Social Capital as a Resource for Migrant Entrepreneurship

In her explorative study that is based on data from 62 qualitative interviews, Elena Sommer examines the use of social capital for entrepreneurial activities of self-employed migrants from the former Soviet Union in Germany. She analyses what type of social capital is used by migrants as a resource for the formation and development of small businesses and how entrepreneurial social networks of migrants change over time. The study illustrates that the use of business-related social relationships of the interviewed self-employed depends on the company's market strategy as well as on access to relevant social networks.