Thought self-leadership and the success of Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands

Master thesis

Master Entrepreneurship (joint degree)

Author:

Ken Lam

Student number: 1899295 (VU) | 11337311 (UvA)

Supervisor:

dr. P.J. Peverelli

Second reader:

dr. D.A. Driver-Zwartkruis

Date:

1

July 2017

Thought Self-Leadership and the success

of Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands

Acknowledgements

This master thesis is the last piece of the puzzle to finalize my Master Entrepreneurship. Through this Master program I gained a lot of valuable knowledge that I was able to put to use for this master thesis. I would not be able to finish this thesis if I did not have had some useful help. For that I need to thank a bunch of people.

First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, dr. Peter Peverelli. I thank you for all your feedback and helping me out with my questions. You have helped me a lot with choosing the right subject for my master thesis. I appreciate your flexibility, availability and effort in sharing your knowledge and academic expertise.

I would not be where I am today without the help and support from my parents and my sister. They always push me to be the best version of myself. They taught me to work hard for anything you want to achieve in life. As my sister Poey would say, it always seems impossible until it’s done.

There is one special person in my life that I always have in my mind, which is my girlfriend Melissa. She always supports my decisions and has done more than she may know. I may not always express my feelings, but just know that you mean the world to me.

Through this Master program I did not only gained a lot of valuable knowledge and skills that I can put to good use, but also some great friendships. In particular, two people whom I not just consider as friends, but also as my business partners, Aissa and Michel. We started this journey together not knowing each other and we are finishing this year as brothers. Let this be the beginning of our successful lives as entrepreneurs.

Finally, I want to thank all the people who were willing to be part of this research. I could not have done this research without their help. Thank you all for sharing your amazing stories and experiences.

Abstract

This research is focused on the Chinese entrepreneur in the Netherlands. In particular, how Thought Self-Leadership (TSL) can lead to success for Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands. The Chinese population has developed a great image for themselves and contributes to the Dutch economy. The wish to start a business is strong amongst the Chinese people. One highly important motive to start a business is family. This research investigates how Chinese entrepreneurs make use of the three elements of the TSL model self-talk, mental imagery and beliefs and assumptions in order to turn their restaurant into a success. Also, success factors for Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands have been identified. Twelve interviews have been held of which eleven with different Chinese entrepreneurs and one with a marketing manager of the branch organization. After analyzing the data, different themes have been constructed. This research shows that family is one factor that is very important for starting and running a Chinese restaurant. Working hard and being service focused are next to serving quality food important factors for a successful Chinese restaurant. Furthermore, the entrepreneurs show signs of TSL, which influences the success of their business. Developing clear and ambitious objectives through a clear vision are part of their entrepreneurial behavior. TSL is part of the natural entrepreneurial behavior of the Chinese entrepreneur, who works hard to achieve goals. All interviewees were located in the province Noord-Holland. Entrepreneurs of different provinces have not been investigated due to time restriction. Therefore, for future research it is recommended to conduct research in different provinces. Also, the younger generation should be investigated more thorough. Lastly, for a better understanding of the Chinese entrepreneurs it is recommended to take a more psychological approach with regards to the thought process and the usage of TSL as this is a rather abstract model.

Table of Content

2.2THE CHINESE POPULATION IN THE NETHERLANDS 12

2.2.1DEFINITION OF THE CHINESE INDIVIDUAL 12

2.2.2STATISTICS OF THE CHINESE POPULATION IN THE NETHERLANDS 13

2.2.3EMPLOYMENT OF THE CHINESE POPULATION IN THE NETHERLANDS 16

2.2.4THE CHINESE ENTREPRENEUR 17

2.3CHINESE RESTAURANTS IN THE NETHERLANDS 18

2.4THOUGHT SELF-LEADERSHIP 19

2.4.1DEFINITION OF THOUGHT SELF-LEADERSHIP 19

2.4.2SELF-TALK 20

2.4.3MENTAL IMAGERY 20

2.4.4BELIEF AND ASSUMPTIONS 20

2.4.5THOUGHT PATTERNS 21

3. METHODOLOGY 21

3.1RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY 21

3.2RESEARCH APPROACH 22

3.3DATA COLLECTION 22

3.3.1STRUCTURE OF THE INTERVIEWS 23

3.3.2UNITS OF RESEARCH 23 3.3.3INTERVIEW PROTOCOL 24 3.4DATA ANALYSIS 25 3.4.1CODING 25 3.4.2RELIABILITY 25 3.4.3VALIDITY 25 4. RESULTS 26 4.1THE TWELVE INTERVIEWEES 26 4.1.1INTERVIEWEE A 26 4.1.2INTERVIEWEE B 26 4.1.3INTERVIEWEE C 27 4.1.4INTERVIEWEE D 27 4.1.5INTERVIEWEE E 27 4.1.6INTERVIEWEE F 28 4.1.7INTERVIEWEE G 28 4.1.8INTERVIEWEE H 29 4.1.9INTERVIEWEE I 29 4.1.10INTERVIEWEE J 29

