TUM School of Management, Technical U. of Munich, Germany
This paper examines the role of digital technologies in the legitimation process of women immigrant entrepreneurs to mobilize resources. To gain legitimacy, women immigrant entrepreneurs must fulfill multiple roles as (1) entrepreneurs, (2) women, and (3) immigrants. Recent research knows little about how different roles women immigrant entrepreneurs take influence the resource mobilization process. In this study, we followed ten immigrant entrepreneurs who participated in an accelerator program in Sweden, their private surroundings, the accelerator program organizers, and non-women immigrant entrepreneurs. We build a model of the resource mobilization process and how digital technologies facilitate the entrepreneurs’ role formation. The model proposes that women immigrant entrepreneurs form a legitimate entrepreneurial role, using digital technologies, which helps them build a supportive professional network to mobilize resources. Our findings offer new insights into the literatures on role theory and resource mobilization of women immigrant entrepreneurs.
