The Innovative Entrepreneurial Marketing Journey and Sustainable Development of Southeast Asian Immigrants
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1. Introduction
Taiwan is a society of immigrants, having experienced several waves of immigration throughout its history. In the 17th century, immigrants from China (mainly from Fujian and Guangdong) poured into Taiwan in large numbers to change their impoverished lives. Another significant wave occurred in 1949 when the Nationalist government was defeated by the Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War, leading to its relocation to Taiwan.
Since the 1990s, Taiwan has experienced growing numbers of commercially arranged marriages between southeast Asian women and socioeconomically disadvantaged Taiwanese men. Prior to 2023, more than 200,000 southeast Asian women migrated to Taiwan through transnational marriage [1]. Over the last three decades, a rapidly increasing number of women in less economically developed regions of southeast Asia have married men in wealthy areas of eastern Asia to obtain a better life. These women constitute one sector of the essential international migration flow [2]. Individuals who came to Taiwan for marriage, immigration, and settlement have been referred to as “new residents”, distinguishing them from the immigrants of the past migration waves to Taiwan. The majority of these new residents have come from Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. New residents from different countries forming families in Taiwan contribute to the diversity of Taiwanese society.
The majority of these new immigrants are women, among whom southeast Asian new immigrants face significant barriers in employment due to language and cultural differences, making it challenging for them to find jobs. Consequently, many southeast Asian immigrants have turned to entrepreneurship as a means to achieve economic independence and contribute to their family’s income [3]. Many of these immigrant women have resided in Taiwan for several years now and have flourished across various parts of Taiwan. The integration of diverse ethnicities is evident everywhere, with the presence of ethnic snack bars, beauty salons, grocery stores, and more, showcasing a multicultural landscape on the streets of Taiwan. This study aims to delve deeply into how they have managed to carve out their own niches in the nooks and crannies of urban Taiwan, creating a space uniquely their own.
In the domain of entrepreneurial studies, immigrants fulfill the intertwined roles of being both entrepreneurs and marketers. As entrepreneurs, they engage in the continuous pursuit of opportunities, the innovative use of resources, and the readiness to embrace risks. Concurrently, in the capacity of marketers, they face the challenge of not only establishing ventures in their adopted countries but also employing proficient marketing strategies.
Addressing the noted deficiency within academic research on immigrant entrepreneurship, particularly its lack of dynamic analysis that accurately reflects entrepreneurs’ adaptive strategies to market fluctuations, this investigation adopts entrepreneurial marketing (EM) as the foundational theoretical framework. The core aim is to examine the strategic adjustments made by immigrants in reaction to environmental shifts, enhancing our understanding of the dynamic relationship between immigrant entrepreneurship and marketing practices. This inquiry acknowledges the critical need for immigrants to develop competencies in both entrepreneurial and marketing disciplines to identify and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities effectively, thereby building enduring professional and sustainable paths. It seeks to enrich the discourse on the complex landscape of immigrant entrepreneurship by offering insightful perspectives into their entrepreneurial activities.
To encapsulate this, the study questions how new immigrants employ entrepreneurial marketing to enhance their entrepreneurial trajectory. Utilizing a processual methodology, it selects emblematic new immigrant enterprises as subjects. The research delineates an adjustment model for entrepreneurial marketing within the immigrant entrepreneurial journey, underscoring management mechanisms as pivotal for stage transitions. Theoretically, it addresses gaps in immigrant entrepreneurship regarding micro or small enterprise management by applying entrepreneurial marketing theories to relationship management across these businesses. This elucidation deepens the understanding of entrepreneurial marketing’s dynamism and offers strategic management insights for immigrant business operations, potentially augmenting entrepreneurial success rates and sustainable development of immigrant enterprises. Moreover, it reveals obstacles faced by immigrant entrepreneurs, providing valuable policy implications for host governments.
Immigrant enterprises serve as crucial conduits between immigrant communities and the broader society, fostering social integration and cohesion. Sustainable immigrant businesses enhance the host society’s overall resilience and vibrancy, cultivating a diverse and prosperous business ecosystem. Moreover, exploring the sustainability of immigrant businesses through entrepreneurial marketing models reveals the complex interplay among migration, entrepreneurship, and socioeconomic mobility. Future research could explore dynamic marketing models tailored to various immigrant types or industries, potentially yielding more accurate sustainable entrepreneurship models for immigrants.
The paper’s structure encompasses an introduction, literature review on immigrant entrepreneurship and sustainable development, methodology, analysis, discussion with propositions, and concludes with contributions, practical implications, research limitations, and future directions.
