Title: The new landscape of immigrant entrepreneurship in France

Authors: Emmanuel Ma Mung, Bernard Dinh

Addresses: MIGRINTER (International Migrations, Spaces and Societies), UMR 6588, CNRS-Universite de Poitiers, 99, Avenue du Recteur Pineau, 86000 Poitiers, France. ' MIGRINTER (International Migrations, Spaces and Societies), UMR 6588, CNRS-Universite de Poitiers, 99, Avenue du Recteur Pineau, 86000 Poitiers, France

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to draw a statistical portrait of the immigrant entrepreneurship in France and provide elements of interpretation. The most visible shape of this entrepreneurship is trade, but the craft industry is numerically important. For 20 years, French researchers have highlighted a series of explanatory factors. If the segmentation of activities and the development of subcontracting significantly supported the increase of the immigrant companies in the craft sector, research undertaken on foreign tradesmen strongly suggests that the existence of more favourable conditions. Today, new approaches are based on an economy of diaspora and/or a circulatory economy.

Keywords: immigrant entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; craftsmen; shopkeepers; statistics; segmentation; subcontracting; illegal work; construction; garment industry; trade; adaptation; resources; strategies; transnational networks; diaspora economy; circulatory economy; France; apparel industry; clothing industry; immigrant business; globalisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2007.014433

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2007 Vol.1 No.2, pp.241 - 257

Published online: 08 Jul 2007 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article