Uncertainty and Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Brexit's Impact on New Ventures

Strategic Insights -

Research from the Georgia Institute of Technology explores the relationship between immigration uncertainty and the entry of immigrant-founded ventures of different quality. The study investigates how uncertain immigration environments affect the entrepreneurial ecosystem of a country. Specifically, the study examines the impact of the Brexit referendum on the growth rate of new immigrant-founded firms.

Key Takeaways:

  • A surge in uncertainty decreases the growth rate of new immigrant-founded firms by 3.2%.
  • The reliance on other immigrant actors exacerbates the negative effect that uncertainty has on entry.
  • Low-and high-quality firms are the most affected, while the effect for medium-quality firms is negligible.
  • Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that Brexit discouraged the entry of around 620 low-quality and 250 high-quality firms.
  • The study proposes a model of immigrant entrepreneurial entry and introduces a new measure of venture quality at founding.
  • The findings suggest that founders of low-quality ventures might decide to take up employment, while founders of high-quality ventures might be better off establishing their companies in another country.
  • Astrid Marinoni, a researcher from the Georgia Institute of Technology, led the study, which was published in Organization Science in 2025.

Statistics:

  • 3.2% decrease in growth rate of new immigrant-founded firms due to uncertainty
  • 620 low-quality firms discouraged from entering due to Brexit
  • 250 high-quality firms discouraged from entering due to Brexit
  • Brexit had a negligible effect on medium-quality firms

Sources:

  • Uncertainty and Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Evidence From Brexit. Organization Science, 2025;36(3):1072-1087.
  • NewsRx. New Findings in Organization Science Described from Georgia Institute of Technology (Uncertainty and Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Evidence From Brexit). Science Letter. August 15, 2025; p 914.
  • Organization Science can be contacted at: Informs, 5521 Research Park Dr, Suite 200, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA.