Från 1918 och framåt har invandringsströmmen varit större än utvandringen i Sverige. Till följd av att invandringen har överstigit utvandringen de senaste 95 åren är detta en av faktorerna som har bidragit till folkökningen i Sverige. Den stigande folkökningen i Sverige har skapat en mer konkurrenskraftig arbetsmarknad, där efterfrågan av sysselsättning ökar men utbudet är begränsat. En del av de utrikes födda har haft svårighet att hitta sysselsättning under en längre period på grund av målgruppens begränsningar. För lösa denna problematik har flera invandrare startat eget företag. Flertal av invandrarföretagare har olika former av begränsningar exempelvis språkliga, juridiska och formella. De har ett annat karaktärsdrag än etnisk svenskar, därför är invandrarföretagarens preferenser om vilka faktorer som är väsentliga vid val av revisor vara skiljaktig mot en etnisk svensk. Vilket leder till vår forskningsfråga som undersöker vilka faktorer påverkar val av revisor för småföretagare med utländsk bakgrund? Syftet med forskningen är att förstå vilka faktorer som är väsentliga när en småföretagare med utländsk bakgrund väljer sin revisor med tanke på företagarens begränsningar. En hermeneutisk forskningsfilosofi har använts under studien med en abduktiv forskningsansats och en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden har utförts genom intervjuer, där intervjuerna har utförts med fem respondenter i Region Skåne. Svaren som genererades utifrån intervjuerna analyseras i utgångspunkt med förslagen som har tagits fram i teoretisk referensramen. Slutsatsen indikerar att invandrarföretagares begränsningar påverkar deras val av revisor. I denna studie har vi kunnat påvisa samband mellan olika begränsningar och olika specifika faktorer hos revisorn. Ett samband som kunde påvisas är exempelvis invandrarföretagarens begränsningar i svenska och revisorns förmåga att tala företagarens modersmål. / Since 1918 onwards, the immigration has been greater in Sweden than the emigration. As a result of immigration exceeding the amount of emigration in the past 95 years, it is one of the elements contributing to the increase in population in Sweden. The growing population in Sweden has created a competitive labor market, where demand for work increases but the supply is limited. Finding employment for a longer period has shown to be a difficult for some non-natives because of the restrictions of the target group. To solve this problem, many immigrants choose to start their own company. Many immigrant entrepreneurs have different restrictions, for instance; linguistic, legal, and formal. They posses contrasting characteristics from ethnic Swedes, hence having contrasting preferences from ethnic Swedes about which factors are essential when choosing auditors. Accordingly, it leads to our research question which examines what factors affect the choice of auditor for small business owners with a foreign background? The aim of this research is to understand the essential factors for small business owners with a foreign background, considering their restrictions, when choosing an auditor. A hermeneutic research philosophy with an abductive research approach and a qualitative research method has been used in this study. The qualitative research method has been carried out through interviews, where the interviews were conducted with five respondents in Region Skåne. The answers from the interviews are analyzed based on the propositions that were developed in the theoretical framework. The conclusion indicates that the restrictions of immigrant entrepreneurs affect their choice of auditor. In this study we have been able to demonstrate a correlation between different restrictions and different specific factors of the auditor. A correlation that could be demonstrated is for example the immigrant entrepreneur’s restrictions in the Swedish language and the auditor’s ability to speak the business owner’s mother tongue.

