International Migration Review 2000, 34 (3) (forthcoming).
Outsiders’ Business
A Critic al Re view of Re sea rch o n Imm igran t Entr epre neu rship *
Jan R ath
Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES), University of Amsterdam
Robert Kloosterman
OTB Research Institute, Delft University of Technology
Abstract
In the N etherlan ds, a sign ificant pro portion o f the imm igrant po pulation has estab lished itself
as self-employed entrepreneur in the past few years, a process which has caught the attention
of researchers. This article critically examines the output of these researchers. It is concluded
that althou gh resear ch in the Nethe rlands h as brou ght to ligh t a num ber of inte resting fac ts, it
has not contributed a great deal to our understanding of immigrant entrepreneurship. The
harvest is one-sided, local and theoretically not very far reaching. Research on immigrant
entrepre neursh ip has b een do minated by social scie ntists, wh o show a great dea l of interest in
ethno-cultural characteristics and processes of ethno-cultural incorporation. In so doing, they
reduce immigrant entrepreneurship to an ethno-cultural phenomenon existing within an
economic and institutional vacuum. It is suggested that researchers seek linkages with the
latest deve lopme nts in inte rnationa l theory-bu ilding, an d that the y pay more systematic
attention to the structural changes in the urban economy, and the institutional framework of
the welfare state with in which en trepreneurs op erate.
*
The auth ors would like to th ank San na Ravestein -Willis for translating the tex t.
1
Outsiders’ Business
A Critical R eview of Res earch on Im migra nt Ent repren eursh ip
Introduction
Although nearly all Dutch politicians are still very reluctant to acknowledge, the Netherlands has
becom e und eniably a c ountry of im migration . For ove r three de cades n ow, the n umb ers imm igrants
has exceeded that of emigrants. The composition of this immigration has been very heterogeneous
in terms of countries of origin, causes of migration, in terms of endowment of human capital and
also very different in socio-cultural orientation. Moreover, this composition has been anything but
stable over the years. In the 1960s, for instance, so-called guest workers from Mediterranean
countries constituted an important category of immigrants. More recently, immigrants from
advanced econom ies (mainly other EU-memb er states and North America) and refugees from lessdeveloped countries main ly in Asia and A frica (e.g. Somali, Iran an d Iraq) are on the rise.
This continuous and continuing immigration raises the question which socio-economic paths
of insertion in Dutch society have been accessible for newcomers. This question is both relevant for
obvious policy reasons as well as from a scientific point of view. For over most of the three decades
of continuous immigration, both most policy makers and scientists in the Netherlands have been
phrasing answers in terms of employment. Approximately 80 per cent of the immigrant labor force
popu lation in th e Neth erlands in 1996 worked as an em ployee (C BS, 1 996:4 3). Th ose imm igrants
who are not employed are commonly considered to be looking for a job and insertion is first and
foremost to be achieved by providing employment for them. This—understandable—focus on
salaried employment is however less and less justified as immigrants set up shop in increasing
numb ers. In 1987 , 9,393 im migrants from the so-called target grou ps of minority po licies were selfemployed, a mere 3.3 per cent of the corresponding labor force.1 Ten years later, this number has
almost trebled to 27,380 immigrant entrepreneurs, which amounts to 7.4 per cent of the
corresponding labor force. The percentage of self-employed among Turks is rather higher and now
even exceeds the national average: 12.2 per cent among Turks against 10.2 for the entire population
(Tillaart and Po utsma, 19 98: 39-40 ).
Notwithstanding the overall focus of mo st researchers on the employment of immigran ts,
some stu dies hav e been d evoted to immigra nt entrep reneurs hip. In th is article, we w ill present a
critical review of this research on self-employed immigrants. We will put this specific research in a
2
wider perspective to generate a better, more general, understanding of how immigrants are being
studied. This will involve exploring the relationship of this research with societal developments and
more specifically with policy priorities. In our view, immigrant entrepreneurship can be seen as
located at the intersection of a number of rather different scientific disciplines: ethnic studies,
sociology, urban studies, general and business economics, economic geography, management
studies, political science and policy stud ies. But how does this turn ou t in practice? O ur meta-study
will reveal sa lient differe nces in re sponsiv eness of th ese fields o f (Dutch ) social scien ces with
respect to the contemporary rise of immigrant entrepreneurship.
In what f ollows, w e will exp lore wha t kinds of research h ave bee n carried out, wh at was the ir
focus, what were their findings and what has been ignored. We start with a brief overview on the
development of immigrant entrepreneurship in the Netherlands. This is followed by a historical
review o f scientific res earch on this phe nome non. W e will con clude w ith formu lating five str ategic
research perspectives that will not only encompass the various scientific disciplines, but which may
also serve as an international, comparative research program of immigrant entrepreneurship.
The dev elop men t of im mig rant e ntrep rene ursh ip
The increase in the number of immigrant entrepreneurs in the Netherlands can be seen all along the
line. A closer look reveals a marked pattern with respect to its distribution among the different
groups of immigrants as well as to its spatial pattern. Certain categories of immigrants—e.g.