4.1.11INTERVIEWEE K 29

4.1.12INTERVIEWEE L 30

4.2GENERATING CODES AND THEMES 30

4.2.1FAMILY 31

4.2.2EDUCATION 34

4.2.3AIMING FOR SUCCESS 35

4.2.4PASSION AND AMBITION 37

4.2.5INDEPENDENCY 38

4.2.6MODESTY 38

4.2.7SUCCESS FACTORS FOR CHINESE RESTAURANTS 40

4.2.8SELF-TALK 44

4.2.9MENTAL IMAGERY 45

4.2.10BELIEF AND ASSUMPTIONS 46

4.3.REVISING THEMES 48

5. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION 50

5.1.SUB QUESTIONS 50

5.1.1WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHINESE POPULATION AND CHINESE

ENTREPRENEURS IN THE NETHERLANDS? 51

5.1.2WHAT ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF CHINESE RESTAURANTS IN THE NETHERLANDS? 52 5.1.3WHAT ARE KEY SUCCESS FACTORS FOR CHINESE RESTAURANTS IN THE NETHERLANDS? 52

5.1.4WHAT IS THOUGHT SELF-LEADERSHIP? 53

5.2.MAIN PROBLEM STATEMENT 53

6. IMPLICATIONS 55 6.1.IMPLICATIONS 55 6.2.FUTURE RESEARCH 55 7. REFERENCES 56 7.1.ACADEMIC REFERENCES 56 7.2.NON-ACADEMIC REFERENCES 60 8. APPENDICES 61

APPENDIX 1–INTERVIEW PROTOCOL 61

1. Introduction

1.1. Topic of research

Both my parents are entrepreneurs since I was a child. My father has set up different Chinese restaurants throughout his life. In addition, various family members of mine have started and own or owned a business, which mostly are in the hospitality industry. By being surrounded with entrepreneurs my whole life, I have created a passion for entrepreneurship since I was still a little boy. Working hard and taking care of your family are two things that are considered as very important to Chinese people. It is considered normal in the Chinese culture and something you must do. These are things that my parents have also taught me while growing up. Therefore, the mentality of working hard to achieve your goals and taking care of your family are two things that I have adopted and value a lot. I grew up in a multicultural neighborhood where I was exposed to many different cultures. By seeing so many different cultures and different norms and values I learned to view the world through different perspectives.

The first Chinese immigrants came to the Netherlands in 1911. They worked very hard in a foreign country in order to provide for their families. After World War II the number of Chinese restaurants grew very quick in the Netherlands. I am fascinated about the Chinese immigrants, who left their own country and moved to a small country on the other side of the world. Chinese people have been successful across the world by starting their own businesses even though they are not well educated and do not speak the language of a certain country. Chinese people are most famous for their Chinese food. Not just in the Netherlands, but across the whole world. I am very interested in understanding how Chinese people are able to successfully open restaurants without a lot of education in places where they are not familiar with the culture and do not speak the local language.

Therefore, this research is focused on Chinese entrepreneurs in the Netherlands who own a Chinese restaurant. The focus will be on the key success factors for Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands. Also, how are these entrepreneurs able to use cognitive strategies to lead their firms? The entrepreneurs engaged in this research will be further analyzed through different interviews. The interviewees are a mix of male/female, young/old, active/inactive and experienced/not so experienced entrepreneurs. This has been done consciously in order to yield more valid and reliable results for this research.

1.2. Research questions

The main problem statement conducted out of the topic of this research is as follows:

How can Thought Self-Leadership lead to success for Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands?

In order to answer the main problem statement, the following sub-questions have been conducted:

• What are the characteristics of the Chinese population and Chinese entrepreneurs in the Netherlands?

• What are characteristics of Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands? • What are key success factors for Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands? • What is Thought Self-Leadership?

