Immigrant self-employment and transnational practices: the case of Moroccan entrepreneurs in Amsterdam and Milan

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the relationship between transnational practices and immigrant entrepreneurship, focusing more closely on immigrant entrepreneurs who own a business spanning across borders (i.e. transnational immigrant entrepreneurship), and comparing them with the general category of immigrant entrepreneurs - those focusing on the domestic market in their chosen country of immigration - (i.e. domestic immigrant entrepreneurs). In order to do that, the thesis illustrates the case of Moroccan entrepreneurs in Amsterdam and Milan (N=70). More in particular, the study explores how those immigrant entrepreneurs who own a cross-border business identify and seize business opportunities. The goal is to understand how this group diverges from the general category of immigrant entrepreneurs, and what are the different patterns of transnational immigrant entrepreneurship.