Can overseas migrants develop sustained entrepreneurship? Multiple case studies of Wenzhou migrants in Italy

Abstract

This study focuses on Wenzhou migrants and explains the developmental path of overseas migrants’ sustained entrepreneurship. It also analyzes how migrant entrepreneurs fit into the Italian culture to improve ambidextrous innovation ability. This paper applies the methods of induction and longitudinal study, conducts case studies on four migrant entrepreneurs, and explores embedding strategies in different developmental stages of entrepreneurship. Our analysis reveals that Wenzhou migrants’ enterprises are able to develop interactive fusion with the Italian culture. The embedded culture also plays different roles in motivating innovation at different stages of entrepreneurship. The types of connections between the Wenzhou migrants’ cluster network and their embedded culture in the regional economy evolves as the stages of entrepreneurship change. These results enrich existing theories and offer valuable insights into the study of overseas migrants’ sustained entrepreneurship.