1.3. Theoretical relevance

Entrepreneurship is, academically seen, a rather new and young topic that still needs a lot of exploring (Wiklund et al., 2011). Also, there are many different interpretations of entrepreneurship. This makes it complex and harder to investigate entrepreneurship. Furthermore, entrepreneurship is a growing phenomenon in developed countries as it is regarded as a way of life and not so just to earn an income (Henricks, 2002).

The Chinese population has been established for more than hundred years in the Netherlands. However, little research has been conducted on this population despite their long history in the Netherlands. In addition, there has been done more research on other non-Western populations compared to the Chinese population. The Chinese population has developed a great image for themselves and contributes to the Dutch economy. It is important to conduct more research on this population in order to get a better understanding.

The first Chinese immigrants settled in the Netherlands in the year 1911 and the amount of Chinese people has grown since (Rijkschroeff, 2008). This was also the beginning for the Chinese entrepreneur in the Netherlands. A large amount of the Chinese population in the Netherlands consists of entrepreneurs, which makes this population very interesting to conduct research on.

Self-leadership theories have enjoyed considerable popularity for more than two decades (Neck & Houghton, 2006). One category of the self-leadership strategies concerns constructive thought pattern strategies. For this research, one specific constructive thought pattern strategy will be used, which is called Thought Self-Leadership (TSL). Little research has been conducted on TSL in the Chinese context. In particular, TSL has not been investigated yet for the Chinese population in the Netherlands.

Due to the large amount of Chinese people and importance of Chinese entrepreneurs in the Netherlands it is of a great theoretical relevance to investigate them for a better understanding of their entrepreneurial skills and their thought processes. Also, academic research that combines the Chinese population in the Netherlands with the TSL model does not seem to exist yet.

1.4. Practical relevance

Next to the theoretical relevance, this research is also important in a practical sense. Research by FORUM shows that Chinese entrepreneurs generate the highest turnover, least bankruptcies and are responsible for the highest employment rate compared to other ethnic groups in the Netherlands (Nieuwsuur, 2014). This means, that Chinese entrepreneurs contribute the most to the Dutch economy. A Chinese entrepreneur contributes €73,000 on average per year, which is €22,000 more than average in the Netherlands.

The number of starting Chinese entrepreneurs grew with a staggering 74% in 2013 in the category of foreign starting entrepreneurs (Kamer van Koophandel, 2013), which equals to 806 starters. According to the report of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK), 73% of these entrepreneurs operated in the hospitality industry. This shows, that the Chinese entrepreneur is a large potential contributor to the Dutch economy. Last year, the total revenue of all restaurants in the Netherlands accounted for 6.1 billion euros. The Asian restaurants alone are responsible for 1.2 billion euros (CBS, 2016). This means that Asian restaurants have a market share of almost 20%.

Furthermore, due to a change of regulation concerning hiring foreign people in the Netherlands, it becomes more difficult for Chinese restaurant owners to hire cooks coming from China.

This results in a growing shortage of Chinese cooks in the Netherlands, which may harm the business of Chinese restaurants. According to the spokesman of the Dutch hospitality industry organization, Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, the difficulty of the Asian cuisine is being underestimated by the unemployment benefit company UWV (De Volkskrant, 2014). This may affect the success of a Chinese restaurant.

This research provides a better understanding of the Chinese entrepreneur with its cultural background and may encourage the younger generation in the Netherlands to start their own firm.

1.5. Structure of research

The following chapters of this research are necessary in order to answer the main problem statement and the four sub-questions. First of all, a literature review will be conducted by analyzing existing theories that are relevant to provide answers to the main and sub-questions. The results will be combined and evaluated as a theoretical framework for this research.

The literature review section with an analysis of existing theory will be followed by the methodology section. In this chapter, the research design that is used to gather data for this research will be explained. Subsequently, the results will be shown and discussed. A conclusion will be drawn upon these findings for answering the main problem statement. Finally, the strengths and limitations will be presented along with possibilities and recommendations for future research.

2. Literature review

In this chapter, existing theories that are relevant for the topic of research will be introduced. In order to explain the various phenomena in this research, some background information is needed. First, a definition of an entrepreneur for this research will be given. Second, the Chinese population in the Netherlands will be discussed. Third, the characteristics of a Chinese entrepreneur will be explained. Furthermore, the characteristics of Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands will be described. Lastly, the different aspects of the TSL model will be explained.