Chinese a nd Tu rks—sh ow great fervor for en trepreneursh ip. It has also been sh own that selfemployment of Ghanaians, Egyptians and Pakistanis, groups that are (still) too small to be included
in these ‘large’ surveys, is also above the national average (Choenni, 1997). Other categories seem
to lag behind (see table 1).
<< table 1 about here >>
If economically successful, immigrant entrepreneurship provides w ork and income exac tly for those
members of categories of the population who face, on average, substantial obstacles on the labor
market which leads to their persistently high rates of unemployment. The economic impact of
immigr ant entre preneu rs is even m ore imp ortant tha n just p roviding jobs for th emselve s and th eir
employees because they may indirectly contribute to employment opportunities for immigrants by
3
networking along the suppliers’ chain. The National Advisory Body of Turks (IOT) concluded that
the grow th of em ploymen t under the Tu rkish po pulation betwee n 198 6 and 1992 was du e mostly to
self-employed entrepreneurship.2 The Bureau for Economic Argumentation, which—without much
proof though—assumed that ethnic minority entrepreneurs employ on average three workers and
thus calculated the total effects on employment for the Netherlands to be roughly 50,000 extra jobs
(BEA 1994:iv-v). 3 This d oes not m ean, ho wever, th at all imm igrants de sire to work with the ir
compatriots. Half of the Turks interviewed by Veraart (1996:87-88) adamantly did not wish to do
so.
Immigrant entrepreneurship, although becoming more diverse, is still strongly oriented
towards specific segments of the opportunity structure. About 60 percent of all immigrant
entrepreneurs can be foun d in sectors such as wholesale, retail and restaurants (for recent studies,
see Choenni, 1997; Kloosterman, van der Leun and Rath, 1997a and 1997b; Rath, 1995, 1999a and
1999 c; Rath a nd K loosterm an, 19 98; Tilla art and P outsma 1998 ). With in these se ctors, they ten d to
gravitate to the lower end. Barriers of entry for setting-up businesses are relatively low in these
sectors where fledgling firms do not always require large outlays of capital and sophisticated skills.
Restaurants and shops can be small scale in operation, make use of simple technology, and can
performs with a high labor input relative to that of capital. By employing family members and
others from their own social netw orks, thes e immig rants entre preneu rs are in m any cases a ble to
increase flexibility and reduce costs. Many immigrants enter these markets through mom-and-pop
stores thereby partially replacing businesses of indigenous entrepreneurs through so-called vacancy
chains. They often cater for the ‘captive market’ of co-nationals or co-ethnics, although many
entrepreneu rs after a while tend to cater for a broader clien tele.
Because o f these low barriers of e ntry, the markets in w hich these im migrant entrep reneurs
operate are generally highly competitive. The main competitors are often co-nationals or co-ethnics
and competition is largely based on prices rather than on quality. Consequently, immigrant
entrepreneurs frequently have to accept small profit margins, while some are forced to close down
after a relatively short period. To survive in these markets, they do not always conform to the
prevailing laws and regulations, so that some of their activities may take on a (semi-) informal
characte r (Klooste rman, v an der L eun & Rath 1 998 a nd 19 99). A s such, th is inform al start is
anything but exceptional—many fledgling businesses go through such a phase—but the subsequent
phase of growth which is necessary to formalize often does not materialize. The national and
mun icipal gov ernme nts, and various ad visory bod ies and se ctor associa tions hav e tried, diffe ring in
levels of inv olveme nt, to profe ssionalize immigra nt entrep reneurs hip with , up un til now, rela tively
4
little success. Having said this, it cannot be denied that besides the large numb er of mere survivors,
some immigrant entrepreneurs are doing extremely well (Tillaart and Poutsma, 1998; Lof, 1997;
Tinnem ans, 198 9).
Research development
One of the first social-science studies on immigration in the Netherlands was carried out by the
sociographer Frederik van Heek. Th is study, Chinese Imm igrants in the Netherland s was published
in 193 6 (van H eek, 19 36; see a lso Wu bben , 1986 ). Describ ing the p osition of C hinese s eamen in
their so-called ‘colonies’ in the Katendrecht neighborhood in Rotterdam and around the
Bantamme rstraat in Amsterdam, van He ek also paid attention to sundry Chinese bu sinesses. These
businesses ranged from bo arding houses, laundries, import firms, eating places, pharm acies,
barbers , small casin os, opiu m trader s to, notab ly, Chine se pean ut cookie vendo rs. Altho ugh h e only
superficially touched upon the economic-sociological aspects of these Chinese entrepreneurs, van
Heek w as the first rese archer to g ive seriou s attention to immig rant entre preneu rship. H is
pioneering role becomes evident when we consider that it took almost half a century before other
researchers were paying attention to im migrant entrep reneurship .
