Trajectories of Entrepreneurship for Chinese Immigrants: New Method and Findings

• In Event: 2276 - Innovative Methods in Immigration Research

Abstract

By adopting sequence analysis in immigrant business research, this study identified four distinctive patterns from Chinese business owners in 6 states in the United States. These four patterns are distinguished alongside two dimensions: number of businesses and business ownership. Except for identifying these four patterns, this study also examined determinants and assimilation outcomes associated with entrepreneurship trajectories. Our results show that there is a temporal shift from late start to early start for immigrant businesses and that cooperation, both with family members and with non-family members, spurs the business owner’s propensity of inter-ethnicity hiring. The contribution of this study mainly lies on the methodological ground. The technique of sequence analysis transforms the orientation from timing and rates of business formation into the whole trajectory of entrepreneur activities. This transition brings a new perspective to the field, which may lead to theoretically relevant findings on both Chinese immigrants and other racial or ethnic groups.

Authors

• Han Liu, State University of New York-Albany

• Zai Liang, State University of New York-Albany