Prof. Haiyang Li (Rice University)

Programm

• Datum: 27.05.2010  
  Zeit: 17:15-18:45
  Ort: Raum 307, Schackstr. 4/3. OG

Performance Differentials between Returnee and Home-grown Entrepreneurs: Evidence from China`s Technology Industries

It has been observed that a growing number of migrants have gone back to their home countries in emerging markets to found or head new ventures after they received an education and/or worked in developed countries. In this study, we examine whether new ventures headed by returnee entrepreneurs perform better than those headed by home-grown entrepreneurs. With panel data on a sample of new ventures in China’s technology industries, we find that on average new ventures headed by returnees outperform those headed by home-growners. More important, such performance differential is context specific: It is stronger in industries with a higher level of foreign direct investment (FDI) penetration and it exists only in private-owned ventures but not in state- and collectively-owned ventures. These results suggest that returnee entrepreneurs are more likely to create value when they are in an institutional context that is more similar to the Western contexts where the returnees have developed and accumulated their skills and experience.