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Transnational entrepreneurs: Characteristics, drivers, and success factors

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Abstract

Recent literature considers the significance and determinants of transnational entrepreneurship arising from the immigrant communities. However, empirical evidence remains fragmented, largely due to the contextual diversity of the phenomenon. Using data collected from the Chinese Canadian community, the current study examines the transnational entrepreneurs’ characteristics, drivers, and factors affecting their successes. The results portray a typical transnational entrepreneur as a 45-year-old or older man who is married with one child, has completed Master’s or higher education programmes, and does not have a full-time job. For these transnational entrepreneurs, seeking business opportunities is an important reason for their migration to Canada in the first place and, subsequently, business expansion by drawing resources from dual locations becomes the primary driver toward a transnational mode of economic adaptation. The findings highlight the importance of context-specific determinants of transnational entrepreneurship and provide important implications for practice and policy making.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Grant #864-2007-0288).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada

    Xiaohua Lin

  2. SM Research Inc, 327 Renfrew Dr, Markham, ON, L3R 9S8, Canada

    Shaw Tao

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  1. Xiaohua Lin
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Correspondence to Xiaohua Lin.

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Lin, X., Tao, S. Transnational entrepreneurs: Characteristics, drivers, and success factors. J Int Entrep 10, 50–69 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-011-0082-1

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