Growth in first and second generation immigrant firms in Sweden
This article contributes to the research exploring the social and economic factors shaping the performance of immigrant run firms. Drawing upon human and social capital theory and assimilation theory, we investigate differences in performance measured as revenue growth in a comparative study of native and immigrant CEOs. Following 50,002 small firms in Sweden over 4 years, we find distinct patterns in both firm size and revenue growth between firms managed by immigrants and by natives. While firms run by second generation immigrants from the Organization for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD) countries exhibit higher growth rates than natives, the reverse is true for second generation immigrants from non OECD countries, suggesting that economic integration in terms of small business growth immigrants in Sweden is characterized by segmented rather than universal assimilation.