Admittedly, nearly all research on contemporary immigrants in the Netherlands is a rather
recent phenomenon. Apart from a few (overview) studies on repatriates from Indonesia (Kraak et
al., 1957 ), Amb oinese (A mbon ezen, 1 959) n ot much attention w as paid to immigra tion in ge neral.
This started to change towards the end of the 1970s and in the early 1980s, when the Dutch
government began to display a growing awareness of the more permanent character of the recent
settlers (compare Rath, 1991 and 1993). Accordingly, the government took the initiative for
extensive research on guest workers and Surinamese (Verwey-Jonker, 1973; Penninx, 1979; van
Ame rsfoort, 19 82). In th ese stud ies next to no attentio n was p aid to self-em ploymen t.4 Even the
Society and Business Foundation (SMO), sponsored by employers’ associations, in their report on
guest workers, made no mention of immigrant entrepreneurship (SMO, 1972). This neglect is all the
more remarkable, as immigrants were already setting up their bu sinesses—albeit still in modest
num bers. G uest wo rkers’ ho stels ran b y immigra nts them selves attrac ted attentio n from th e media
and the authorities for being fire hazards, but social scientists had no eye for them. Neither did they
see the emergence of—partially informal—Turkish and Moroccan Islamic butchers (Rath et al.,
1996:74-75 ), or register the fact that the lower social classes were finding their way to Chinese
take-away restaurants, where, at very low cost, huge portions of exotic food were served
5
(Rijkschroeff, 1 998). Th ese nascent b usiness activities on th e part of immig rants stayed, how ever,
outside the view of researchers at that time. During the ‘leftist’ 1960s and early 197 0s,
entrepreneurship was definitely unfashionable. Moreover, many considered small businesses and,
consequently, self-employment to be something more from the past than from the future.
It was only in the ‘neo-liberal’ 1980s, that explicit research on entrepreneurship was
undertaken. In 1981 two undergraduate students of from the University of Amsterdam, under the
supervision of the cultural anthropologist, Frank Bovenkerk, wrote an article on the ‘exceptional
ways of making a living’ by Chinese entrepreneurs in the restaurant business (Blom and Romeijn,
1981 ). In their intro duction they argue d again st the rathe r strong p reoccup ation of th e Dutc h pub lic
with Chinese crime. They also criticized the so-called ‘ethnic minorities researchers’, who
apparently did not judge the ‘predicament’ of these Chinese to be interesting enough and thus
completely ignored their specific economic activities. A year later, Bovenkerk (1982a) himself took
a stand against scientific experts and social workers from the emerging and government-sponsored
‘ethnic minorities industry’. They were clearly blind to the fact that a growing number of
immigrants ‘were able to find the key to success on their own, without the help of the welfare state’.
This ‘negligence’ was all the more conspicuous since, in a typical immigration country such as the
Unit ed Sta tes, self-e mplo ymen t is custo marily c onsid ered a s a class ical rou te for so cial mo bility.
Bovenkerk advan ced five explanations for this blind spot on the part of social researchers.
Firstly, the fact that one of the largest categories of immigrants—the M editerranean guest
workers— were purp osely recruited for (temp orary) employme nt. Second ly, researchers
(incorrectly) assumed that small businesses inevitably would have to make way for larger
enterprises. Thirdly, they tended to associate immigrant entrepreneurship with ‘a number of
obviou sly illegal practic es’. Fou rthly, imm igrant en treprene urs them selves ha d not attem pted to
draw the attention of policy makers in marked contrast to immigrant workers. Fifthly, the tendency
of the ‘minorities industry’ to be more attuned to ‘social needs’ than to ‘independent initiatives of
this sor t’. Bo venk erk’s c riticism of the s ocial sc ience s was ri ght on target, b ut he, remar kably,
omitted econom ics from h is critique. E conom ists and stu dents of manag ement w ere com pletely
absent in research on immigrant entrepreneurs, a subject which, ideally, should be part and parcel of
their field.
Bovenkerk’s article, still worth reading today, seems to have initiated a series of research on
self-employed im migrants. W e mention th e most impo rtant of these. To start w ith there were
Bovenkerk’s own theoretical deliberations (Bovenkerk, 1982b and 1983) and his empirical research
on Italian ice-makers, plasterers, chimney sweeps and terrazzo workers (Bovenkerk, Eijken and
6
Bovenkerk-Teerink, 1983; Bovenkerk and Ruland, 1984 and 1992). In addition, Boissevain and
Grotenbreg (1984, 1987a, 1987b, 19 88 and others; see further Boissevain, Choenni and Grotenbreg
1984) undertook studies on self-employed Surinamese. Pennings published on self-employed
Greeks (Vermeulen et al., 1985), and Pieke (1987) on Chinese restaurants. Tap (1983) pioneered
research on Turkish contractors in the garment industry; followed by his collaboration with Bakker
on Islamic butchers (Bakker and T ap, 1985). Veraart (198 7) explored Turkish coffee h ouses. Dijst
et al. (1984; see also Cortie et al., 1986) took the Amsterdam inner-city neighborhood Oude Pijp as
their starting point for research on immigrant businesses. Jeleniewski (1984 and 1987), who
compared the Oude Pijp with the Schilderswijk, a neighborhood in The Hague, took the same
approach. Moreover, general overviews on immigrant entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, paid for by
the Dutch government, were produced by van den Tillaart and Reubsaet (1987; see also van den
Tillaart, 1993). Additionally, magazines pub lished special issues (among others Kroniek, 1984),
workshop s were organize d and disc ussion pap ers published (Gowrich arn, 1985 ).
