Self-Employment, Social Capital and Social Contexts: Motivations of Korean Immigrant Entrepreneurs in the Argentine Garment Industry

Abstract

Of the approximately 20,000 ethnic Koreans in Argentina today, more than 80% are engaged in the garment industry, in both production and distribution sectors. Because of a combination of certain distinctive socio-cultural characteristics and values these immigrants bring to business and the particularities of the economic and social environments in the host country, the Argentine garment industry has served as a distinctive gateway to integrate within the host society for most ethnic Koreans since the beginning of Korean migration to Argentina in 1965. Based on the analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in the Argentine garment industry conducted in early 2014, this research demonstrates how social capital in the form of ethnic networks and family ties functions critically in entrepreneurial decision making of Korean immigrants in the Argentine garment industry. Further, the multiple situational factors at varying socio-structural layers that highly influence the motivation to manage often complex garment businesses among first-generation Koreans in Argentina emerged in the analysis. The results of the study highlight the importance of the wider structural, social and economic contexts in which ethnic businesses operate in determining an immigrant’s entrepreneurial entry decision.