1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«Compared to the issue of transition in family businesses, the transmission of entrepreneurial spirit is not a topic that has been well developed over the course of the last decades. The aim of the present paper is therefore to identify some of the principal factors that lead to this transmission.» (p. 41)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«What main factors influence sons and daughters of immigrant entrepreneurs in their decisions to take over from their parents or start new businesses? This question leads to two complementary propositions: […] transmission of entrepreneurial spirit is closely linked to the way parents transmit the culture of origin to their progeny; and […] it is possible to transmit entrepreneurial spirit only when the parents’ business is doing well in terms of growth.» (p. 40)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The collection of data includes elements from 15 […] interviews with young people (between 20 and 35 years of age) from ethno-cultural minorities whose parents immigrated to the Montreal region and were, or are still, in business.» (p. 44)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

According to the author, «many factors may lead to the transmission of entrepreneurial spirit between first and second-generation immigrants. […] Parents do not have a direct influence on the development of an entrepreneurial spirit among their offspring […] It is more appropriate, given the context, to develop an innovative, entrepreneurial mind-set among the second generation than to focus on their takeover of the family business. […] Interviewees identify more with an “open culture”, close to a cosmopolitan identity, rather than with a specific ethnic identity […] Interviewees do not see the society to which their parents migrated as discriminatory, but as a land of opportunity […] Entrepreneurship empowerment among second-generation immigrants should focus on the possibilities offered by new products, new opportunities and new markets rather than on perpetuating traditional niches occupied by ethnic minority entrepreneurs.» (p. 49-50) Note that according to the author, «[…] as the values transmitted, the family dynamic and the culture of origin are an integral part of the second generation’s desire to become entrepreneurs, to take risks and to distance themselves from formal networks as a means to enter the workforce. [But, the] transmission of entrepreneurial spirit from the first to the second generation among ethno-cultural minorities does not take place in a uniform manner.» (p. 52)