Performance indicators of urban migrant entrepreneurship in the netherlands

In recent years, self-employment among migrant minorities has increased significantly in the Netherlands. The phenomenon of ‘migrant entrepreneurship’ (ME) refers to business activities undertaken by migrants with a specific socio-cultural and ethnic background or migrant origin. ME distinguishes itself from ‘normal’ entrepreneurship through its orientation on migrant products, on migrant market customers, or on indigenous migrant business strategies. Migrant groups that produce a strong entrepreneurial group can be of great economic significance for the migrant business community, as well as for the community as a whole, through job and opportunity creation. The recent literature has documented that migrant businesses are one of the fastest growing sectors in the Dutch economy. However, knowledge and information that documents entrepreneurial differences between migrants is lagging far behind this rapid growth. Previous research has mainly focused on knowledge of native entrepreneurs that mainly informs policy, education and research. Against this background, the present study aims to investigate entrepreneurial similarities and differences from a multicultural perspective on migrant entrepreneurs. In our study we particularly focus on four active and prominent migrant groups, viz. Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese and Antilleans, in the Netherlands. First, we give a brief historical