Most of these studies were centered on, what was considered the ethnic nature of the
immigrant b usinesses. Ethnic loyalties and ethnic markets were assumed to be the hallmark of
immigrant entrepreneurship. Furthermore, many of these studies were one way or the other, funded
by the D utch go vernm ent. Th e Min istry for Econ omic A ffairs led th e fund ing of rese arch in th is
field, but other departments followed suit. Immigrant entrepreneurship came to be seen as a form of
socio-economic self-help that snugly fitted in with the among policy makers prevailing neo-liberal
views on ways of incorporation of immigrants. More pragmatically, it seemed to provide a cheap
and easy solution for the staggering high rates of unemployment among immigrants at that time.
In the second half of the 1980s, however, euphoria ebbed as entrepreneurship clearly was not
just a bed of roses for every immigrant. The research now seemed to emphasize the other side of the
coin. Studies appeared, such as that of Bloeme and van Geuns (1987 a and 1987b; see also van
Geuns , 1992) on informal activities, in particu lar in the Turkish contractors in the ga rment indu stry
in Am sterdam . Immigra nts had manag ed to pen etrate into th is sector of m anufac turing m ore than in
any other economic sector and this had not gone unnoticed by self-proclaimed political spokesmen,
interest gro ups an d journ alists. The y publish ed indig nantly ab out the u nequ al balanc e of pow er in
the industry as a whole and about the abuses in the Turkish factories in particular (for example, van
Putten and Lucas, 1985; Smit and Jongejans, 1989; Smit, 1994; Stichting Opstand, 1993;
Zeldenru st and van E ijk, 1992 ).
In the 19 90s, pa rallel with th e then m anifestly stron g growth in entrep reneurs hip in g eneral,
interest in th e subje ct increase d again . Studie s were car ried out b y both ren owned and lesse r well7
known commercial consultants again paid for by government agencies. Coopers & Lybrand
(Setzpfand, Engels and Linssen, 1993), the Bureau for Economic Argumentation (1994), Regioplan
(Hulshof and Mevissen 1985) and Kybele Consultants (Bayraktar and van der Weide, 1996)
undertook research projects. In 1996, the fully state-sponsored Social and Cultural Planning Bureau
for the first time paid attention to ‘ethnic entrepreneurship’ in their yearly report (Tesser, van
Dugteren and Merens, 1996). Furthermore, van den Tillaart and Poutsma (1998) provided another
general overview on immigrant entrepreneurs. Finally, Choenni (1993 and 19 97), van der Meulen
and H eilbron (1 995) a nd R ijkschro eff (199 6) researc hed the develop ment of entrepre neursh ip
among specific immigrant groups. Starting point of most of these studies was still the (real or
alleged) ethnic character of the business activities of immigrants.
Recently, research into immigrant entrepreneurship has entered a new phase.
Researc hers— influen ced by m ore enco mpass ing view s on imm igration an d socio-ec onom ic
developments such as has been undertaken by Sassen (1991) and Waldinger (1996)—have moved
away from this foc us on ethn o-cultural endo wment an d have started to p ay attention to the mo re
structural economic or sociological embeddedness of immigrant entrepreneurs. Rekers (1993) has
explored the role of the urban economic structure within which immigrant entrepreneurs operate.
Others (Bruin, Hellingman and de Lange, 1997; Kloosterman, van der Leun and Rath 1997a, 1997b
and 1998; and Rath 199 5, 1999b and 199 9c) have taken into account the role of the institutional
framework (welfare state arrangements and its concomitant specific set of rules and regulations) on
immigrant entrepreneurship. Finally, Raes (1996 and 1999) has examined the impact of
international market developments on immigrant entrepreneurs. A similarly wide perspective can be
found in the studies of Bu rgers et al. (1996) on urban marginality, of Kehla, Engbersen and Snel
(1997) on immigrant entrepreneurs in a weekly market in Rotterdam, of van Delft, Gorter and
Nijkamp (1988) on entrepreneurship in an Amsterdam neighborhood, and in the study of
Bovenkerk and Fijnaut (1996) on criminal entrepreneurs.