2.1 The entrepreneur

2.1.1 Definition of entrepreneurship

According to the Oxford dictionary an entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. In current literature, there does not exist one single definition to describe entrepreneurship or an entrepreneur. This is due to the fact that there seems to be different opinions on what an entrepreneur and entrepreneurship is. Some of the early authors on this topic are Cantillon (c. 1680-1734), Schumpeter (1934), Cole (1949), Kirzner (1973), Gartner (1988) and Low and MacMillan (1988) (Carland et al., 2002). Some of the later authors include Stevenson and Jarillo (1990), Shane and Venkataraman (2000) and Davidsson et al. (2006). Due to the long and extensive research on entrepreneurship, the different definitions have undergone some changes, which also lead to new definitions.

Richard Cantillon was the first to introduce the concept of an entrepreneur (Van Praag, 1999). He focused on the economic role of the entrepreneur, rather than the individual who performs such a role (Stevenson and Jarillo, 2007). According to Cantillon, entrepreneurship entails an entrepreneur taking risk when buying goods for certain prices and selling it at uncertain prices. Jean Baptiste Say added the concept of bringing together the factors of production to this definition (Stevenson and Jarillo, 2007). Schumpeter looked at entrepreneurship as the process by which the economy as a whole goes forward (Stevenson and Jarillo, 2007). Schumpeter believed that “it is the carrying out of new combinations that constitutes the entrepreneur” (Schumpeter, 1934; p.74). According to Cole (1949), entrepreneurship is about establishing, maintaining and growing profit firms. He added growth to the definition of entrepreneurship. Cole (1968) stressed the aspect of innovation in the entrepreneurial function (Stevenson and Jarillo, 2007). Kirzner (1979) argues that the entrepreneur has a superior knowledge of market imperfections that he uses to his advantage. Therefore, entrepreneurship was not about advancing the economy to qualitatively higher levels, but about the accomplishment in real life (Stevenson and Jarillo, 2007). Following Venkataraman (1997), entrepreneurship is defined as the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of future goods and services. This definition suggests that entrepreneurship involves the study of opportunities (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). According to Davidsson et. al (2006), entrepreneurship is more than solely starting new and independent firms. Growth is also an important aspect. Therefore, they included this in their definition.

Having looked at the different existing definitions of entrepreneurship it is possible to come up with a definition for this research together with my personal view on entrepreneurship. The following definition will be used for this research: entrepreneurship is about owning and managing a business and taking risk in the hope of profit.

2.1.2 Types of entrepreneur

In current research a distinction between many different types of entrepreneurs have been made. The differences are based on various factors, such as personal traits, type of firm or your goal of being an entrepreneur. Below, the following types of entrepreneurs will be explained briefly: corporate entrepreneur, gazelle entrepreneur, lifestyle entrepreneur, nascent entrepreneur, novice entrepreneur, portfolio entrepreneur, serial entrepreneur, social entrepreneur, standard entrepreneur and finally the studentpreneur.

A corporate entrepreneur is an individual in a firm, such as a manager, who is expected to act as an entrepreneur in an existing organization. With corporate entrepreneurship one makes an attempt to incorporate both the mindset and skill set of successful start-up entrepreneurs into the cultures and activities of a large company (Thornberry, 2013). A gazelle entrepreneur owns and manages a rapidly growing firm. These firms have an exceptional rapid growth compared to other firms. These businesses start out larger than new firms, but smaller than establishments of large firms (Acs & Mueller, 2008; Henrekson & Johansson, 2010). Lifestyle entrepreneurs run businesses that suit their own lifestyle. These entrepreneurs create a business in order to achieve self-fulfillment with non-economic motives (e.g. seek enjoyment in their life) and are looking for independence and control (Buttner & Moore, 1997; Ateljevic & Doorne, 2000; Henricks, 2002; Henderson, 2002). Nascent entrepreneurs are people who begin the process of starting a firm (Davidsson & Honig, 2003). Novice entrepreneurs are inexperienced or first time entrepreneurs who have no prior business ownership experience (Westhead et al., 2005; Baron & Ensley, 2006). Portfolio entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who has ownership of more than one firm at the same time (Carter & Ram, 2003; Westhead et al., 2005). A serial entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who enters and create new ventures repeatedly. They do not own multiple businesses at the same time, but buy and sell ventures (Carland et al., 2000; Ilmakunnas & Hyytinen, 2006). A social entrepreneur has a deeply rooted belief and uses this belief or social mission to change or solve a social problem (Dees, 1998; Barendsen & Gardner, 2004).

A standard entrepreneur is someone who owns a firm without exceptional or specific characteristics. Studentpreneurs are students who are starting their own firm during their period as a student.

