International Business Review
Volume 20, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 636-645

Start-up and hiring practices of immigrant entrepreneurs: An empirical study from an evolutionary psychological perspective (Article)

Yang C.* , Colarelli S.M. , Han K. , Page R.
  • a Department of Management/MIS, Southern Connecticut State University, Seabury Hall 308, 501 Crescent St., New Haven, CT 06515, United States
  • b Dept. of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Sloan Hall 235, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, United States
  • c Dept. of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Sloan Hall 235, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, United States
  • d Department of Management/MIS, Southern Connecticut State University, Seabury Hall 308, 501 Crescent St., New Haven, CT 06515, United States

Abstract

Strong social ties embedded in ethnic communities of immigrant populations have been considered key assets for immigrant entrepreneurs. However, little research has been done on how biological kinship and the biological theories of altruism influence the behavior of ethnic entrepreneurs. In this study, we have applied a neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory of kinship to examine adaptive functions of kin and ethnic altruism in business start-up and hiring practices of Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in the United States. We confirmed that the patterns of help received by Korean entrepreneurs for business start-ups were congruent with an evolutionary perspective on altruism. However, the results for hiring patterns suggested that customer ethnicity trumped kin and co-ethic interests. We close by offering suggestions for future research. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Author Keywords

immigrant entrepreneurship Ethnic nepotism Evolutionary psychology Kin altruism Inclusive fitness theory

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-80053600636&doi=10.1016%2fj.ibusrev.2011.02.016&partnerID=40&md5=42f008624ec0f71bfb68392996998f54

DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2011.02.016
ISSN: 09695931
Cited by: 10
Original Language: English