Entrepreneurs because they are Immigrants or Immigrants because they are Entrepreneurs? A Critical Examination of the Relationship between the Newcomers and the Establishment

Conventional wisdom suggests that immigrants are forced into self-employment. Although there is veracity in this assertion, it is equally probable that there is a certain level of entrepreneurial drive and spirit exhibited when an individual departs from his or her homeland. This article provides a much-needed and critical second look at the realm of ethnic entrepreneurship and in particular, the two-way relationship between the immigrant entrepreneur and the established business community. Isomorphism is seen to ebb and flow among newcomers and existing institutions. Mimetic behaviour as well as the introduction of innovations is seen to occur on both sides of a bilateral exchange.