Interpersonal Networking and Business Resilience : How Immigrants in Small Business Face the Crisis in Italy

This study is focused on the role played by mobilized social capital at micro level among immigrant business peolpe in Italy. This is measured through interpersonal relations in terms of the size and ethnic composition of Ego-networks and the strength of the ties with Alters which are used to mobilize strategic resources for business success. The occupational status of Alters is also positively related to their resilience to the crisis. The database is a country-wide sample of immigrants in small business, who were face-to-face interviewed with a sociometric approach. The results show that social capital is a better predictor of business resilience than cultural capital and ethnic belonging, with the important exception of the Chinese.