3. Research Methodology
Considering the temporal dynamics of corporate growth and sustainable development, it is essential to excavate the potential transformations enterprises may undergo throughout their journey. Since the evolution of processes represents a tangible yet complex phenomenon, which cannot be solely elucidated through the relational analyses typical of quantitative research, this study necessitated an in-depth examination of the causative processes that are challenging to observe directly. Accordingly, this research adopted a qualitative approach, specifically the process research method [34,35]. In terms of research validity, the study adhered to the three principles proposed by Yin [36] and Creswell and Creswell [37]: the validity of data sources, the accuracy of data transcription, and the validity of the researcher’s data analysis.
This research employed triangulation to ensure the validity of the derived conclusions through the collection of data from multiple sources [38]. The primary data sources included: first, field notes from participation in new resident award ceremonies and lectures; second, data from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, and third, archival documents, encompassing internal company documents, newspapers and magazines, case company articles, and official website information. Furthermore, verbatim transcripts of the interview recordings were provided to the interviewees for content verification or amendment to minimize distortion or misunderstanding [39].
3.1. Case Selection and Description
This research targeted immigrants as the subjects and employed a purposive case sampling strategy [40], guided by the principles of theoretical sampling [41]. The criteria for case selection necessitated theoretical relevance or potential for extension and the capability to richly narrate the context and events to depict a comprehensive view of the background or issues at hand. Therefore, in alignment with the objectives of this study, the case must satisfy the following two requirements: (1) Reflect the context of relevant theoretical literature, embodying entrepreneurial spirit as enterprises founded by immigrants, with proven operational performance and outcomes, and having business volumes that align with the scale of small to medium-sized enterprises. (2) Have been operational in Taiwan for over seven years and undergone at least one significant transformative or sustainable development change, relevant to the theme of exploring the entrepreneurial journey of start-up enterprises. This study aims to achieve analytic generalization through the narrative of cases and subsequent theoretical dialogue. (refer to Table 2).
3.2. Data Collection Methods
In the selection of interviewees, this study identified 22 suitable participants. To ensure the quality of the data obtained [36,38], this research adhered to the participant criteria proposed by Merriam and Tisdell [42], Creswell and Creswell [37], and Crick [38]: the validity of the respondents, their willingness to share, and the diversity of their participation experiences.
Initially, prospective interviewees were asked to fill out a basic information questionnaire for scrutiny to confirm their identity’s validity. During the interviews, researchers invited participants to discuss the theme with a partner present to reduce unfamiliarity and enhance their willingness to share. Notably, over half of the participants had received accolades or had been interviewed by media, possessing comprehensive entrepreneurial experiences relevant to addressing the research questions.
Two key issues were preliminarily identified: (1) defining the foundation of different stages in the entrepreneurial process, and (2) identifying potential significant events within these stages. This study employed a one-on-one in-depth interview technique, utilizing narrative interviewing to focus on each respondent’s stories, narratives, and structures [37,43]. This method allows for the exploration of deeper narratives [41], constructing a comprehensive context of the immigrant’s entrepreneurial journey. The in-depth interview questions were structured and specific [44], guiding respondents to focus on the issues, thereby enabling researchers to capture more accurate entrepreneurial experiences [45].
Each interviewee was interviewed for an average duration of 45 to 60 min. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Participants were informed of the research’s purpose and intent before the interviews, including their right to withdraw from the interview at any time. The full names of the participants were kept confidential. The multiple sources of data collected in this study are organized in the table below.
3.3. Data Analysis Method
This study followed the data analysis principles outlined by Gibbs [39] and was divided into the following three steps.
Step One: Conduct the initial level of data induction. Researchers first transcribed the audio recordings of the interviews into verbatim transcripts, supplemented by field notes, and combined these with confidential documents provided by the respondents, such as product catalogs, internal business data, market research plans, etc. This process allows for the induction of significant entrepreneurial marketing activities across three entrepreneurial phases identified in the respondents’ journey: “the foundation building phase”, “the growth and strengthening phase”, and “the sustainable mutual benefit phase”. Activities identified included: “exploring business opportunities”, “establishing customer transactions”, “learning new entrepreneurial knowledge”, “gathering market information”, “utilizing business opportunities”, “establishing partnerships”, “applying new entrepreneurial knowledge”, “expanding market breadth”, “cultivating business opportunities”, “strengthening partnerships”, “integrating new entrepreneurial knowledge”, and “clearly segmenting the market”.
Step Two: Perform the second level of typological matching. Researchers used the entrepreneurial marketing activities generated in step one to match with the components of the four dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing: “risk-taking propensity, opportunity proactiveness, customer responsiveness, customer value communication ability, value understanding ability, knowledge foundation building ability, innovation application ability, market information understanding and dissemination, market penetration ability, competitor response ability, business process integration, and networks and relationships” (refer to Table 3).