The commissions for research during this period are mostly from the national government
(and particularly from the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Internal Affairs) and municipal
governments (especially Amsterdam and Rotterdam), but also from advisory bodies such as the
Temporary Scientific Comm ittee on Minority Policy (TWCM ). During this period, business
institutions such as sector/trade organizations, associated companies or Chambers of
Commerce,—although concerned— kept fairly quiet. Exceptions to the rule here are the Association
of Butchers (Bakker and Tap, 1985), the Dutch Bakers’ Foundation (Swinkels, 1991), the Board of
Trade for the C lothing In dustry, w hich w as only look ing for arg umen ts to settle for on ce and fo r all
8
with the Turkish c.q. illegal clothing contracting industry (BEA, 1992), and the Royal Association
of Restaurants (Bruin et al., 1997; van Brussel and Vennin ckx, 199 7).
Much research has thus been strongly policy-driven and to a much lesser extent
undertaken out of purely scientific interest. Research objectives and questions have been,
accordingly, mainly based on policy priorities allowing for only limited theoretical reflection.
Many social scientists, faced with poor employment opportunities themselves, were only too
eager to go along with the prevailing political agenda. Historians, also struggling on the labor
market but lacking in contract research assignments, could safely ignore the policy makers’
wishes. They have researched the activities of self-employed craftsmen, hawkers, tradesmen
and man ufacturers of variou s origins, such as im migrants from the South ern Nethe rlanders
(curren t Belgium ), Portug uese an d East E uropea n Jews , French Hugu enots, R oman Catho lic
Westphalians and gypsies (see for example, Berg, Wijsenbeek and Fischer, 1994; Knotter
1995; M erens, 199 6; Miellet, 19 87; Schro ver, 1996 ; Rath, 199 8 and 19 99a).
One-sided, local and theoretically not far reaching
Whic h pattern s can be discerne d in this sh ort history of re search in to immig rant entre preneu rship in
the Netherlands?
Firstly, we n otice that th e field of co ntemp orary researc h on th e immig rant entre preneu rship
has bee n dom inated b y social scien tists, such a s cultural a nthrop ologists, soc iologists an d econ omic
geograp hers. Ec onom ists have b een no tably absen t, althoug h there ar e many in teresting ec onom ic
aspects to study, ranging from the fast rise in numbers to innovations in various entrepreneurial
activities. As far as the latter is concerned, the introduction of—in the Netherlands—unknown
products, the discovery of new distribution lines and the servicing of under-served markets, such as
that of the immigrants themselves, can be called to mind (Kloosterman, van der Leun and Rath,
1997a). This conspicuous absenteeism of economists is not confined to the Netherlands nor to the
study of immigrant entrepreneurship. Contemporary economists have given short shrift to the study
of entrep reneurs hip mo re in gen eral “exa ctly becau se of the b ias to the ass ump tion that p rofitable
activities automatically take place” (Granovetter, 1994:453). Neo-classical economics has thus deproblematized entrepreneurship altogether by making it endogenous in their models: opportunities
for entrepreneu rs will be perceived and, subse quently, seized b y rational econom ic actors (cf.
Block, 1 990; L ight and Rosen stein, 19 95). T he fact tha t econom ists have tak en so little trou ble to
9
examine entrepreneurship in general has hampered research into primarily economic aspects of
immigrant en trepreneursh ip more in p articular.
Secondly, the majority of researchers on immigrant entrepreneurship have displayed a great
deal of interest in ethno-cultural characteristics and p rocesses of ethno -cultura l incorporation.
Com pletely in lin e with D utch ‘eth nic min orities researc h’ (Ra th 199 1 and 1993 ), they tend to
regard entrepreneurship first and foremost in ethnic terms, something which is illustrated by the
indiscriminate use of the term ‘ethnic entrepreneurship’. Exac tly what distinguishes ethnic
entrepre neursh ip from e ntrepren eurship in gener al is seldom or never (th eoretically) m ade exp licit:
does this adjective refer to the origins of the entrepreneur, his or her managemen t strategies,
personnel, clientele, products, or a combination of these? The majority of researchers just assume
withou t any furthe r reflection th at there are real differences, just bec ause the y are dealin g with
immigr ants. Ex planatio ns for eve ry aspect of im migran t entrepre neurial b ehavior a re directly
related to eth no-cultu ral tradition s, ethnic m oral frame works an d ethnic behav ior pattern s, ethnic
loyalties or ethnic markets. Thus, they reduce immigrant entrepreneurship to an ethno-cultural
phenomenon existing within an economic and institutional vacuum. Choenni (1997) made an
attempt to give body to the term ‘ethnic entrepreneur’—in a more general sense he uses the policy
term ‘allochtonous entrepreneurs’. His search for entrepreneurship as route of incorporation,
howev er, by no m eans rises a bove th e ‘ethnic minoritie s know ledge’. In stead of aff iliating with
theoretical insights from economics or economic sociology, he sought refuge in culturalist notions
and in van Am ersfoort’s thesis (1982) on the formation of ethnic minority groups.
