IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/ijmpps/v35y2014i1-2p187-215.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The influence of role models on immigrant self-employment: a spatial analysis for Switzerland

Author

Listed:
  • Giuliano Guerra
  • Roberto Patuelli

Abstract

Purpose - – Theoretical and empirical research suggests a connection between the presence of role models and the emergence of entrepreneurs. Existing entrepreneurs may act as role models for self-employment candidates by providing successful examples. The purpose of this paper is to show that role models matter in aggregate decision outcomes regarding self-employment. Design/methodology/approach - – By explicitly considering the self-employment rates of the natives, which may influence locally the decisions of immigrants towards entrepreneurship, the authors develop a simple model that explains immigrant self-employment rates for a sample of 2,490 Swiss municipalities. In addition, the authors accommodate for the presence of spatial spillovers in the distribution of rates, and test a spatial autoregressive model which takes into account the average self-employment rates of immigrants living in nearby municipalities. Findings - – The evidence shows a significant (positive) effect of such spatial network effects, which are characterized by a quick distance decay, suggesting spatial spillovers at the household and social network level. Additionally, the paper shows that local conditions and immigrant pool characteristics differ, with respect to self-employment choices, when examining separately urban and rural contexts. Finally, a spatial sensitivity analysis shows that the findings are consistent over different assumptions on the nature of spatial interaction. Originality/value - – By using highly geographically disaggregated data, the authors are able to test the extent to which the influence of role models can be traced, and to measure these effects both within local units as well as in neighbouring units. Understanding the relationship between the native and immigrant attitudes towards entrepreneurship, the local characteristics of the immigrant community and geography is crucial in a country with a relevant share of the working population made up by immigrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuliano Guerra & Roberto Patuelli, 2014. "The influence of role models on immigrant self-employment: a spatial analysis for Switzerland," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(1/2), pages 187-215, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:ijmpps:v:35:y:2014:i:1/2:p:187-215
    DOI: 10.1108/IJM-08-2013-0200
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJM-08-2013-0200/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJM-08-2013-0200/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/IJM-08-2013-0200?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ranjay Gulati, 1999. "Network location and learning: the influence of network resources and firm capabilities on alliance formation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(5), pages 397-420, May.
    2. David Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 1990. "What Makes an Entrepreneur? Evidence on Inheritance and Capital Constraints," NBER Working Papers 3252, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Claudia Senik & Thierry Verdier, 2011. "Segregation, entrepreneurship and work values: the case of France," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 1207-1234, October.
    4. Alesina, Alberto & La Ferrara, Eliana, 2002. "Who trusts others?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 207-234, August.
    5. Sueli Moro & Flavia Chein & Ana Flávia Machado, 2003. "Self-employment in Brazil and its determinants: a spatial analysis," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG td204, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
    6. Enno Masurel & Peter Nijkamp & Murat Tastan & Gabriella Vindigni, 2002. "Motivations and Performance Conditions for Ethnic Entrepreneurship," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 238-260.
    7. Edward P. Lazear, 1999. "Culture and Language," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 95-126, December.
    8. Andrew M. Yuengert, 1995. "Testing Hypotheses of Immigrant Self-Employment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30(1), pages 194-204.
    9. Cooper, Arnold C. & Woo, Carolyn Y. & Dunkelberg, William C., 1989. "Entrepreneurship and the initial size of firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 4(5), pages 317-332, September.
    10. Giuliano Guerra & Roberto Patuelli & Rico Maggi, 2012. "Ethnic concentration, cultural identity and immigrant self-employment in Switzerland," Chapters, in: Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot & Mediha Sahin (ed.), Migration Impact Assessment, chapter 4, pages 147-171, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Minniti, Maria, 2005. "Entrepreneurship and network externalities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 1-27, May.
    12. Bruce D. Meyer, 1990. "Why Are There So Few Black Entrepreneurs?," NBER Working Papers 3537, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Boden, Richard Jr., 1996. "Gender and self-employment selection: An empirical assessment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 671-682.
    14. Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot & Mediha Sahin (ed.), 2012. "Migration Impact Assessment," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14476.
    15. Evans, David S & Leighton, Linda S, 1989. "Some Empirical Aspects of Entrepreneurship," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(3), pages 519-535, June.
    16. Kenneth Clark & Stephen Drinkwater & Derek Leslie, 1998. "Ethnicity and self-employment earnings in Britain 1973-95," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(10), pages 631-634.
    17. Blau, David M, 1987. "A Time-Series Analysis of Self-employment in the United State," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 445-467, June.
    18. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2003. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2028, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    19. Daniel A. Griffith, 2003. "Spatial Autocorrelation and Spatial Filtering," Advances in Spatial Science, Springer, number 978-3-540-24806-4.
    20. George J. Borjas, 1986. "The Self-Employment Experience of Immigrants," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 21(4), pages 485-506.
    21. Kenneth Clark & Stephen Drinkwater, 1998. "Ethnicity and Self‐Employment in Britain," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 60(3), pages 383-407, August.
    22. repec:bla:obuest:v:60:y:1998:i:3:p:383-407:a is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Lars Kolvereid, 1996. "Prediction of Employment Status Choice Intentions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 21(1), pages 47-58, October.
    24. Acs, Zoltan J & Preston, Lee, 1997. "Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Technology, and Globalization: Introduction to a Special Issue on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Global Economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6, February.
