Entrepreneurial immigrants: the cost of failure

Business immigration policies are predicated on the basis that entrepreneurial immigrants bring value to their new country's economy (BERL & NZIS, 1999; Nana, Sanderson, Goodchild, & BERL, 2003; NZIS, 1997). The barriers faced by business immigrants, especially those who speak English as a second language, are well documented (Fletcher, 1999; Ho, Cheung, Bedford, & Leung, 2000). In large cities these barriers have traditionally been overcome by such immigrants utilizing the ethnic social capital available within their communities (Portes & Sensenbrenner, 1993). However, studies of immigrant entrepreneurs have occurred in large cities such as Toronto, Miami, and New York. What happens when immigrants enter a smaller population in Auckland, New Zealand, where small, ethnic immigrant populations are less able to sustain new immigrant businesses?