Exploring social capital influencing entrepreneurial process among immigrant entrepreneurs in Malaysia

Immigrant entrepreneurship has been widely discussed in various perspectives. Yet, their entrepreneurial process has received less attention from the aspect of social capital. This paper intends to explore the role of social capital dimensions (structural, relational, and cognitive) in the entrepreneurial process (discovery and exploitation of opportunity). In-depth interview approach was conducted with six Thai immigrant restaurant-preneurs (TIRps) in Malaysia. The findings revealed that the structural social capital is the most important dimension for TIRps highlighting the supports from family and friends which transpired at both stages of the entrepreneurial process. The study that is based on social capital and entrepreneurial process perspectives also demonstrated the significance of local consumers’ eating-out habits identified as structural social capital and local preferences for Thai cuisines identified as cognitive social capital. This signifies the emergence of the Consumer Culture Theory in research on immigrant entrepreneurship. This study contributes to an integrated model of immigrant entrepreneurship and a set of propositions. For practicality, the findings provide some guidelines for policymakers to develop training programmes by leveraging on social capital for further development of Malaysian entrepreneurs

PUSH AND PULL FACTORS INFLUENCING THAI IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN MALAYSIA

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand the push and pull factors that influence Thai immigrant entrepreneurs (TIEs) to conduct a business in Malaysia. As a neighbouring country, Malaysia is one of the favourite migration destinations for TIEs, with an influx of them involved in restaurant businesses across the country. This phenomenon offers this study with an unconventional background for immigrant entrepreneurship as it occurs within the context of developing, non-Western countries.   Methodology: Outlined by previous studies on push and pull factors of immigration and immigrant entrepreneurship, this research employed a qualitative approach focusing on the experiences of six TIEs operating Thai/Siamese restaurants in Bandar Baru Bangi, a town located approximately 30 km south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Data were collected mainly through face-to-face interviews among owners of restaurants in their premises, which ensures richness in the data.   Findings: The findings indicated several categories of business-based emigration factors for TIEs to Malaysia, spanning from economic, political, and social factors.   Contributions: Overall, the present research extends the knowledge of immigrant entrepreneurship especially within the non-Western context. Practice-wise, this study provides implications for policymakers in relation to business activities conducted by migrants in neighbouring countries, which are useful for both Malaysia and Thailand as the host and the origin country respectively.   Keywords: Thai immigrant entrepreneurs, Thailand, Malaysia, restaurant business, push and pull factors.   Cite as: Yanai, L., Che Senik, Z., Muhamad, N. S., Abd Hamid, H., & Jamaludin, N. A. (2020). Push and pull factors influencing Thai immigrant entrepreneurs conducting business in Malaysia. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 5(2), 19-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss2pp19-4

Opportunity recognition in immigrant entrepreneurship through social capital and geographical proximity: a conceptual framework

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework of the role of social capital as an ultimate resource for immigrant entrepreneurs in recognising entrepreneurial opportunities. Research consistently reveals that immigrants have higher tendency to engage in entrepreneurial activities in countries where they reside. Based on a review of existing literature, resources such as human, social, and financial capital facilitate immigrants to pursue entrepreneurial activities. In recognising business opportunities, social contexts have immensely influenced the entrepreneurial process. However, the role of social capital as an ultimate resource for immigrant entrepreneurship have yet to be comprehensively understood. Social capital is significantly related to the information flows, the trust and norms between individuals. Additionally, the geographical proximity between immigrants and their co-ethnic groups and local communities which enable more rigorous social exchanges plays prevalence role for immigrants to pursue entrepreneurial activities. Therefore, we could argue that the social capital and immigrant entrepreneurs’ geographical proximity are crucial constructs for immigrant entrepreneurs to recognise opportunities for their business ventures in a host country. The review of past literature enables us to develop a conceptual framework on how social capital and geographical proximity may assist the opportunity recognition of immigrant entrepreneurs. The proposed conceptual framework offers three general propositions than can be empirically validated in future research. This paper contributes to enhance the understanding of immigrant entrepreneurship from the lens of opportunity recognition, social capital and geographical proximity

Impak inovasi pemasaran dalam pengkomersialan pelancongan luar bandar: kajian kes program inap desa di Semenanjung Malaysia

