Immigrant Entrepreneurship

Many immigrants move to a new country seeking to create a new life with the hope of having more opportunities for themselves as well as other family members. Some of these immigrants use their former experience and ambition to create small businesses, which is often the only viable means available to them to achieve economic prosperity. In this chapter on “Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Economic and Social Development” the authors discuss immigrant entrepreneurship in the context of commercial and social entrepreneurships, focusing on the trends in the past three decades in the United States. First, the authors examine the contributions that these immigrant entrepreneurs make both on a local as well as national basis. Second, they discuss immigrant entrepreneurship in terms of social enterprise development. The authors then provide a discussion on the implications for research and practice.