Making it Work: The Mixed Embeddedness of Immigrant Entrepreneurs in New Zealand

Trudie Cain () and Paul Spoonley ()
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Trudie Cain: Massey University
Paul Spoonley: Massey University

No 7332, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In seeking economic immigrants, especially those who are skilled, entrepreneurial and with capital to invest, a settler country such as New Zealand has assumed that national and city labour markets/economies will gain by adding to the human capital pool as well as creating new 'economic' activities of various sorts. Economic participation, both as labour but also as typically small business owners, often reflects the nature of mixed embeddedness (Kloosterman and Rath 2003) and especially the relational embeddedness (Portes, cited in, Vertovec 2009) of particular immigrant groups. This is most apparent in relation to social and economic networks, the deployment of human capital, immigrant engagement strategies and transnational activities. Using the concept of mixed embeddedness, this paper examines the strategies and outcomes for migrant entrepreneurs from the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom, drawing upon a largely qualitative analysis of immigrant employers from these groups.

Keywords: migration; relational embeddedness; structural embeddedness; mixed embeddedness; New Zealand; immigrant entrepreneurs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 J24 J39 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2013-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent and nep-mig
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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