Theory selection and applications for immigrant enterprises, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship (IEEE) research

Five decades of research into immigrant enterprises, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship (IEEE) calls for a synthesis of the field to note the theories and matching applications. The paper aims to fill this literature gap in IEEE field by improving and synthesizing existing knowledge and establishing a clear picture for IEEE study. The paper argues that it is important to choose appropriate theories to guide the research design and inquiry procedure, and thus the comprehensive interpretation of the results in this multi- or interdisciplinary literature of IEEE research. This paper synthesizes traditional and contemporary theories with their application conditions. Authors argue that since IEEE research needs to be conducted with numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, anthropology, entrepreneurship and business studies, the chosen theories need to be logically matching the researchers, conceptual frameworks, investigation questions, data collection and analysis methods. The findings contribute to the immigrant business, management and social science researchers, in particular for higher degree research students.