Step Three: Integrate the model development. Researchers interpreted the reasons behind the transitions and transformations in immigrants’ entrepreneurial stories at different stages, extracting the “objectives”, “business focus”, and “emphasized entrepreneurial marketing activities” of each phase to present the immigrant entrepreneurship journey model within this analytical framework. However, during the analysis of step three, researchers identified that the smooth transition between stages is a critical factor in the development of immigrant entrepreneurship. Therefore, the researchers returned to the verbatim transcripts to explore the narrative units of immigrants’ business operations, identifying relevant data on relationship management at each stage, and further developed concepts related to the mechanism of stage transition, such as “adaptive selling”, “personal rapport”, and “relational trust”, to develop the mechanisms that advance through the entrepreneurial stages, linking to a complete entrepreneurial journey model.
4. Research Findings
Based on an analysis of interview data, public records, and internal documents, this study synthesized the entrepreneurial marketing activities of immigrants and aligned these temporally sequenced entrepreneurial marketing activities with entrepreneurial marketing theory. From this alignment, the study extracted the objectives and primary activities aimed at different stages of entrepreneurship [39,46]. It delineated three stages in the entrepreneurial journey of immigrants toward achieving sustainable operation.
4.1. Foundation Construction Phase: Objective of “Breaking through the Status Quo”
During this phase, immigrants, despite their lack of familiarity with the market of the host country, are predominantly driven by the necessity to sustain their livelihood or to cultivate a superior lifestyle. They actively leverage their personal resources, skills, or connections and resources from their home country to assess the feasibility of entrepreneurial risks. Upon perceiving that their products or services preliminarily align with market demands (not necessarily targeting the mainstream market but rather focusing on an immigrant-dominated market) and securing partial support from fellow countrymen and family members, they venture into entrepreneurship. At this point, immigrant entrepreneurs, generally inexperienced, often start by promoting among their close friends and community members through direct conversations or personal experiences with customers, or by utilizing online immigrant communities to enhance the visibility of their new ventures. As beginners in their new enterprises, they dedicate significant time to acquiring knowledge, especially by participating in government-sponsored courses or seminars. Following these learning activities, these entrepreneurial novices (for instance, those who were initially homemakers) develop their sales capabilities while assimilating new knowledge, embarking on diverse new lifestyle paths.
In summary, immigrant entrepreneurs in the foundational construction phase, aiming to alter their current circumstances, contemplate embarking on business creation with the goal of “breaking through the status quo” within a context of manageable risks. To mitigate losses and waste in the initial stages of entrepreneurship, they address issues using the manpower of close friends or contacts, and resources introduced by them, opting to utilize or extend existing resources to circumvent unnecessary expenditures and minimize risks. Despite lacking seasoned experience or skills, and even facing language barriers, they endeavor to learn the required capabilities. Consequently, immigrant entrepreneurs commit to entrepreneurial marketing activities, such as “exploring business opportunities, establishing transactional relationships, learning new entrepreneurial knowledge, and probing market information”. (refer to Table 4).
4.2. Growth Expansion Phase: Objective of “Entering Mainstream Society”
Initially, immigrant entrepreneurs often target fellow countrymen or immigrants as their primary audience. For continuous business growth, it becomes imperative for these entrepreneurs to expand their operational scope into the host country’s mainstream society. At this juncture, immigrants encourage their past customers or the friends and family of these customers to use word-of-mouth marketing to increase business visibility. In the interaction process, new immigrants, based on their experiences in Taiwan, actively engage in their customers’ lives, seizing opportunities to market their businesses. Moreover, new immigrants also build friendships and trust with customers by empathizing with them and considering their perspectives. Through frequent interactions, they are committed to applying the knowledge and experience acquired at this stage, or employing internet marketing techniques, using advertising copy that is acceptable to mainstream society for online marketing. In summary, this study found that during the growth expansion phase, immigrants aim to “enter mainstream society” as their business goal, focusing on “utilizing business opportunities, establishing partnerships, applying new entrepreneurial knowledge, and expanding market reach”. (refer to Table 5).
4.3. Sustainable Mutual Benefit Phase: Objective of “Securing a Foothold for Sustainable Development”
At this stage, as the market becomes increasingly mature and the number of competitors rises, consumers on the market are no longer unfamiliar with the businesses run by immigrants. To ensure continuous growth, maintain market position, and achieve sustainable operation, immigrants begin to develop diversified channels, enhance brand visibility, differentiate niche markets, and solidify their market stance. They even utilize digital technology to maintain customer service or communicate with suppliers, thereby boosting the confidence of both suppliers and consumers. Moreover, to address the growing complexity of business challenges, they also review and revise corporate structures, incorporating more external business resources to fortify business development.
