An exploratory study of the role and motivations of immigrant artisan food entrepreneurs in regional food networks in Ireland

IntroductionImmigrant entrepreneurs enrich global economies with reported evidence of significant contributions by immigrants to business incomes (Fairlie, 2008), particularly in high tech industries. However augmenting... [ view full abstract ]

Introduction

Immigrant entrepreneurs enrich global economies with reported evidence of significant contributions by immigrants to business incomes (Fairlie, 2008), particularly in high tech industries. However augmenting evidence demonstrating the contributions immigrant entrepreneurs make to other industries including the food industry is important for the economy in Ireland as its food and drinks industry is valued at approximately €26 billion turnover (FDII, 2016). This industry is estimated to consist of 1,100 food businesses of which over 90% are considered small to medium sized enterprises (DAFM, 2011). Traditionally this industry consisted mainly of indigenous businesses but an increasing number of food businesses are being established by immigrant entrepreneurs. This is consistent with global trends where the rate of nascent or new business establishment is higher in foreign born persons than native born persons (Lofstrom, 2017) with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor stating that 40% of new business owners in Ireland in 2016 were born outside of Ireland (Fitzsimons and O’Gorman, 2017).

The establishment of SMEs by persons born outside Ireland is particularly evident in the artisan food sector valued at €632 million (Bord Bia, 2015). Speciality or artisan food producers contribute widely to rural economies (McKitterick et al. 2016) and provide a socio-economic benefit to local regions through the development of sustainable networks for distribution, knowledge exchange and the specialisation of skills (Tregear, 2005). The Irish agri-food sector is facing significant uncertainty in relation to the potential economic impact of Brexit with predicted reductions in exports ranging from 1.4% to 7% (Donnellan and Hanrahan, 2016) and the level of output being 2.3-3.5% below what it would be (Bergin et al. 2016).

Objectives

The research objective is to investigate the motivations of immigrants to become artisan food entrepreneurs and evaluate their participation in regional food networks and the role these immigrant food entrepreneurs play in the growing artisan food sector in Ireland.

Food Networks

The formation of networks among producers and other agents facilitates the transfer of incremental knowledge from relationships formed between members who identify and pursue reciprocal interests (Gellynck and Kuhne, 2010; Tregear and Cooper, 2016). Knowledge exchange between immigrants and native producers can help drive entrepreneurial activities in the artisan food sector and more profitable opportunities can be identified by cross cultural knowledge (Vandor and Franke, 2016). Immigrant entrepreneurs also make a positive contribution to enhancing the integration of local economies arising from their networks of contacts in national and international markets creating new avenues for resources and information (Atterton, 2007). At local level collaboration from networks also contribute to greater rural development but is dependent on participation between producers and institutional players (McKitterick et al. 2016). McAdam and Soetanto (2018) agree with the importance of entrepreneur engagement in strategic networking to convert limited resources into rich resources. Similarly Tregear (2005) states that artisan food producers often demonstrate a lack of within sector networking or collaboration which may restrict knowledge gain.

Motivations of Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Immigrant entrepreneurs are especially entrepreneurial (Lofstrom, 2017) and are central actors in generating activity and growing the artisan food sector in Ireland.  Therefore, pinpointing and understanding their characteristics and the factors that motivate them to establish their food business is vital to growing this food sector. People are mainly motivated to migrate for lifestyle or financial reasons where they perceive entrepreneurial opportunities from the level of entrepreneurial activity in the host area (Ensign and Robinson, 2011; Jensen, 2014). However motivations to set up and grow a business can be multi-factorial, ranging from opportunistic to necessity based factors (Block et al. 2015) and often evolve once immigrants establish a business in their host country (Knight, 2015). These motivation factors include a need for achievement, locus of control and desire for independence (Shane et al. 2003).

Understanding these motivation factors facilitates the creation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem conducive to sustaining the activity of immigrant entrepreneurs and encouraging growth. The optimal entrepreneurial ecosystem minimises the challenges faced by immigrant artisan food entrepreneurs in their host countries which are diverse and range from access to finance (Lee et al. 2011) to the compelling challenge for immigrants setting up a business in the absence of formal and informal networks.

Method

A database of artisan food businesses formed by international or immigrant artisan food entrepreneurs in the Munster region of Ireland has been compiled from county food producer databases, Bord Bia specific publications, food award directories and farmer’s markets in the Munster region. This regional area was chosen due to its strong history of artisan food producers where food production has evolved due to formation of networks and its growing diverse population. From this database a mixed method approach will be employed to obtain qualitative and quantitative data (Creswell, 2014). The representative sample with be selected from each county of the Munster region. Other relevant stakeholders including support agencies will also be interviewed as part of the research process.

Results

Preliminary results shows that immigrants who have established artisan food businesses in the Munster region have come from a broad range of countries including Europe, America, Asia and Russia and their range of artisanal food products varies significantly. This preliminary research also suggests evidence of the establishment of some clusters of immigrant food producers originating from the same home country.

Conclusions

This research explores the motivational factors of immigrants to establish and grow an artisan food businesses in Ireland and determines the extent of their participation in producer and institutional networks. The type of network formed is significant, whether insular networks with other immigrant producers or integrated networks with indigenous artisan food producers and institutions are formed. This research will have implications for entrepreneurship policy makers to provide support structures for diverse heterogeneous immigrant food entrepreneurs by creating the optimum entrepreneurial ecosystem for their participation in the artisan food sector and facilitating the growth of this sector.  

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