Culture frame switching in international entrepreneurship: Sensemaking narratives of Russian migrant entrepreneurs in Finland

Migrant entrepreneurs form a considerable proportion of businesspeople in contemporary society. Often, migrant entrepreneurs are more experienced in international business activities than local businesspeople, which may be due to the former possessing better cross-cultural skills The aim of this study is to understand how the bicultural identity of migrant entrepreneurs affects their business practices in host countries and countries of origin. We analyse 8 interviews with Russian migrant entrepreneurs in Finland who have business experience in both Finland and Russia. Results show that both the assimilated and the less integrated entrepreneurs do not engage in active cultural frame switching and mostly stick to either Finnish or Russian cultural frames. The study contributes to international entrepreneurship literature by adopting a constructivist approach to culture and considering the still rarely studied issue of multiculturality in entrepreneurship and international business.