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The bicultural identity of knowledge-intensive Turkish-Dutch SME entrepreneurs and their innovative behavior

Braam, Nienke (2013) The bicultural identity of knowledge-intensive Turkish-Dutch SME entrepreneurs and their innovative behavior.

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Abstract:Problem: The Turkish entrepreneurs have become a sizeable and growing section of the Dutch economy and deserves scientific attention. However, the majority of the past studies about Turkish or other ethnic entrepreneurs have focused on differences in the entry decisions. Little is known about the personal characteristics and success conditions of Turkish or other ethnic entrepreneurs. Immigration and acculturation have been associated with a number of health risk behaviors and psychological problems. The past research have made clear that the dual cultural heritage of immigrants has outcomes in both positive and negative terms. It seems that for some immigrants the bicultural background can be advantageous, and for other immigrants it can be a large drawback. Purpose: This study seeks to examine how an ethnic entrepreneur can use his or her background as an advantage, and especially in situations where innovation is important. Based on the idea that innovation is a crucial part of the entrepreneurial process and fundamental for business success, this study examines the effect of a bicultural identity on entrepreneurial innovative behavior. Entrepreneurs with an integrated bicultural identity may show a higher degree of innovative behavior, by drawing on the different life experiences, cultural traditions and social challenges of different communities. Methodology: A quantitative survey was structured with mostly closed questions. To measure the constructs Likert scaling was used. The questionnaire was send to Turkish-Dutch SME entrepreneurs in knowledge-intensive industries. The Dillman method was used to achieve a high response rate. The final response rate was 37.2% (n = 115). Conclusions: An integrated bicultural identity seemed to be significantly positively correlated with the innovative behavior of the Turkish-Dutch entrepreneur. Moreover, cognitive adaptability was proposed as a mediator and results give evidence that the relation between BII and individual innovative behavior was mediated by this variable. It applies for Turkish-Dutch entrepreneurs that the level of openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion, a systematic working style, and an innovation climate, all positively relate to their innovative behavior. On the contrary, the level of emotional stability is negatively related to innovative behavior.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64426
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