Thirdly, many researchers seem to neglect much of the more recent theoretical
develop ments in internatio nal researc h on im migran t entrepre neursh ip. The anthrop ologists
Boissevain, Bovenkerk, and Vermeulen (1991) are among the few Dutch researchers who have
made h eadwa y, in so far as th ey have ex plored a rticulated theoretica l viewpo ints in (inte rnationa l)
publications. The lack of theoretical depth has mu ch to do with the policy-driven character of most
of the research so far. Most government agencies have little time for theoretical reflections and
contract re search is stro ngly geare d toward s more p ragmatic question s. Thos e research ers that try to
integrate theoretical insights mostly refer to the same sources. In general, they start with the
viewpoints of Light (1972) and Bonacich (1973) and end with the interactive model of Waldinger
and associates (1990). This interactive model—which is more of a classification than an
explanatory m odel— is intended to ass ist the understan ding of ethnic strategies, whereby the
strategies are conside red to be the prod ucts of gro up ch aracteristics a nd the s urroun ding op portun ity
structures. The book, howev er, neglects a number of crucial questions: why are imm igrants a priori
10
depicted as unchanging ethnic subjec ts; why is the econom ic contex t within w hich the ir
entrepre neursh ip deve lops view ed as m ore or less sta tic, and th e institution al contex t simply
portrayed by the listing o f laws and regu lations (see more ex tensively Rath, 19 99b)?
Notwithstan ding these criticism s, Ethnic Entrepren eurs, with contributions by a group of prominent
international researchers (e.g. Blaschke, Boissevain, Light, McEvoy, Morokvasic, Phizacklea,
Waldin ger and W erbner), is still a valuable book, illustrating the insights which were commonplace
halfway during the 1980s. Viewing this book as a end-all and be-all of research on immigrant
entrep reneu rship , make s one n ot only m iss the m ore rec ent de velop men ts in int ernatio nal the orybuilding (such as Light and Rosenstein, 1995; Waldinger, 1996), but also means forgoing a chance
to make a contribution to the current international debate on the subject. More recently, we
ourselves have initiated an ambitious research programme with an explicit international
comparative dimension to try to advance this type of research in the Netherlands (see, for example,
Kloosterma n, van der L eun and Rath, 19 98 and 1999; R ath, 1999 a and 19 99b).
Fourth ly, in conju nction w ith the eth nic bias, m ost scientific researche rs have p aid little
systematic a ttention to the und erlying struc tural cha nges of th e econo my in gen eral and specific
markets more in particular. Neither have they paid much attention to the overall institutional
framework of the corporate w elfare state within wh ich entrepren eurs operate. E xceptions are
Boissevain and Grotenbreg (1986 and 1987b), Bloeme and van Geuns (1987), Kehla et al. (1996),
Raes (1 996 a nd 19 99), R ekers (19 93) an d our ow n work (Klooste rman 1 999; K loosterm an, Ra th
and van der Leun 1998; Rath 19 98, 1999a and 1999 b). When studying ethnic entrepreneurs, many
research ers foun d it perfec tly sensible to implicitly assu me that m arket con ditions are of little
importance . As if bakers, car-rep air, ice-cream parlors, garm ent factories and b ureaus for intercultural co mmu nication operate u nder m ore or less id entical m arket con ditions, h ave to de al with
the same set regulations and of institutions and thus demand similar entrepreneurial skills and
produce similar results. Obviously, this is not the case. Take for instance the strong rise of Turkish
contractors in the Amsterdam garm ent contracting during the 198 0s and the beginnin g of the 1990s.
The proliferation of contractors was very much linked to the changing consumption patterns and
purchasing strategies of wholesalers and chain stores, as well as the fairly tolerant attitude of the
relevant authorities towards informal practices. The collapse of the industry halfway through the
1990s was linked to the opening of new markets in East Europe and with the more rigorous control
on illegal work and tax evasion. The political mobilization of the contractors and their political
advoca tes brou ght no c hange . This ex ample s hows th e extent to which specific p rocesses e xternal to
the entrepreneurs and their businesses, can thwart entrepreneurship within one sector. To obtain a
11
deeper insight on the functioning of entrepreneurship, a broad theoretical approach, which goes way
beyon d ethn ic stud ies, is a n ecessity.
In sum, we mu st conclu de that alth ough re search in the Neth erlands h as brou ght to ligh t a
number of interesting facts, it has not contributed a great deal to a more thorough understanding of
immigr ant entre preneu rship. T he harv est is one-sid ed, local an d theore tically not very in cisive. Th is
deficiency is to a large extent explained by the specific combination of a particular rather recent
tradition of doing research on minorities in the Netherlands with the fact that most of the research
was commissioned by the Dutch government with the more or less explicit purpose to improve the
socio-economic position of immigrants in the Netherlands after 1970. The absence of
economists—general and business—has resulted in a neglect of underlying economic processes and
a narrow focus on (real or alleged) ethnic factors.
