Strangers on the move : ethnic entrepreneurs as urban change actors

This paper aims to examine the critical conditions for success and failure for the new generation of ethnic entrepreneurs in the creative industries in modern Dutch urban areas, in terms of their entrepreneurial behaviour with a particular focus on their personal and business characteristics and their motivation and driving forces, which all determine their entrepreneurship and their business performance. An empirical application is presented, in which the results from an in-depth interview study of Moroccan entrepreneurs are discussed. The findings of our study show that, in general, these entrepreneurs are more open and are looking for new opportunities beyond the traditional markets using break-out strategies. This research study can help to explain how to achieve a better understanding of the important factors which influence entrepreneurial behaviour and activity, the business entry decision, and the creation process, and of the conditions for success and other factors that can have an effect on the performance of ethnic entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, within the broader context of entrepreneurship. This will have implications for various stakeholders such as other ethnic entrepreneurs, policy makers and business investors in this dynamic and promising business environment. ethnic entrepreneurship ; urban change ; strategic performance management ; culture ; creative industries