Dalam mendepani persekitaran luaran yang semakin mencabar, pelancongan luar bandar sewajarnya bertindak lebih proaktif dalam mengkomersialkan produk mereka agar dapat terus berdaya saing. Begitu juga program inap desa yang menawarkan produk pelancongan unik dilihat berpotensi menyumbang kepada pembangunan sosioekonomi negara. Namun, terdapat program inap desa yang mengalami kadar penurunan pelancong ekoran kurangnya inovasi dalam teknik pemasaran. Justeru, objektif kajian ini adalah untuk menerokai impak pelaksanaan inovasi pemasaran terhadap prestasi program inap desa. Bagi mencapai objektif kajian, kaedah penyelidikan kualitatif telah digunakan yang melibatkan temu bual secara bersemuka dengan penyelaras program inap desa. Lapan buah program inap desa di Semenanjung Malaysia telah dipilih berdasarkan kepada beberapa kriteria yang telah ditetapkan. Hasil temu bual ini dianalisis mengunakan teknik analisis kandungan. Kajian mendapati inovasi pemasaran yang dilaksanakan meliputi tiga kategori iaitu penyertaan program komersial, jalinan usahaniaga agensi luar dan penggunaan medium digital. Inovasi tersebut telah memberi impak terhadap prestasi program inap desa dari aspek pertambahan penglibatan komuniti dan pencapaian anugerah homestay. Implikasinya, dapatan kajian ini menyumbang kepada perkembangan ilmu keusahawanan dengan menekankan kepentingan inovasi terutamanya inovasi pemasaran dan prestasi pelancongan luar bandar. Hasil kajian ini berguna kepada pemain industri sebagai panduan untuk meningkatkan teknik pemasaran yang lebih berkesan dalam usaha mengkomersialkan program inap desa ke peringkat global

Developing a cybernetics approach to analysing inclusive growth constraints

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth supports the transformation of society towards a better quality of life and well-being. Therefore, it is crucial to diagnose the binding factors to growth. However, existing frameworks of growth diagnostics and inclusive growth analytics, which are widely used to analyse growth problems, mainly focused on a snapshot of growth constraints of a selected location at a particular point of time. Applications of these frameworks are not fully capable of addressing the dynamic nature of growth. Moreover, most existing applications of growth frameworks are mainly predictive studies, thus they do not fully support the effort of identifying the root cause of growth problem. This calls for a more comprehensive approach to diagnosing growth problems. Building upon the existing growth diagnostics and inclusive growth analytics frameworks, as well as on cybernetics and systems-based approach, we develop a cybernetics approach to analysing inclusive growth constraints. This approach enables analysis of the dynamic nature of growth, which supports the identification of growth constraint variables and mapping of their relationships, based on data gathered about the location

Motivation to Grow Women Entrepreneurs' Home-Based Businesses

Entrepreneurs play an important role in the economy's development. Compared to men, a higher number of women are becoming entrepreneurs. There is a commensurate interest in examining who these women are, what motivates them to become business owners, and what influences their economic success. This paper explores the motivational factors faced by female entrepreneurs as they grow their home-based business (HBB). The research has been conducted via interviews with women entrepreneurs that are involved in HBB, which is located in the Klang Valley area in Malaysia. Results show that women owning and managing HBBs are motivated to grow their business through intrinsic motivations, including a need for independence and a need for achievement. They are also motivated by extrinsic motivations, which are financial issues, fame, and positive feedback from others. The result of this study will help all women entrepreneurs in HBB to always grow and to educate every family, society, and institutions to always support them. This paper also adds to the theory of what motivates people to start their own businesses and to research on what motivates people to grow

Distribution-support technologies in commercialisation: the Malaysia research universities (RU) experiences

This article explores the experiences of Research Universities (RU) on distribution-support technologies in commercialisation with a specific focus in the Malaysian context. Research design, data and methodology: A qualitative research was carried out, in which six RU were interviewed. A structured interview was conducted. To analyse and interpret the data was using an approach adopted in qualitative thematic strategy. The findings were transcribed using Atlas.ti software to analyse related themes through a thematic analysis approach to link theories. Results: The findings provide useful insights into the significant roles of distribution-support technologies on the commercialisation strategy and impacts on the ecosystem of innovation and commercialisation in providing the importance of Distribution-support Technologies to strengthen the role of university-industry-community relation to drive the economy towards a high-income nation. Conclusions: This study will contribute theory through commercialisation literature by adding new knowledge concerning the link between universities and distribution-support technologies in commercialisation. Therefore, the practical contributions are significant for universities; industries; research institutes; government and societies to develop and plan strategically for effective, strategic and sustainable distribution-support technologies in innovation and commercialisation ecosystem