PhD defence M.J. (Michael) Müller

Brief summary:

International migration is one of the defining phenomena of our time. Yet, although most migrants move for employment-related reasons, organizational scholars have, until recently, paid surprisingly little attention to this topic. Over the last decade, a rapidly growing literature has started to address this void, demonstrating the importance of migration in explaining consequential organizational outcomes. However, as this literature is still young, several important questions remain unanswered. This dissertation adds to this growing body of research with three studies, each of which addresses a central question social scientists have grappled with: (i) do immigrants contribute to an increase in crime, (ii) is their behavior influenced by the culture of their home country, and (iii) do they encounter discrimination? Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that migrant entrepreneurs and managers often appear as “Strangers in a Strange Land.” They face various challenges from limited local networks and different cultural norms to implicit or even explicit discrimination. However, they also have the potential to drive positive change and, under certain conditions, can benefit from their outsider status.