    25. Rees, Hedley & Shah, Anup, 1986. "An Empirical Analysis of Self-employment in the U.K," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 1(1), pages 95-108, January.
    26. P. Mueller, 2006. "Entrepreneurship in the Region: Breeding Ground for Nascent Entrepreneurs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 41-58, August.
    27. Lindh, Thomas & Ohlsson, Henry, 1996. "Self-Employment and Windfall Gains: Evidence from the Swedish Lottery," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(439), pages 1515-1526, November.
    28. Michael J. Greenwood, 1994. "Potential Channels Of Immigrant Influence On The Economy Of The Receiving Country," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 211-240, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ratan J. S. Dheer, 2018. "Entrepreneurship by immigrants: a review of existing literature and directions for future research," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 555-614, September.
    2. Annie Tubadji & Peter Nijkamp, 2015. "Cultural Gravity Effects among Migrants: A Comparative Analysis of the EU15," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 91(3), pages 343-380, July.
    3. Nathan, Max, 2014. "The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: a survey of the literature for receiving countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 57370, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Nathan, Max, 2013. "The Wider Economic Impacts of High-Skilled Migrants: A Survey of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 7653, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Dr Max Nathan, 2013. "The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: a survey of the literature," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 413, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    6. S M Kabir & Ahasanul Haque & Abdullah Sarwar, 2017. "Factors Affecting the Intention to Become an Entrepreneur: A Study from Bangladeshi Business Graduates Perspective," Post-Print hal-01580857, HAL.
    7. María José Rodríguez-Gutiérrez & Isidoro Romero & Zhikun Yu, 2020. "Guanxi and risk-taking propensity in Chinese immigrants’ businesses," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 305-325, March.
    8. Max Nathan, 2014. "The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: a survey of the literature for receiving countries," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Ken Clark & Stephen Drinkwater & Catherine Robinson, 2017. "Self-employment amongst migrant groups: new evidence from England and Wales," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1047-1069, April.
    10. McGinnity, Frances & Quinn, Emma & Kingston, Gillian & O'Connell, Philip J., 2012. "Annual Monitoring Report on Integration 2011," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT216.
    11. Annie Tubadji & Peter Nijkamp, 2013. "Cultural Distance and Gravity Effects among Migrants," ERSA conference papers ersa13p484, European Regional Science Association.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robert W. Fairlie & Alicia M. Robb, 2008. "Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026206281x, April.
    2. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    3. Giuliano Guerra & Roberto Patuelli & Rico Maggi, 2012. "Ethnic concentration, cultural identity and immigrant self-employment in Switzerland," Chapters, in: Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot & Mediha Sahin (ed.), Migration Impact Assessment, chapter 4, pages 147-171, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. José María Millán & Emilio Congregado & Concepción Román, 2010. "Determinants of Self-Employment Dynamics and their Implications on Entrepreneurial Policy Effectiveness," Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, Departamento de Economía, issue 72, pages 45-76.
    5. Robert W. Fairlie & Bruce D. Meyer, "undated". "Trends in Self-Employment Among White and Black Men: 1910 - 1990," IPR working papers 99-1, Institute for Policy Resarch at Northwestern University.
    6. Fairlie, Robert W, 1999. "The Absence of the African-American Owned Business: An Analysis of the Dynamics of Self-Employment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 80-108, January.
    7. Backman, Mikaela & Karlsson, Charlie, 2013. "Who says life is over after 55? Entrepreneurship and an aging population," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 325, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    8. Giuliano Guerra & Roberto Patuelli, 2016. "The Role of Job Satisfaction in Transitions into Self–Employment," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(3), pages 543-571, May.
    9. Sascha G. Walter & Achim Walter, 2009. "Personenbezogene Determinanten von Unternehmensgründungen: Stand der Forschung und Perspektiven des Fortschritts," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 57-89, February.
    10. repec:cii:cepiei:2014-q2-138-2 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Y Georgellis & J G Sessions & N Tsitsianis, 2005. "Self-Employment Longitudinal Dynamics: A Review of the Literature," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 10(2), pages 51-84, September.
    12. Amelie Constant & Klaus Zimmermann, 2006. "The Making of Entrepreneurs in Germany: Are Native Men and Immigrants Alike?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 279-300, April.
    13. Magnus Lofstrom, 2013. "Does self-employment increase the economic well-being of low-skilled workers?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 933-952, May.
    14. Mikaela Backman, 2013. "Who says life is over after 55? - New firm formation and an ageing population," ERSA conference papers ersa13p58, European Regional Science Association.
    15. Earle, John S. & Sakova, Zuzana, 1999. "Entrepreneurship from Scratch: Lessons on the Entry Decision into Self-Employment from Transition Economies," IZA Discussion Papers 79, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Robert W. Fairlie, 2002. "Drug Dealing and Legitimate Self-Employment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(3), pages 538-567, July.
    17. Román, Concepción & Congregado, Emilio & Millán, José María, 2013. "Start-up incentives: Entrepreneurship policy or active labour market programme?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 151-175.
    18. McCann, Brian T. & Folta, Timothy B., 2012. "Entrepreneurial entry thresholds," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 782-800.
    19. Jan Wiers & Didier Chabaud, 2022. "Bibliometric analysis of immigrant entrepreneurship research 2009–2019," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 12(1), pages 441-464, December.
    20. Yannis Georgellis & Howard Wall, 2005. "Gender differences in self-employment," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-342.
    21. P. Köllinger & M. Minniti, 2006. "Not for Lack of Trying: American Entrepreneurship in Black and White," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 59-79, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Self-employment; Switzerland; Immigrants; Sensitivity analysis; Role models; Spatial lag; Spatial lagx;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:ijmpps:v:35:y:2014:i:1/2:p:187-215. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.