2.2 The Chinese population in the Netherlands

After providing the definition of entrepreneurship for this research and briefly introducing the different kinds of entrepreneurs, it is possible to describe and explain the Chinese entrepreneur in the Netherlands.

To celebrate the hundred-year anniversary of the Chinese population in the Netherlands, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) and Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau (SCP) conducted research on the Chinese population in the Netherlands in 2011. In the research of Linder et al. (2011) for CBS, the Chinese people in the Netherlands are divided into three different groups.

The first group entails the first-generation Chinese people in the Netherlands who established themselves before 2000. This group is the so-called pre-2000 generation. The second group consists of the first-generation Chinese people in the Netherlands who established themselves right after 2000, or the so-called New Chinese. Lastly, the second-generation Chinese are the people born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born in China.

The Chinese population in the Netherlands consists of several different ethnic groups. In the research of Linder et al. (2011), they made a distinction between Chinese people coming from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The Chinese people coming from these countries account for 77,000 Chinese people in the Netherlands on January 1, 2011 (Linder et al., 2011; Gijsberts et al., 2011). Furthermore, there are also Chinese people coming from other countries, but they have been intentionally left out of the research for both Linder et al. (2011) and Gijsberts et al. (2011) because they are difficult to trace. These Chinese people come from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Surinam (Linder et al., 2011; Gijsberts et al. 2011). The group, that has been left out consists of around 25,000 Chinese people in the Netherlands.

The Chinese population in the Netherlands is ranked fifth on the Non-Western population list in the Netherlands when considering just Chinese individuals from China and Hong Kong (Linder et al., 2011; Gijsberts et al., 2011). The other ethnic groups in the top five rank are originating from Turkey, Morocco, Surinam and the Dutch Antilles/Aruba. The growth of the Chinese population in the Netherlands is not due to the increase of the second-generation, but due to immigration of the Chinese people from mainland China (Gijsberts et al., 2011).

The research of Gijsberts et al. (2011) made a different division of the Chinese population in comparison with the research of Linder et al. (2011). In contrast to Linder et al. (2011), Gijsberts et al. (2011) made a distinction of four categories. The first group consists of Chinese individuals, who came to the Netherlands before 1990 and have stayed in the Netherlands for a long time (20 years or more). The second group concerns the immigrants between 1990 and 2000. They have stayed here for a medium long period (10 to 20 years). The third group consists of the people who came to the Netherlands since the millennium. Lastly, the second-generation Chinese people in the Netherlands are the fourth group. The categorization of both researches are quite similar, except that Gijsberts et al. (2011) also made a distinction based on duration of stay.

2.2.2 Statistics of the Chinese population in the Netherlands

Table 1 shows the amount of Chinese people in the Netherlands from the period 1999-2011. It is noticeable that the amount of Chinese people in the Netherlands has been increasing since 1999. Especially, in the last ten years there seems to be a large increase. This is largely due to immigrants from Mainland China who come to the Netherlands to study (Gijsberts et al., 2011). It is worth mentioning, that the growth of the Chinese population in the Netherlands is not due to natural increase (birth minus mortality), but almost entirely due to immigration as shown in table 2. This is not the case for the remaining four non-Western populations in the Netherlands.

Most of the first-generation Chinese population, who came to the Netherlands in 1990 or before, originated from Hong Kong or from the province Guangdong (Harmsen, 2011). Other places of origin are from the coastal province Zhejiang, south of Shanghai. The reason being is that it was relatively easy to immigrate to the Netherlands from these places compared to other parts of China during that time (Harmsen, 2011). Due to political changes in the 90s, there seemed to be a shift in people immigrating coming from Hong Kong. During that time, most of the Chinese people immigrating to the Netherlands came from Zhejiang province.

Table 1: Chinese population in the Netherlands

(Source: Linder et al., 2011)

Table 2: Average size of Chinese population in three periods, 1997-2008 (x1000)

After the 90s, Mainland China became the largest contributor for the Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands. Chinese people coming from Hong Kong kept on decreasing to just 5% since 2001 (Harmsen, 2011), as shown in table 3.

The Chinese population in the Netherlands is relatively young. According to Linder et al. (2011), the Chinese population consisted mostly of 15 to 20 years old around the year 2000. In 2011, more than 25% of the Chinese population in the Netherlands is between the age of 20 and 30. Furthermore, the average of a Dutch population is 39.6 years old, whereas the average age of the Chinese population in the Netherlands is 31.6 years old (Gijsberts et al., 2011). The reason being is the increase of students and migrant workers coming from China during the 21st century. Furthermore, the average age of the pre-2000 group in 2011 is 49 years old, the New Chinese group is 30 years old and the second-generation group is 18 years old (Linder et al., 2011). Table 4 shows the age of the Chinese in the Netherlands and the respective share in percentage for the year 2000 and 2011.

