The diaspora phenomenon: scholarly assessment and implications for countries and firms

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study is to identify the distinctive features of the diaspora phenomenon through the aggregation and systematization of the business and management literature and propose a framework to apply in the future studies.Design/methodology/approachThe two-step research was based on a combination of bibliometric analysis and a manual in-depth study of academic articles. Overall, 421 academic papers in management and business journals until 2019 year were analyzed.FindingsThe authors provide a new holistic insight on the role of national diasporas for business outcomes via the analysis and systematization of the extant diaspora research. They revealed four definition approaches and five main clusters in the diaspora literature that have three main directions of research as international marketing with the tourism management focus, the IB research and diaspora entrepreneurship studies. The authors cover these main research streams and their contribution to the development of a topic.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed framework including definition approaches and suggestions on the further research can serve as a foundation for future studies to investigate the diaspora phenomenon. The findings also are of practical value for firms whose attention is paid to the effective management.Originality/valueTo bring more clarity to the existing and future development of diaspora research, this paper improves the structuring of the overall diaspora literature through clarification of the existing definitions of diaspora, provision of the criteria qualifying someone to be identified as a member of a diaspora, as well as an analysis and systematization of existing diaspora research streams and suggestions for future research directions.

Diaspora and Economic Development: A Systemic View

“…What we learn from these observations is that, from a broad macroeconomic development perspective, diaspora-led financial transfers tend to be altruistic, humanitarian, supporting a specific project but largely aimed at individual household support. This is also consistent with the analysis of the management and business literature on diaspora in Panibratov and Rysakova (2020). Despite their statistical significance for domestic financial flows and consumption expenditure, there is limited evidence that individually motivated, short-term, monetary transfers lead to sustained structural transformation in industrially weaker economies.…”

“…Spanning across clusters identified in Panibratov and Rysakova (2020) the recent literature on development has placed high hopes on the diaspora investors and positive results from a larger return migration (e.g., McGregor 2014;Boly et al 2014;Ketkar and Ratha 2010;Freinkman 2001). Yet, the practical difficulty of having diaspora entrepreneurs and professionals as the first movers into the developing economy (i.e., preceding any possible investments from multinational corporations) requires a clear understanding of the nature of the relationship between the home country and its diaspora.…”

“…The literature on the promise of national diasporas, as potential conduits for economic development and institutional change in their ancestral homelands, the so-called first movers, spans across academic traditions and country cases (e.g., Newland and Patrick 2004;Larner 2007;Riddle and Brinkerhoff 2011;Clemens et al 2015). Recently, Panibratov and Rysakova (2020) constructed a comprehensive catalogue of key thematic clusters of the business literature on diaspora. The authors identified five main research directions based on their analysis of over 400 papers published on the concept of diaspora.…”

The sources of information of the genealogical tourist: the influence of social networks and genealogical associations

“…This knowledge would increase the demand for other cultural products, as well as strengthen fraternal relations and cultural exchanges between countries from different continents but with common historical links. This extent is related to the conclusions of Panibratov and Rysakov (2021) , for whom the existence of links between people and companies from places that have had diaspora phenomena in origin and destination increases commercial exchanges and tourist visits between them. Hence, public cultural institutions should take advantage of their physical offices abroad and their Internet resources to provide information on archives, associations, and historical and artistic content, with special significance for millions of nationals from different Latin American, European, North African and Israeli countries.…”

Talent management practices for firms’ absorptive capacity in a host country: a study of the Chinese diaspora in Russia

“…Human capital plays a key role in firms’ productivity by increasing absorptive capacity (AC; Bye and Fæhn, 2022). The role of foreign diasporas is widely discussed as their human, social and financial capital contributes to the political, social, demographic and economic development of their countries of residence and homeland (Estrin et al , 2018; IOM GMDAC, 2020; Panibratov and Rysakova, 2020). The number of people living outside their country of origin constitutes 3.5% of the world population (United Nations, 2019).…”