The idea of this dissertation originates from the intriguing conflict in practical, political, and academic discourses surrounding immigrant entrepreneurship. This conflict comprises two simultaneously opposing narratives: one acknowledging the substantial barriers impeding immigrant entrepreneurs’ (IEs’) efforts to access finance, and another lauding their remarkable contributions to the economies of host countries. Inspired by this conflict, with a focus on financing, the interest of this dissertation centers on understanding the mechanisms IEs develop to access financing effectively amidst barriers and uncertainty. Accordingly, the dissertation’s primary purpose is to explore the underlying mechanisms shaping the IEs’ financing decisions and behavioral patterns when faced with barriers in host countries.

To this end, the dissertation compiles three research papers, each addressing a pertinent question and offering distinct contributions. The first paper undertakes a systematic literature review of the field at the intersection between immigrant entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance. By means of SWOT analysis, the paper sharply defines and delimits the boundaries of the field of entrepreneurial financing for IEs. This definition facilitates the identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the field and offers prospects for future development. The second paper introduces the concept of the ‘financial ambidexterity of IEs’ as their behavioral response to overcoming financing barriers and uncertainty. In this introduction, the paper proposes a theoretical mechanism underpinned by factors such as bicultural identity integration (BII), cultural intelligence (CQ), and financial literacy (FL) for achieving financially ambidextrous behavior. Lastly, drawing on interviews with Arabic-speaking IEs in Sweden, the third paper presents a refined mechanism of three stages. This mechanism is driven by the interplay between situational and dispositional factors, shaping the financing choices of IEs in response to uncertainty.

In essence, the dissertation contributes to the literature on immigrant entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial finance, and resource dependence theory. In particular, it enriches immigrant entrepreneurship literature by resetting the field of entrepreneurial financing of IEs. Moreover, it introduces the ‘financial ambidexterity of IEs’ as a mechanism to tackle financing barriers. Furthermore, it offers comprehensive insights into IEsʼ financing from situational and dispositional perspectives. Lastly, it shifts the examination of the IEsʼ financing pursuits from a static to a dynamic and interactive landscape. Second, the dissertation adds to the entrepreneurial finance literature by exploring the particular and complex case of IEs’ financing. Third, it advances the resource dependence theory by introducing financial ambidexterity as a novel strategy to mitigate uncertainty and power dynamics at the individual level. Finally, the dissertation offers several practical implications for practice and policy, acknowledges its limitations, and suggests trajectories for future research.