New directions for research
The rise of immigrant entrepreneurship in the Netherlands during these past years has become ever
more manifest. This development have prompted penetrating questions regarding the relationship of
entrepreneurship with, for example, the immigrant’s social mobility or segregation of the housing
market. As we have already seen, much researchers have approached these important questions
from an ethno-cu ltural persp ective sho wing a c ertain pre ference fo r case stud ies of spec ific ethnic
group s. This m ore paroc hial app roach to im migran t entrepre neurs an d to imm igrants in g eneral,
will— in the en d— primarily re-a scertain es sentialist con ception s of ethnic ity and no t contribu te to
the interrelationship between im migration and its wider contex t (cf. Cassarino, 19 97; Rath , 1999b ).
In the case of immig rant entre preneu rship, w here ma ny strand s meet, w e propo se a mu ltidisciplin ary appro ach to asse ss this relation ship from a theoretica l perspec tive whic h allows explicit
international comparison. We, therefore, seek linkages with economic-geographic or economicsociological viewpoints on entrepreneurship in particular, and business activity in general. Ethnocultural factors are not given a priori an independent role, but are integrated into a greater whole,
while other variables are given their due attention. The change in the direction of the theoretical
standpoint from ethno-cultural to more general econ omic, sociological or geographical perspectives,
makes it possible to build on other, possibly more fruitful research traditions of related disciplines.
Moreove r, we can imm ediately locate immigra nt entreprene urship in a b roader contex t with farreaching consequences. This line of reasoning constitutes no less than a plea for a break with the
research tradition which has developed during the last fifteen years in the Netherlands. This, by
12
implication, also means at least an arms’ length distance from the government and its policy-driven
contract research.
To exp lore imm igrant en treprene urship , we sug gest linkin g up w ith a num ber of cu rrent.
more theoretically-informed research perspectives. We start with a perspective which sees the
entrepreneur first and foremost as an economic actor; following this we suggest a number of
perspectives on meso-level and finish with an international comparative perspective.
The first perspective views the entrepreneur as an individual actor: Schumpeterian
entrepreneurship. This perspective is advocated by the so-called Austrian School ( Kirzner, 1997;
see for a more critical view Light and Rosenstein, 1995). Central in this perspective is the question,
to what extent the entrepreneur is really innovative and thus able to avoid the dictates of the market
in the neo-classical sense. An entrepreneur can, through innovation of the product, the productionmethod, logistics, distribution or marketing, procure a monopoly—albeit generally short-term. Such
an opp ortunity offe rs the entre preneu r the chan ce to temp orarily raise pr ices and make m onopo ly
profits where other, non-innovative entrepreneurs have to accept the price and the lower rewards
which ensue. To what extent are the immigrant entrepreneurs such ‘real entrepreneurs’? How do
they create th eir mon opolies? To wh at extent a re they able to mainta in and e xploit th eir
monopolies? To what extent—to use a concrete example—is the first Turkish baker in a
neighborhood an innovative entrepreneur; if so, on the basis of what (product, market, organization
of production, otherwise); and how long can he keep his monopoly—if it exists—intact; and which
other bu sinesses e ventua lly usurp it?
The second perspective lays emphasis on the social embedd edness of entrepreneurs , a
subject which preoccupies the contemporary economic sociologists (Light 1999; Portes, 1995a;
Portes and Sensenbrenner, 1993; Waldinger 1996; Rath 1999b). The insight that entrepreneurs do
not operate in a social vacuum, but that they are embedded in various social networks which they
use and manip ulate for ec onom ic goals, ha s taken roo t. The term social cap ital is used in this
context. Such social capital is an important prerequisite, but no gua rantee, for economic success.
Each s ocial relation ship ha s its own sh ortcomin gs, as well a s inheren t material an d imm aterial costs
(Flap, Kumcu and Bulder, 1999 ). Thus, embeddedness in—ethnic or other—social networks of
workers can be strong, and the embeddedness in economically relevant networks of suppliers and
financial institutions, weak. More systematic and theoretically grounded research on the
distribution, density and working of such social networks is absolutely necessary for a good
understanding of immigrant entrepreneurship. Research on the international distribution of such
13
networks an d their extent an d meanin g for transnationa l economies fits this p erspective (com pare
Aktar and Ögelman , 1994; P ortes, 1995 b; Strijp, 199 7; Wallace, C hmouliar an d Sidoren ko, 1996 ).
The third perspective is closely related, but has as starting-point the (line of) business and
not the entrepreneur. It is based on general business studies and gives a pivotal role to firms in
economic networks and value systems (Porter, 1990; Elfring and Foss, 1997). Economic networks
can offer businesses various possibilities—for examp le, in the form of complementary assets:
specific skills which in combination can lead to a more or less unique product -, but can also trap
them in traditions w hich can hamp er innov ation. W hich po sition do im migran t busine sses occu py in
such n etworks a nd valu e systems? To wh at extent d oes their im migran t backgro und d etermin e their
position? Under what circumstances is this an asset or a disadvantage?
The fourth perspective draws attention to the relationship between immigrant businesses
and m ore gene ral transformation processes in advanced (urban) economies. Sassen’s work (1988
and 1991) for example, places the economic activities of immigrants in the larger context of
chang es in the u rban ec onom ic structure . In the N etherlan ds also, an attempt h as been made in this
direction (Kloo sterman, 19 96; Kloos terman, van der Leun and Rath , 1997b ; Rath, 199 5 and 19 99c).
Further research will have to explore in more detail the relationship between immigrant’s activities
and the rise of an urban service-economy. In this way, more precise information can be gathered on
the exac t position w hich (im migran t) busine sses occu py in econ omic activ ities in spec ific econo mic
sectors (compa re Raes, 19 96 and 1999).
The fifth perspective focuses on the political-institutional framework. Althou gh this
perspe ctive is often found in interna tional resea rch on u nemp loyment, it h as not yet take n hold in
research on entrepreneurship. It makes sense to develop this research avenue. What kinds of
relationships exist between the political-institutional framework (in particular, the nature of the
welfare state) and (immigrant) entrepreneurship, both direct and indirect (for example via the labor
market). With this latter viewpoint links can be made with the research initiated by EspingAndersen on the broad effects of the labor market’s institutional framework on the extent of
employment in the post-industrial era (Kloosterman, 1999). The institutional framework includes
the law a nd the is suing o f rules and regulation s concern ing econ omic activ ity and its
implem entation (Freem an and Ögelm an, 19 98). T o what e xtent are rules and regulation s favorab le
or unfav orable for entrepre neurs o perating in the m ore marg inal sectors of the eco nomy, an d to
what extent are economic activities carried out in an informal atmosphere (Kloosterman, van der
Leun an d Rath, 1 997b; R ath 1999 a)?
14
In principle, these meso-perspectives can be well combined with our last perspective, the
international comparison. The ren aissance of entrep reneurs hip and the role of im migran ts is
certainly no t just of con cern in th e Neth erlands. As stated , this deve lopme nt also take s place in
other advanced economies. Until now almost no international comparative research has been carried
out (for exceptions see Ward, 1987; Morokvasic, 1993; Morokvasic, Phizacklea and Rudolph,
1986; M orokvasic, W aldinger and Phizacklea, 1 990; Ra zin, 1993 ).5 This sca rcity is proba bly
explained by the great conceptual complexity and problems involved with the gathering of
comparable data (Kloosterman, 1998). The design and implementation of systematic international
comparative research, for example, from within the institutional framework, could lead to the
development of a new vision on immigrant entrepreneurship whereby new relationships may come
to light.
Entrepreneurship h as many facets; the ethno-cultural background of the entrepren eur is just
one of th ese. W ith the ab ove me ntioned suggeste d persp ectives, it will b e possib le to link this
specific facet systematically with others. Linking up with other perspectives to economic activities
will allow fo r a broad er und erstandin g of imm igrant en treprene urship than is n ow pos sible and will,
eventu ally, contrib ute mea ningfu lly to other dis ciplines in the Neth erlands a nd, m ore imp ortant,
abroad. This step is in the long term not only fruitful for the incorporation of immigrant
entrepre neurs in an adva nced ec onom y but for the emanc ipation o f those w ho do re search on this
subjec t ·
15
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Table 1 Entrepreneurs in the Netherlands according to land of origin, and their share in the
corresponding labour force, 1986, 1992 and 1997
Number of entrepreneursShare of entrepreneurs in the labour force (%)
198619921997198619921997
Surinam1,7254,1486,2332,04.55,4
Dutch Antilles/Aruba4051,0031,6292,94.66,3
Turkey1,8955,3857,4532,97,812,2
Morocco8661,9122,8443.35,05,9
Other Mediterranean countries 2,0743,2414,2044,97,77,9
Subtotal immigrant entrepreneurs from Surinam, Dutch Antilles/Aruba, and Mediterranean
countries6,96515,68922,3633.36.07,4
China (incl. Hong Kong)2,3863,2244,794--Rest450,649541,087632,843--Total 460,000560,000660,0008,08,910,1
Source: van den Tillaart & Poutsma 1998: 39-40.
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Notes
1
Surinamese, Dutch Antilleans and Arubans, Turks, Moroccans, immigrants from other
Med iterranean countrie s, Chin ese (inclu ding th ose from Hong Kong ) constitute the maj ority
of the so-ca lled target g roups o f minority p olicies as con ducted by the D utch go vernm ent.
These target groups include second and third generation immigrants from these areas, but
2
3
exclude immigrants from oth er origins.
Anno unceme nt by the IOT to one of the au thors (Novem ber 1994 ).
BEA estimated roughly 1,.000 entrepreneurs from these target groups. Baetsen and Voskamp
(1991:49), however, counted in their survey in Rotterdam a significantly smaller number of
4
employees: in total 126 jobs to 56 imm igrant businesses.
We could only find a short passage on Chinese eating houses and restaurants in the
contribution by Vellinga and Wolters to the collection Allochtonen in Nederland (1973:223-
5
224).
Under the auspices of IMES, University of Amsterdam, international comparative research of
immigrant businesses in the garment industry in Britain, France, The Netherlands and the
United States is cu rrently bein g carried o ut.
27
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