, or indigenous or traditional migrant business growth strategies (Choenni 1997;Masurel et al 2002Rusinovic 2006;Sahin et al 2007;Kourtit, Nijkamp 2012). A wealth of recent research has addressed opportunities for and barriers to successful migrant entrepreneurship.…”

“…On top of it, also the socio-urban constellation in which they operate often shows a great variety, so that it may seem plausible that migrant diversity may mirror differences in economic performance of migrant business firms. Recent research (Sahin et al 2010Kourtit, Nijkamp 2012) shows that nowadays the younger generation of entrepreneurs tends to be higher educated and better integrated with the local community. Through their human capital, motivation and driving forces, they have improved their ability to become involved in new areas of business activity.…”

“…Clearly, a thorough, operational and comprehensive analysis of the manifold entrepreneurial consequences of foreign migration is needed (Hodgson, Poot 2011;Kourtit, Nijkamp 2011;Nijkamp et al 2012). Consequently, as argued above, migration impact assessment (MIA) may have to be positioned in the broader context of cultural diversity and business performance (Fearon 2003;Ottaviano, Peri 2006;Constant, Zimmermann 2008;Kourtit, Nijkamp 2012). …”

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