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Internationalization Intentions in Domestic New Technology-Based Firms: A Comparison Between Immigrant and Non-immigrant Entrepreneurs

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Diaspora Networks in International Business

Part of the book series: Contributions to Management Science ((MANAGEMENT SC.))

Abstract

Several studies have shown that immigrant entrepreneurs have a greater likelihood than native entrepreneurs of internationalizing their business. However, to date, we have only limited knowledge about whether and how domestic immigrant and native entrepreneurs differ with regard to the decision-making processes that are antecedent to internationalization behaviors. This chapter sheds light on this issue and focuses on the cognitive determinants of entrepreneurs’ intentions to internationalize. Theoretically building on intention models of entrepreneurial behavior, this work compares whether immigrant and non-immigrant entrepreneurs present heterogeneous perceptions of the feasibility and the desirability of internationalization opportunities. Comparative analyses are conducted on unique primary data that were collected from a matched-pair sample of 140 domestic foreign-born and native entrepreneurs who are active in new technology-based firms in Italy. The results show that the two groups of entrepreneurs do not differ with regard to the perceived desirability of internationalization; however, they do differ in terms of perceived feasibility. In particular, whereas the foreign-born entrepreneurs demonstrate a stronger individual-level perceived feasibility towards internationalization, they also show significantly lower perceived external support than the native entrepreneurs. The implications of these findings for research and policy are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The sampled industries include the following: pharmaceuticals; computers, electronic and optical products; electro-medical equipment, measurement equipment and watches; electrical equipment and non-electrical equipment for domestic purposes; medical and dental instruments and supplies; software, informatics consultancy and connected activities; ICT services and other informatics services; technical testing and analysis; machinery; transportation devices and machines.

  2. 2.

    According to the EU definition of SMEs (EU recommendation n. 2003/361), these firms employ fewer than 250 persons and have an annual turnover that does not exceed 50 million Euro and/or an annual balance sheet that does not exceed 43 million Euro.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economic and Management Sciences, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy

    Daniela Bolzani

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  1. Daniela Bolzani
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Correspondence to Daniela Bolzani .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics, Belt & Road, Institute of International Business, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China

    Maria Elo

  2. Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Maria Elo

  3. Migration Institute of Finland, Turku, Finland

    Maria Elo

  4. Mona School of Business and Management, The University of West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica

    Indianna Minto-Coy

  5. International Migration Research Centre, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada

    Indianna Minto-Coy

Appendix

Appendix

Table 8 Entrepreneurs’ country of origin and nationality
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Table 9 Firms’ industry: Native- and foreign-born-owned firms
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Bolzani, D. (2019). Internationalization Intentions in Domestic New Technology-Based Firms: A Comparison Between Immigrant and Non-immigrant Entrepreneurs. In: Elo, M., Minto-Coy, I. (eds) Diaspora Networks in International Business. Contributions to Management Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91095-6_22

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