Expatriate entrepreneurship : the role of accelerators in network formation and resource acquisition

Abstract: Immigrant entrepreneurship is an increasingly important socio-economic phenomenon. To date, immigrant entrepreneurship research has focused on immigrants that decide to engage in self-employment after having established themselves in the host country. Whereas this is arguably the case for the vast majority of immigrant entrepreneurs, it does not cover the field in its totality. This thesis is devoted to the study and analysis of those that emigrate in order to launch a business.  I denote this novel group of immigrant entrepreneurs as expatriate entrepreneurs, and I place them into the context of research of entrepreneurship among immigrants. This dissertation also examines how accelerators can assist expatriate entrepreneurs by providing a soft landing upon their arrival in the host country, thereby contributing to understanding how accelerator programmes facilitate new venture creation for expatriate entrepreneurs. Using a multiple-case study at the world’s three first government-funded acceleration programmes that specifically target expatriate entrepreneurs, I hereby show that accelerators are major facilitators of expatriate entrepreneurship due to their ability to support network formation and resource acquisition.