Pieces of Myself all Over the World: Multiple Identities and Diaspora Entrepreneurship

How much is the location of one’s firm determined by the location of one’s self? As an international entrepreneur, the location of self is complicated and contingent. Global transitions are often represented in one’s self-concept, bifurcating people’s self-definitions into home and host, blood and soil, overlapping or conflicting with gender, familial and other identities.However, extant literature largely emphasizes the role of diaspora members’ “psychological bond with the country of origin” and ignores other identities that may influence diaspora economic engagement (Chand & Tung, 2014). Furthermore, the literature seems to focus on first-generation immigrants (Gillespie et al. 1999), and implicitly assumes that second generation family members identify with their parents’ country of origin, too (Alba & Waters, 2012).In reality, second generation diaspora members’ country of origin is the parents’ host country, and socialization provides a background for multiple identities (Ramarajan, 2014). The effect of multiple identity formation further increases when diaspora members are born to or part of mixed couples and/ or have a history of migration patterns across multiple countries (e.g. Indians born in Canada to Indian parents who were born in Tanzania whose grandparents were the original migrants from India). Thus, concepts such as “country of origin” become blurred. That is, operating at the intersection of multiple worlds can make working across borders desirable and potentially also more rewarding. Thus, how second generation diaspora members choose where and how to engage economically with their “home” and “host” countries is an important question. Indeed, from a long-term perspective, countries that have large, economically vibrant diasporas abroad should be interested in maintaining links and remaining attractive not just to migrants, but also their descendants.In this research, we focus on second-generation immigrants and their economic engagement with their “country of origin” and country of residence. We combine theories on multiple identities (Ramarajan, 2014) with that of diaspora entrepreneurship and investment (e.g. Sonderegger and Täube, 2010; Vaaler, 2011). Specifically, we consider how second-generation immigrants’ identities (home, host, gender and familial) influence the formation of new ventures and contrast that with other forms of economic engagement such as remittances and international career moves.

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