Most immigrants relocate to the "land of opportunities" in search of greener pastures. Because of their desperate circumstances, they often work much harder than the average American to succeed. Strong social ties embedded in ethnic communities of immigrant populations have been considered vital assets for immigrant entrepreneurs (Yang et al. 2011, p. 639). However, little quantitative research has been done on the influence of biological kinship and altruism within the arena of ethnic entrepreneurs. It is well-documented that successful immigrant entrepreneurs and businesses can create jobs for others as well. Members of the same ethnic group often form communities in a host country. These communities live near one another, speaking the same language and honouring the same culture. These factors play an essential role in immigrant entrepreneurship and the creation of enclave businesses. Ethnic economies potentially provide a protected market for production of ethnic goods and an opportunity for greater business networks - including providing experience and apprenticeship to co-ethnic employees. In this study, the hypothesis is that small businesses founded and operated by immigrants are much more likely to hire immigrants, especially immigrants from a home country identical or similar to their own. The data collected by questionnaire was analysed using the Social Sciences Statistical Package (SPSS). Frequency distribution tables were used to analyse the research questions. To accept or reject the hypothesis, a statistical analysis was conducted. The formulated hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics chi-square. As far as immigrant entrepreneurs and their businesses are concerned, the descriptive study methodology used to test the hypothesis was successful in the sense that the results validated the idea that indeed immigrant small business owners are drawn towards other immigrants, preferably of their own ethnic or cultural background.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / At the beginning of the XXI century, more specifically in the last decade, the state of Sergipe, north-eastern region of Brazil, became destination for groups of foreign immigrants who started their businesses in the state, among these entrepreneurial immigrants, a group of Italians active in area of real estate development and construction. A case study based on the analytical approach of mixed embeddedness was conducted on this group with a theoretical focus on post-industrial theories. In the mentioned model, the individual (entrepreneur) and his/ her relations don´t have total centrality as object of analysis, but also the “structure of opportunities” in which they are inserted and also the political-institutional framework in force in a given time and place are considered for analyses. In the analysis of this process are also implied the exploration of forms of capital and the resources mobilized by those entrepreneurs. The study evidenced that in the experience and performance of the Italians in Sergipe, the fragility experienced by them in terms of social capital and, to some extent, human capital, was shown to be ameliorated by high economic capital and, to some extent, also by ethnic capital. It was demonstrated that an adequate understanding of the business dynamics of this group requires an evaluation of how they manage to mobilize said forms of capital within the specific political, social and economic framework of Sergipe region in the period. / Neste início de século XXI, mais especificamente na última década, o estado de Sergipe, na região nordeste do Brasil, passou a ser destino de grupos de imigrantes empreendedores estrangeiros que abriram negócios no estado. Entre esses imigrantes empreendedores, um grupo de italianos atuantes na área de incorporação imobiliária e construção civil. Na abordagem de tal grupo, foi conduzido um estudo de caso, sob a perspectiva analítica do mixed embeddedness, priorizando o enfoque teórico nas teorias pós-industriais, em vistas de explicação do referido movimento migratório. No referido modelo, o indivíduo (empreendedor) e suas relações deixam de ter total centralidade enquanto objeto de análise, para se considerar também a importância da estrutura de oportunidades na qual se insere e ainda o quadro político-institucional vigente em dado tempo e local. Na análise do caso, são implicados ainda a exploração das formas de capital e dos recursos mobilizados por tais empreendedores. O estudo indicou que na experiência e desempenho dos italianos em Sergipe, a fragilidade vivenciada em termos de capital social no que tange ao local de destino e, de algum modo, do capital humano, mostrou ser amenizado por meio do alto capital econômico e, em certa medida, também do capital étnico do qual são detentores. Constatou-se que uma adequada compreensão da dinâmica dos negócios desse grupo, requer uma avaliação de como conseguem mobilizar as referidas formas de capital dentro do específico quadro político, social e econômico da região de Sergipe no período. / São Cristóvão, SE

New venture internationalization differs from that of large established firms and is an important research inquiry for international entrepreneurship. In the past 30 years, studies on new venture internationalization have proliferated but with fragmented nature. The first study reviews extant studies regarding conceptual and methodological developments of international new ventures (INVs) through content analysis of 74 influential works. Particularly, this study focuses on the determinants and performance of INVs at the entrepreneur, firm, and environment levels. We then identify significant gaps within this stream of research and suggest future research directions. The second study explores the effect of founding team ethnic composition on a new venture's internationalization strategic choice and then examines the consequent performance implications of INV strategy. A new venture with an ethnically diversified founding team could leverage international experience and network of each of its founders, thereby influencing its recognition of opportunities and access to resources to pursue internationalization strategy. Analyzing longitudinal data of 4,928 new ventures in Kauffman Firm Survey, our empirical results suggest that more immigrant entrepreneurs in a new venture's founding team are more likely to pursue INV strategy while more US citizen entrepreneurs in a founding team will pursue domestic new venture (DNV) strategy. Furthermore, an INV has higher revenues than a DNV but there is no difference in profits between them. The findings suggest that early internationalization is critical to immigrant-started new ventures through revenue growth. The third study explores the survival of ethnic new ventures, particularly testing the roles of INV and ethnic entrepreneurs' immigration status. New ventures are more likely to fail in early years of formation as they face liability of newness and smallness. We found that ethnic new ventures overall have a lower likelihood of survival compared with non-ethnic new ventures. But, ethnic new ventures could increase survival through INV strategy and immigration status. After ethnic entrepreneurs' naturalization, ethnic new ventures could achieve legitimacy, seeking further social capital in host country. Meanwhile, INV strategy could compensate for ethnic new venture's liability of ethnicity in host country. By incorporating diaspora and ethnic entrepreneurship literature, my dissertation focuses on the role of immigrants on early internationalization strategy and the effect of such strategy on performance and survival of their started new ventures, further advancing the understanding of international entrepreneurship. / Business Administration/International Business Administration

Immigrant entrepreneurs are seen in many societies in present days, no exception for a country like Sweden with a significant number of foreign-born populations. This thesis gets in touch with current immigrant entrepreneurs in the country to obtain first-hand experiences in the entrepreneurial process. The thesis explores the factors affecting these immigrant entrepreneurs in business establishment from the first-person point of view. Employing the mixed embeddedness approach in analysis, the thesis investigates the interactions between the immigrant entrepreneurs and the environment. Every part of the society and individual characteristics could impact the decision made by immigrant entrepreneurs regarding business establishment. The establishment of business is a result of contributions from many different elements surrounding the immigrant entrepreneur. This thesis represents some of the many actual experiences in the Swedish society. There is still an extensive field left to explore and many diversified experiences to be discovered.