2036: Ethnic Entrepreneurship in Sub–Saharan Africa (16083)

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

11:30 – 13:00 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

Location: Hyatt: Plaza Ballroom A

Session Number: 2036
Paper Session
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/JQJ6ky

Author(s)

MT

Mahdi Tajeddin

Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's U., Canada
AS

Amon Simba

Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent U., United Kingdom
SK

Sorin Krammer

Surrey Business School, United Kingdom
KM

Kaveh Moghaddam

U. of Houston, Victoria, United States

This study investigates the performance of ethnic entrepreneurs in sub–Saharan Africa, focusing on labor productivity and export intensity. It challenges the prevailing notion that businesses established by ethnic entrepreneurs (from developed and developing economies) underperform due to limited resources, suggesting instead that such entities may surpass local firms by leveraging their ‘assets of foreignness’ and dual-context social embeddedness. Our analysis of 8,691 firms across 41 African countries shows ethnic entrepreneurs, notably from developed economies, outperform local firms. The findings contribute to the ethnic entrepreneurship literature by elucidating the competitive advantage derived from foreignness and its role in enhancing export performance. This study offers a fresh perspective on entrepreneurial success in the heterogeneous and dynamic sub–Saharan African market.

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