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Expatriate Entrepreneurship Expatriate Entrepreneurship Expatriate Entrepreneurship Expatriate Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship among immigrants is an increasingly important The Role of Accelerators in Network Formation socio-economic phenomenon. To date, immigrant entrepreneurship and Resource Acquisition research has focused on immigrants that decide to engage in self- employment after having established themselves in the host country. Whereas this is arguably the case for the vast majority of immigrant entrepreneurs, it does not cover the field in its totality. This disser- tation is devoted to the study and analysis of those that emigrate Nedim Efendic in order to launch a new venture. I denote this novel group of en- trepreneurs as expatriate entrepreneurs, and I place them into the context of research on entrepreneurship among immigrants. This dissertation also examines how accelerators impact expatriate entre- preneurship. Using a multiple case study at the world’s three first government-funded acceleration programmes that target expatriate entrepreneurs, I show that by their ability to support network forma- tion and resource acquisition, accelerators are major facilitators of expatriate entrepreneurship. Nedim Efendic is a researcher at the Department of Mana- gement and Organization at the Stockholm Nedim Efendic School of Economics. • 201 6 ISBN 978-91-7731-021-1 Doctoral Dissertation in Business Administration Stockholm School of Economics Sweden, 2016 Expatriate Entrepreneurship Expatriate Entrepreneurship Expatriate Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship among immigrants is an increasingly important The Role of Accelerators in Network Formation socio-economic phenomenon. To date, immigrant entrepreneurship and Resource Acquisition research has focused on immigrants that decide to engage in self- employment after having established themselves in the host country. Whereas this is arguably the case for the vast majority of immigrant entrepreneurs, it does not cover the field in its totality. This disser- tation is devoted to the study and analysis of those that emigrate Nedim Efendic in order to launch a new venture. I denote this novel group of en- trepreneurs as expatriate entrepreneurs, and I place them into the context of research on entrepreneurship among immigrants. This dissertation also examines how accelerators impact expatriate entre- preneurship. Using a multiple case study at the world’s three first government-funded acceleration programmes that target expatriate entrepreneurs, I show that by their ability to support network forma- tion and resource acquisition, accelerators are major facilitators of expatriate entrepreneurship. Nedim Efendic is a researcher at the Department of Mana- gement and Organization at the Stockholm Nedim Efendic School of Economics. • 201 6 ISBN 978-91-7731-021-1 Doctoral Dissertation in Business Administration Stockholm School of Economics Sweden, 2016 Expatriate Entrepreneurship The Role of Accelerators in Network Formation and Resource Acquisition Nedim Efendic Akademisk avhandling som för avläggande av ekonomie doktorsexamen vid Handelshögskolan i Stockholm framläggs för offentlig granskning måndagen den 19 december 2016, kl 13.15 sal KAW, Handelshögskolan, Sveavägen 65, Stockholm Expatriate Entrepreneurship The Role of Accelerators in Network Formation and Resource Acquisition Expatriate Entrepreneurship The Role of Accelerators in Network Formation and Resource Acquisition Nedim Efendic ii Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., in Business Administration Stockholm School of Economics, 2016 Expatriate Entrepreneurship: The Role of Accelerators in Network For- mation and Resource Acquisition © SSE and the author, 2016 ISBN 978-91-7731-021-1 (printed) ISBN 978-91-7731-022-8 (pdf) Front cover illustration: © Illustration by Jon Berkeley for The Economist, 2011 Back cover photo: © Arctistic/Nicklas Gustafsson, 2014 Printed by: Ineko, Göteborg, 2016 Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Immigration, Emigration, Cross-border, Expatriate, Accelerators, Incubators, Networks, Resources To My Family Foreword This volume is the result of a research project carried out at the the De- partment of Management and Organization at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE). This volume is submitted as a doctor’s thesis at SSE. In keeping with the policies of SSE, the author has been entirely free to conduct and pre- sent his research in the manner of his choosing as an expression of his own ideas. SSE and the author are grateful for the financial support provided by Carl Silfvén stipendiefond which has made it possible to fulfil the project. Göran Lindqvist Andreas Werr Director of Research Professor and Head of the Stockholm School of Economics Department of Management and Organization Acknowledgements I feel fortunate to have been able to pursue research in a field that I am still as excited about now when writing the acknowledgements as I was when I started writing this thesis. Much of the credit for this falls squarely on the amazing group of people with whom I had the opportunity to work. I am forever indebted to everyone who has supported me throughout this long and rewarding journey. I am particularly grateful to Prof. Carin Holmquist, my main supervisor, for being a constant source of knowledge, inspiration, and encouragement. During my time as a Ph.D. student I have been fortunate to work with numerous scholars, who have taught me much about entrepreneurship re- search. In particular, I am indebted to Dr. Daria Volchek, with whom I col- laborated during the later stages of my Ph.D. studies. Thank you Daria for always taking the time to discuss research and for co-authoring several con- ference papers. Thanks also to Zeynep Yetis for the research collaboration during the early stages of my Ph.D. studies. I also want to express my deep gratitude to Prof. Karl Wennberg for sharing his knowledge on writing arti- cles and teaching entrepreneurship. I would like to thank my co-supervisors Professors Siri Terjesen and Erik Wetter for providing me with valuable feedback on my work, Prof. Karin Hellerstedt for her insightful advice on my thesis proposal, and Prof. Tomas Karlsson who, at the pre-defence seminar, gave me useful advice. This research would not have been possible without the participation of numerous expatriate entrepreneurs and accelerator staff members. I am grateful for all the time that you devoted to participate in my research. One of the highlights of my Ph.D. was the research exchange in the United States. This stay was key to developing my manuscript and I am indebted to all SCANCOR colleagues for our valuable discussions. viii Over the years as a Ph.D. student I have made some goods friends who have been invaluable in pushing me forward. A very big thanks to Adis Murtic for being a great friend. Thanks also to Miram Bird, for being a good friend and colleague. Moreover, I would like to thank the following people at the Stockholm School of Economics for being especially great colleagues: Nadav Shir, Christoph Schneider, Rasmus Rahm, Anna Söderblom, Abiel Sebhatu, Beldina Owalla and Rupin Jeremiah. Most importantly I want to thank my wife, Magdalena. Thank you for being my biggest supporter - you, more than anything else, made this Ph.D. journey some of the best years of my life. This thesis also owes a great deal to my parents and brother, as they have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. My niece and nephews have been a true source of happiness. Also, Mia, Dika, Nurko, and Majda have always been important to me. I am so lucky to have all of you in my life. Stockholm, November 1, 2016 Nedim Efendic Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Purpose and research questions ....................................................................... 3 Delimitations ....................................................................................................... 5 Outline of the thesis ........................................................................................... 6 Cross-border entrepreneurial migration .............................................................. 9 Start-up visas .................................................................................................... 10 Theoretical frame of reference ........................................................................... 19 Entrepreneurship among immigrants .......................................................... 19 Immigrant entrepreneurship .......................................................................... 20 Ethnic entrepreneurship ................................................................................. 22 Minority entrepreneurship ............................................................................. 23 Business immigrants ........................................................................................ 23 Diaspora entrepreneurship ............................................................................. 24 Transnational entrepreneurship .................................................................... 25 International entrepreneurship ...................................................................... 25 Defining expatriate entrepreneurship ........................................................... 26 The role of networks in entrepreneurship ................................................... 30 The role of networks in resource acquisition ........................................
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