'What is your self-made expat story?' Netnography of entrepreneurial re-users of a popular semantic. (2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Roth, Steffen; Dana, Léo-Paul
• Is Part Of: International journal of entrepreneurship and small business. Volume 28:Number 4(2016)
• Page Start: 492
• Page End: 503
• Publication Date: 2016
• Subjects: self-initiated expatriation -- self-made expats -- entrepreneurial career paths -- migrant entrepreneurship -- internationsorg -- netnography -- expatriates; Entrepreneurship -- Periodicals; Small business -- Management -- Periodicals; 658.42105
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1476-1297

Abstract

The label 'expatriate' is increasingly used by, and applied to, an increasing number of persons who do not fit classical concepts of company-driven expatriation. While relevant research is engaged in establishing interaction with smaller samples of self-initiated expatriates, the present article represents netnography of a larger, international sample of self-designated self-initiated expatriates who, independently of any research intervention, engaged in an online conversation headlined 'Self-Made Expats?' on the international expatriates platform internations.org. While key findings from this non-responsive approach to the self-disclosures of an internationally-diverse web community of self-made expatriates support certain dimensions of prevailing academic definitions, they also suggest reconsidering the so far disclaimed relevance of entrepreneurial spirit for the concept of self-initiated expatriation.