Immigrant entrepreneurship: the case of Turkish entrepreneurs in the United States

Abstract

The ever-changing structural and relational facets of immigrant entrepreneurial activities have created missing dominos in the literature and policy development in the USA. This article explores entrepreneurial activities among immigrant entrepreneurs with Turkish roots in the US ceramic and marble industry. R package for qualitative data analysis (RQDA) was used to analyze interview data obtained through a snowball sampling technique. Results reveal that (1) Turkish entrepreneurs migrated to the USA for several reasons; (2) factors such as entrepreneurial capital, intellectual capital, social capital, family capital, and financial capital emerge as key motivators for entrepreneurial activities; and (3) characteristics (i.e., personal attributes, psychological traits, and capital) and challenges faced by Turkish immigrant entrepreneurs are unveiled. In sum, this paper provides an integrative insight on important resources for Turkish immigrant entrepreneurs.