During this phase, close interaction between immigrant entrepreneurs and business members fosters a sense of symbiosis among business partners, particularly supporting members who are also immigrants, encouraging them to advance their knowledge and skills, and applying “sharing” in business activities. In the stable phase of business symbiosis, aiming to “secure a foothold for sustainable development” becomes the business goal, demonstrating entrepreneurial marketing activities, such as “cultivating business opportunities, strengthening partnerships, integrating new entrepreneurial knowledge, and clearly segmenting the market”. (refer to Table 6).
6. Conclusions
This study contributed both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it developed the dynamic process of immigrant entrepreneurial marketing, addressing research gaps and enriching the body of knowledge on immigrant business journeys, while extending and deepening the application of entrepreneurial marketing theories. Practically, understanding the dynamic decision-making process through entrepreneurial marketing highlighted how immigrant enterprises can leverage these concepts to gain a competitive edge. The anticipated sharing of future research findings aims to assist immigrants in formulating and implementing comprehensive marketing strategies, potentially increasing the likelihood of entrepreneurial success, and serving as a valuable reference for government policymaking.
6.1. Contribution to Immigrant Entrepreneurship Theory
This research developed a model of the dynamic process of entrepreneurial marketing among immigrants to fill the academic research gap on immigrant entrepreneurship. Through process research, it delved into the business development trajectory at the individual operational level of immigrants. It not only validated the key factors of immigrant success through the four dimensions of “entrepreneurial marketing” but also examined the evolutionary and adaptive aspects of these key elements through entrepreneurial marketing activities. This provided insights into the development process of immigrant businesses, addressing gaps in individual-level research.
6.2. Contribution to Entrepreneurial Marketing Theory
The findings also contribute to the application and extension of entrepreneurial marketing. Firstly, responding to scholars’ calls [63], this study extended entrepreneurial marketing theory to the development process at the individual business level, broadening the scope of theoretical application. Furthermore, the entrepreneurial process model and the stage transition mechanism proposed in this study address and deepen the research gap in the dynamism of entrepreneurial marketing [10,64]. Unlike past cross-sectional studies [11,16], this research, from a process perspective, better reflects how entrepreneurs respond to market environment changes, and engage in opportunity exploration, customer interaction, communication, and co-creation of value amidst different temporal challenges, adapting actions and integrating knowledge and resources to solve customer problems and continuously expand their businesses.
6.3. Practical Implications
This study offered practical contributions to immigrant entrepreneurship, providing essential reference principles for immigrants developing personal businesses. Individual entrepreneurs, often limited by resources, rarely have comprehensive preparations before taking action; thus, balancing stage changes, flexible and agile marketing, and maximizing limited resources are key to successful entrepreneurship. The two relationship management mechanisms identified in this study facilitate smooth transitions between different stages of the entrepreneurial process for direct sellers, transforming short-term transactional relationships with customers into long-term growth partnerships. The “optimizing customer relationships” mechanism helps cultivate appropriate customers and expand market opportunities, while the “establishing brand value” mechanism consolidates relationships with the mainstream market and drives overall sales growth through integration and innovative applications.
Moreover, the study found that government assistance helps stabilize the entrepreneurial foundation for immigrants, offering pre-entrepreneurial courses to help immigrants assess their situation, evaluate risks, and stimulate entrepreneurial thinking. During the entrepreneurial process, government support not only provides basic courses but also offers professional technical courses for immigrants at different levels and backgrounds, providing soft resources, such as networks and knowledge, to effectively achieve entrepreneurial goals at each stage. In summary, based on the entrepreneurial process model and relationship transition mechanisms of this study, immigrants can plan comprehensive and strategic projects to solidify long-term sustainable business development.
6.4. Research Limitations and Future Directions
This study interpreted the entrepreneurial journey of immigrants through the development of four dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing, revealing relative changes in orientations but lacking objective measurement standards for these changes. Future research could develop objective measurement indicators for entrepreneurial marketing dimensions [53]. Additionally, the interview subjects of this study were primarily immigrants who have successfully operated businesses, providing complete successful entrepreneurial cases but lacking data for comparison with immigrants newly entering the industry or those with poorer entrepreneurial performance. Therefore, to deepen the analytical depth of the research, future studies could conduct heterogeneous research on immigrant entrepreneurs of different backgrounds or stages of entrepreneurship for multiple comparisons, enhancing the precision and reliability of the findings [40,41].
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