Persistence of culture: how the entrepreneurial culture of origin contributes to migrant entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial activities differ substantially across populations. However, whether and how the entrepreneurial culture can contribute to these variations are not yet well understood. Using internal migrants instead of international migrants widely used in previous research, this study proves the o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Small business economics 2023-10, Vol.61 (3), p.1179-1204
Main Authors: Yang, Huan, Zhang, Xinning
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business and Management
Cities
Culture
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Industrial Organization
Internal migration
Management
Microeconomics
Migrants
Regional variations
Robustness
Role models
Small business
Social networks
Startups
Willingness
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Summary:Entrepreneurial activities differ substantially across populations. However, whether and how the entrepreneurial culture can contribute to these variations are not yet well understood. Using internal migrants instead of international migrants widely used in previous research, this study proves the original entrepreneurial culture’s persistent effects on migrant entrepreneurship. With a unique database, the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), we reveal that every additional start-up per 1000 people in the city of origin in 2004 is associated with a 3.2% increase in the probability that the internal migrant will start a business in host cities during 2014 and 2016. Our results are consistent with several robustness tests, confirming the existence and persistence of the original entrepreneurial culture. Further analysis reveals that entrepreneurial culture of origin leads to migrant entrepreneurship through enhancing social networks, promoting role models, and cultivating traits that favor entrepreneurship. Through these channels, the intangible entrepreneurial culture of origin can be transformed into tangible business opportunities and migrants’ willingness and capability to do business, which stimulates their entrepreneurial activities in host cities. Plain English Summary Variations in entrepreneurial activities across different sub-groups of populations may be due to the imprint effect of entrepreneurial cultures that have long persisted within groups. Using unique data of Chinese internal migrants, this article finds that the start-up rate of migrants’ original regions can significantly predict internal migrants’ entrepreneurial activities in host cities, confirming the persistence of the entrepreneurial culture. Through the channels of social network, role model, and entrepreneurial traits, the intangible entrepreneurial culture of origin can be transformed into tangible business opportunities and migrants’ willingness to and capability of doing business. The principal implications for practice are two-fold: (1) the entrepreneurial culture is so persistent that it can exert a long-lasting effect on regional and individual entrepreneurial activities; (2) host cities could benefit from the migrants who have transplanted their entrepreneurial culture of origin into the destination and stimulate entrepreneurial activities in host cities.
ISSN:0921-898X
1573-0913
DOI:10.1007/s11187-022-00699-2