Chinese business migrant entrepreneurs in Australia: barriers, opportunities and integration

This study investigates the experiences of Chinese business migrants in Australia by using a framework that combines entrepreneurship, total capital theory and mixed embeddedness theoretical models. The research aims to identify the common barriers that Chinese business migrants encounter, the opportunities available to them and the approaches they use to best integrate into Australia’s business and social domains. The study draws on a triangulation of qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews with 25 participants in Phase 1, eight case studies in Phase 2, and nine individual Chinese business migrants spread over three focus groups in Phase 3. The study finds that Chinese business migrants in Australia face several challenges when establishing businesses, including language barriers, cultural differences, lack of knowledge about Australian laws and regulations, difficulties in accessing finance and discrimination. These barriers make it difficult for them to integrate into the Australian business and social domains. Despite these challenges, Chinese business migrants have found ways to embed themselves in the Australian society and economy through their active entrepreneurial practices. They use their accumulated economic and social capital from their home country to sustain their migrant entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, the social embedding of this group of entrepreneurs depends mainly on the extent to which they acquire and use social networks. Furthermore, it's imperative to acknowledge the apparent gap in the Australian government's active role in facilitating the settlement and integration of these business migrants. Overall, the findings of this study have direct relevance for the development of Australian business migration policy.