Abstract:
ORIENTATION : There is a growing prevalence of entrepreneurial activity by immigrant
entrepreneurs in different sectors of various economies across the world. Immigrant
entrepreneurs seek to identify opportunities to grow and sustain their businesses in hostile
business markets. Immigrant entrepreneurs use an array of channels of communication to gain
insight of the opportunities in the market.
RESEARCH PURPOSE : The study sought to investigate the communication channels used by
Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs to identify opportunities in the host community market.
MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : The study was undertaken given the dearth of research on the role
of communication channels in enabling the identification of opportunities by immigrant
entrepreneurs.
RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD : A qualitative research design was adopted in which
purposive and snowball sampling were adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted
with 21 Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs operating small businesses in the South African
context.
MAIN FINDINGS : The results indicate that the immigrant entrepreneurs identified opportunities
in the business environment through establishing channels of communication that manifested
as networks with family members, customers, local employees and competitors. Building
relationships through networks was key for the process of identifying opportunities.
PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : The study provides evidence that information about
opportunities in the market is identified through dynamic channels of communication
characterised by networks with different stakeholders.
CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD : Communication channels are pivotal in enabling the identification
of opportunities in the business environment. Immigrant entrepreneurs actively create and
sustain their relationships with various stakeholders in the business environment to be able to
identify opportunities in the business environment.
