Immigrant entrepreneurship from a social psychological perspective

Social and Psychological Capital for the Start-Up of Social Enterprises With a Migratory Background

The highest number of forcibly displaced people has been currently recorded due to war, poverty, and climate change. Recently, a process that recognizes refugees as reliable interlocutors for the improvement of reception policies has started. Refugees are therefore encouraged to start up social enterprises aimed at fostering newcomers’ social integration to participate to such a phenomenon. Positive Psychology, with its focus on human strengths, allows to identify the resources that pushed refugees to turn the difficulties they faced during the journey and the resettlement process into resources for themselves and for the resettlement community. The following paper explores in particular the interplay between social and psychological capital that is at the base of a similar social entrepreneurship project through a case study. A qualitative research has been carried out within a social enterprise with a migratory background to analyze the internal and relational resources that brought founders to start up the venture. Results show that while social and psychological capital were independently activated to start from scratch in the resettlement community, they occurred in interrelation in a subsequent phase when participants transformed their direct experiences related to migration into the human capital of their enterprise.

How Does Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Influence Innovation Behavior? Exploring the Mechanism of Job Satisfaction and Zhongyong Thinking

Innovation behavior for entrepreneurship is known as a driving force to obtain competitive advantages. As a key quality for entrepreneurial success, the mechanism of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) acting on innovation behavior needs further verification, which has led to the primary objective of this paper via applying the Goal Self-Concordance Theory, as well as to further building a theoretical model. Two hundred forty-nine samples of Chinese entrepreneurs have been empirically analyzed in this study, contributing to the following findings. Firstly, ESE has significantly positive effects on entrepreneurial innovation behavior. Secondly, job satisfaction plays a mediating role between ESE and innovation behavior. Thirdly, Zhongyong thinking moderates the relationship between ESE and job satisfaction. The research results might deliver great value in cultivating ESE, encouraging positive entrepreneurial attitude, enhancing job satisfaction, and ultimately inspiring innovation behaviors.