Returnee entrepreneurial entry decisions among forced and voluntary returnees in Ethiopia: A comparative study

IF 1.2 Q4 MANAGEMENT

Africa Journal of Management Pub Date : 2023-04-03 DOI:10.1080/23322373.2023.2187688

Toli J. Amare, B. Honig

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

ABSTRACT Returnee entrepreneurship has become an important topic of interest due both to the increasing number of return migrants and the particular nature of their entrepreneurial activities. In some cases, such as in Taiwan, China, and Israel, voluntary returnees have made a significant impact on their home country’s economic development. However, some expatriates are forced to return due to rapid changes in the political and economic situations of their host countries. We compare and examine these two different cohorts in Ethiopia to understand what attributes are transportable and facilitate entrepreneurship, as well as barriers for the two different groups. Scholarly understanding of what drives returnee entrepreneurial entry decisions remains limited, even more so regarding sub-Sahara Africa. Using the mixed embeddedness perspective, this paper aims to unveil the multi-level drivers of returnee entrepreneurial entry decisions by comparing forced and voluntary returnees to Ethiopia. Based on in-depth interviews with 25 returnees, abductively, the findings indicate the interactive influence of personal and interpersonal factors, simultaneous engagement, and opportunity promise on returnee entrepreneurial entry decisions. Specifically, for the voluntary returnees, childhood aspirations, altruistic desire, simultaneous engagement, and nostalgia, coupled with migration capital and opportunity promise influence their business entry decisions. For the forced returnees, lack of options, regrets about migration, preconceptions, tacit capital, and government support drive their entry decisions. We discuss how these factors are contingent on migrants’ pre-, post-, and during-migration conditions in facilitating returnee entrepreneurship. We also illuminate the distinctive differences between forced and voluntary returnees. Implications for theory and practice are indicated.

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埃塞俄比亚被迫和自愿返回者的创业进入决策:比较研究

海归创业已成为一个重要的话题，这既是由于海归移民数量的增加，也是由于他们创业活动的特殊性。在某些情况下，例如在台湾、中国和以色列，自愿回国者对其祖国的经济发展产生了重大影响。但是，由于东道国政治和经济情况的迅速变化，有些外派人员被迫返回。我们比较和研究了埃塞俄比亚这两个不同的群体，以了解哪些属性是可转移的，并促进了创业，以及两个不同群体的障碍。学术上对促使海归创业决策的原因的理解仍然有限，对撒哈拉以南非洲更是如此。本文运用混合嵌入性视角，通过对返回埃塞俄比亚的被迫和自愿返回者的比较，揭示了返回者创业进入决策的多层次驱动因素。基于对25名海归的深度访谈，研究结果表明，个人因素和人际因素、同时参与和机会承诺对海归创业进入决策有交互影响。具体而言，对于自愿海归而言，童年愿望、利他愿望、同时参与、怀旧以及移民资本和机会承诺影响了他们的创业决策。对于被迫返乡的人来说，缺乏选择、对移民的遗憾、先入为主的观念、隐性资本和政府支持推动了他们的入境决定。我们讨论了这些因素如何取决于移民在移民前、移民后和移民期间的条件，以促进海归创业。我们还阐明了被迫回返者和自愿回返者之间的明显区别。指出了理论和实践意义。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Africa Journal of Management Business, Management and Accounting-Business and International Management

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

15.40%

发文量

期刊介绍： The beginning of the Twenty First Century has witnessed Africa’s rise and progress as one of the fastest growing and most promising regions of the world. At the same time, serious challenges remain. To sustain and speed up momentum, avoid reversal, and deal effectively with emerging challenges and opportunities, Africa needs better management scholarship, education and practice. The purpose of the Africa Journal of Management (AJOM) is to advance management theory, research, education, practice and service in Africa by promoting the production and dissemination of high quality and relevant manuscripts. AJOM is committed to publishing original, rigorous, scholarly empirical and theoretical research papers, which demonstrate clear understanding of the management literature and draw on Africa’s local indigenous knowledge, wisdom and current realities. As the first scholarly journal of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM), AJOM gives voice to all those who are committed to advancing management scholarship, education and practice in or about Africa, for the benefit of all of Africa. AJOM welcomes manuscripts that develop, test, replicate or validate management theories, tools and methods with Africa as the starting point. The journal is open to a wide range of quality, evidence-based methodological approaches and methods that “link” “Western” management theories with Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems, methods and practice. We are particularly interested in manuscripts which address Africa’s most important development needs, challenges and opportunities as well as the big management questions of the day. We are interested in research papers which address issues of ethical conduct in different African settings.