The use of social and human capital among Canadian business immigrants

Social capital in the form of ethnic networks and family ties is assumed to function critically in the establishment and operation of immigrant-owned businesses. In this paper I argue that, although the formation and expenditure of social capital may typify the experiences of many immigrant entrepreneurs, some enter the host society with sufficient human capital to enable them to forego the utilisation of social capital in the adaptation process. To test this hypothesis, interviews were conducted with 70 immigrant entrepreneurs in the province of Ontario between 1993 and 1995. All interviewees entered Canada under the auspices of the Canadian Business Immigration Program, a federal programme designed to attract immigrants with demonstrable business and managerial skills, a critical form of human capital. All, therefore, had pre-migration intentions of entrepreneurship in the receiving society. What is found among these business immigrants is a minimal reliance on social capital in establishing and operating their firms. It is concluded that immigrants entering the host society with pre-migration intentions of business ownership possess sufficient human capital to enable them to disregard the formation and utilisation of social capital in their economic adaptation.