Technology entrepreneurship, ethnicity, and success

Using a unique dataset of 1,013 new technology projects, we examine the association between ethnic heterogeneity in high-tech entrepreneurship and success. Our focus is on the main challenge facing new technology ventures—commercializing the newly developed product for acceptance in the mainstream market. Our findings establish a positive link between the presence of foreign-born members on the project teams and commercial success. A by-industry analysis reveals that the effect of ethnicity differs among industries. Specifically, the effect ranges from an over 40% increase in the odds of success (in the communications industry) to a non-significant effect (in the life sciences).