Table 3: Place of origin of the Chinese people in the Netherlands

2.2.3 Employment of the Chinese population in the Netherlands

The first Chinese people came to the Netherlands as sailors. Since the 30s and 40s the demand for sailors decreased, which resulted in a lot of Chinese people leaving the Netherlands (Wubben, 1986). After World War II there was an increase in Chinese immigrants due to employment opportunities in the hospitality industry in the Netherlands (Gijsberts et al., 2011). Most of the Chinese people work in the hospitality industry in the Netherlands. Solely looking at the pre-2000 group this already means that 40% is employed in the hospitality industry and more than 75% owns a business in the hospitality industry (Linder et al., 2011). These percentages are way higher than the native Dutch population. However, the percentage has been dropping since 2008. The second-generation Chinese people in the Netherlands choose to work in different industries. Although this may be true, a large part is still represented in the hospitality industry (Linder et al., 2011). A lot of the Chinese people start working employees and later on start their own business after gaining experience in the hospitality industry. Next to the hospitality industry, the Chinese people are active in the trade industry and the business service industry.

The wish to start a business is strong amongst the Chinese people. This is also true for the pre-2000 generation in the Netherlands. The amount of Chinese people owning their own business is almost twice the amount of the native Dutch people (Gijsberts et al., 2011). In 2008, almost 30% of the pre-2000 generation Chinese male owned his own business. For the Chinese female, this was respectively 21% (Linder et al., 2011). On the contrary, the pre-2000 generation consists of less wageworkers than other populations in the Netherlands.

Table 4: Age of the Chinese population in the Netherlands (Source CBS, 2011)

The group of Chinese people, who came to the Netherlands after 2000, is a rather different group than the pre-2000 group. They differ from the first-generation group by their place of origin, motives to move to the Netherlands and their demographic characteristics (Linder et al., 2011). Contrary to the first-generation Chinese population, the New Chinese usually come from Mainland China instead of Hong Kong. From the 20,000 Chinese people coming to the Netherlands in 2008, 90% came from Mainland China and less than 5% came from Hong Kong or Macau (Linder et al., 2011). Also, they are often younger and there are more women among that group. The New Chinese want to move to the Netherlands, because they want to study in the Netherlands. This is the most important motive for Chinese male immigrants (Harmsen, 2011). In 2008, 40% was of this group was working and whereof only 10% was self-employed. Although the business service industry is more popular amongst this group, the hospitality industry is still the most popular industry for the self-employers (Gijsberts et al., 2011; Linder et al., 2011). The second-generation does not want to work in the hospitality industry. Only 20% is active in the hospitality industry. Moreover, only 8% of this generation is self-employed, which is a huge difference with the previous generation. Most of the second-generation works in the business service industry as an employee (Gijsberts et al., 2011; Linder et al., 2011). A large part of this generation is still studying. The second-generation performs very well with regards to education. They outperform the national Dutch averages (Linder et al, 2011).

2.2.4 The Chinese entrepreneur

As mentioned before, an exceptionally high percentage of Chinese people in the Netherlands are entrepreneurs. One explanation for this is the lack of human capital – education, experience and Dutch language skills – that forms a great barrier to start a career in the Netherlands (Gijsberts et al., 2011). Secondly, having your own business is associated with a high status in the Chinese community.

Compared to other populations in the Netherlands, the Chinese population has the largest share of entrepreneurs with 13.4% in 2008. The native Dutch population was good for a share of 7.1%, Turkish population 7.0%, and Netherlands Antilles population 7.5% (Gijsberts et al, 2011). In a report of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (2014), it is mentioned that the Chinese population has a remarkably high growth percentage of starting entrepreneurs of 74% compared to the year before. The Turkish population still has the largest number of starting entrepreneurs, as shown in table 5.

2.3 Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands

The Chinese hospitality is typically an ethnic economy. The ethnic economy is a sector in the market economy, where immigrant entrepreneurs or ethnic group entrepreneurs are represented for the most part (Vogel et al., 1999). A typical characteristic of ethnic economy is the way immigrants create work for themselves or start their own business. After starting their business, they often hire fellow immigrants as employees. Ethnic businesses, such as Chinese restaurants, are usually small, and capital intensive, where not a lot of technology is required (Vogel et al., 1999). The entry barriers are low, which as a result can lead to a lot of competition due to other immigrants making the same move to start their own business (Kloosterman et al., 1997). To beat the competition, ethnic entrepreneurs usually use informal strategies, due to limited resources. These strategies are primarily focused on increasing production and lowering wage costs, which may be achieved by hiring family members or illegal immigrants (Kloosterman et al., 1997). Due to the closed attitude of Chinese people in general, not a lot of information has been gathered on the way Chinese people do business.

In the 50s and 60s the Chinese cuisine became very popular. As a result, a lot of Chinese restaurants opened their doors during that time in the Netherlands. However, in the 80s there was a decrease in growth, partly due to the economic recession in the Netherlands (Rijkschroeff, 2008). Luckily the growth of Chinese restaurants started again in the 90s. In 1960, the total number of Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands amounted to 225 restaurants. In 2008, the number of Chinese restaurants increased to almost 2,200 restaurants (Rijkschroeff, 2008).

Table 5: Foreign starting entrepreneurs, 2013

Due to the increase in restaurants, Chinese restaurant owners started asking friends and family members to come to the Netherlands to work for them. This resulted in a type of migration called ‘chain migration’ (Rijkschroeff, 2008). Friends and family members are important employees for Chinese restaurant owners because in general it is labor-intensive work, especially in the kitchen. Also, one must work for many hours a day against low wages (Rijkschroeff, 2008). Under these circumstances, it would be very hard to hire employees, who are not friends or family members. The necessary capital to start a Chinese restaurant is mostly saved up money from the Chinese restaurant owner. Any shortages would be financed through a loan from family. A Chinese restaurant relies heavily on a joint effort and loyalty, where different generations are involved.

2.4 Thought Self-Leadership

2.4.1 Definition of Thought Self-Leadership

Self-leadership is a process through which individuals control their own behavior, influencing and leading themselves through the use of specific sets of behavioral and cognitive strategies (Neck & Houghton, 2006). In other words, self-leadership is about how it is possible to enhance organizational performance through individual-dependent thinking and acting (Alves et al., 2006). Self-leadership consists of specific behavioral and cognitive strategies designed to positively influence personal effectiveness (Neck & Houghton, 2006). Three different kinds of categories exist, when talking about self-leadership strategies.

Firstly, behavior-focused strategies are designed to encourage positive, desirable behaviors that lead to successful outcomes, while suppressing negative, undesirable behaviors that lead to unsuccessful outcomes (Neck & Houghton, 2006). Behavioral-focused strategies include self-observation, self-goal setting, self-reward, self-punishment and self-cueing (Neck & Houghton, 2006).

Secondly, with natural reward strategies a person is able to motivate or reward itself by intrinsically enjoying aspects of a task or activity (Manz & Sims, 2001; Manz & Neck 2004). In essence, a person can make use of two different natural reward strategies. Firstly, one is to build more pleasant and enjoyable features into a given activity in order to make the task itself become rewarding (Manz & Sims, 2001; Manz & Neck, 2004). Secondly, one can make the task rewarding by shaping perspectives by focusing on the positive aspects instead of the unpleasant aspects (Manz & Sims, 2001; Manz & Neck, 2004).

Lastly, constructive thought pattern strategies are ways to create constructive thought patterns and ways of thinking that positively influence performance (Neck & Manz, 1992; Manz & Neck, 2004). Constructive thought pattern strategies include identifying and replacing dysfunctional beliefs and assumptions, mental imagery and positive self-talk (Neck & Houghton, 2006). A person should identify the negative self-talk and replace this with positive talks or self-dialogues. One type of constructive thought pattern strategies is the Thought Self-Leadership (TSL) strategy. TSL consists of three components, namely self-talk, mental imagery, and beliefs and assumptions (Neck et al., 1997; Godwin et al., 1999; Neck et al., 1999; Neck et al., 2013)).

2.4.2 Self-talk

Self-talk is about what individuals covertly tell themselves (Neck & Manz, 1992; Godwin et al., 1999; Neck et al., 2013). Research shows, that through self-talk one is able to enhance his or her performance by revising their self-dialogue (Neck et al., 1997; Godwin et al., 1999; Neck et al., 2013). By analyzing self-talk patterns, it is possible to replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts through positive self-dialogues. Whatever an entrepreneur tells himself or herself before, during and after a stressful event is likely to affect beliefs, mental imagery, and affective state (Neck and Milliman, 1994; Godwin et al., 1999; Neck et al., 1999; Neck et al., 2013).

2.4.3 Mental imagery

Mental imagery is the creation and, in essence, symbolic experience of imagined results of our behavior before we actually perform (Manz & Neck, 1991; Neck & Manz, 1992). It refers to imagining successful performance or a task before it is actually completed (Neck et al., 1997; Neck et al., 2013). Entrepreneurs are able to enhance their performance by successfully using mental imagery to manage stress in their lives (Neck et al., 1999; Neck et al., 2013).

2.4.4 Belief and assumptions

Beliefs can be defined as entrepreneurs’ underlying assumptions (Neck et al., 2013). These beliefs and assumptions of an entrepreneur may result in problems due to dysfunctional thinking (Ellis, 1975; Burns, 1980). According to Ellis (1975) and Burns (1980), a person is able to encounter their dysfunctional beliefs by replacing them with rational beliefs. These distorted beliefs happen in times of potentially troublesome situations (Neck & Milliman, 1994; Neck et al., 1999).

In these situations, a person often uses the ‘all or nothing thinking’, where the situation is evaluated in extreme black or white categories (Neck & Milliman, 1994; Godwin et al., 1999). These dysfunctional beliefs can be changed by altering the thought patterns (Burns, 1980).

2.4.5 Thought patterns

TSL suggests that beliefs and assumptions, self-talk, and mental imagery influence one another to produce an individual’s thought patterns (Neck & Milliman, 1994; Godwin et al., 1999; Neck et al., 1999; Neck et al., 2013. Thought patterns are described by Manz (1992) as ‘certain ways of thinking about our experiences’, and as ‘habitual way of thinking’.

Entrepreneurs are able to develop thought patterns that are in line with opportunity thinking or with obstacle thinking (Neck & Manz, 1992). When entrepreneurs make use of opportunity thinking (e.g. optimistic way of thinking), they are able to overcome challenges and will show perseverance and willingness to put maximum effort into actions (Neck et al., 1994; Neck et al., 1999; Neck et al., 2013). On the other hand, obstacle thinking involves focusing on the negative aspects in a difficult situation, which may result in giving up and retreat from a problem (Neck et al., 1994; Neck et al., 1999; Godwin et al., 1999).

3. Methodology

This chapter explains the methodological approach of this research in order to answer the main problem statement:

How can Thought Self-Leadership lead to success for Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands?

3.1 Research philosophy

Explaining which research philosophy has been used for a research is important, because it shows how certain assumptions have been made and how this research should be viewed. Researchers make a distinction between ontology, epistemology and methodology. Ontology, the study of being, is about the nature of how reality is viewed. Epistemology, the study of knowing, is about how knowledge can be gained or how we know it. Methodology is about in which way a phenomenon will be investigated (Holden and Lynch, 2004; Creswell, 2013). For this research, a constructivist point of view will be used. Constructivist research is done while the researcher and entrepreneurs are continuously interacting with each other, such as interviews (Guba & Lincoln, 1994).

3.2 Research approach

The Chinese population knows a long history in the Dutch society. However, little research has been conducted on the Chinese population in the Netherlands. Research that has been done till date is mostly quantitative research and the theory is nascent. The maturity of theory and research determines has been taken into account whether quantitative or qualitative research is needed to gain methodological fit as shown in table 6 (Edmonson & McManus, 2007). Since research on the Chinese population in the Netherlands is rather nascent, qualitative research is best suited in order to gather new insights. Also, this research is interested in the ‘how’, which requires qualitative research. By conducting qualitative research, it is possible to understand the meaning behind the answers given by the interviewees. The gathered information through field research has to be interpreted in order to give meaning (Edmonson & McManus, 2007).

3.3 Data collection

By interviewing the Chinese entrepreneur, specifically a Chinese restaurant owner, it is possible to interact with the interviewee on a personal level. By doing so, it is possible to investigate personal motivations and ways of implementing TSL in order to turn a business into a successful business. It should be clear that the data will be collected through interviews. In order to gather the most data from an interviewee, it is important to use open-ended questions during the interview (Edmonson & Mcmanus, 2007). This way, the interviewee will not be forced into thinking in a certain perspective and just answering by a simple yes or no. Instead, this gives the interviewee the opportunity to be free to give any information they would like.

Table 6: Methodological fit as a mean tendency

Relevant follow-up questions can then be asked after the given information by the interviewee. It should be noted that there are some closed questions in the interview questions, but these have been limited.

3.3.1 Structure of the interviews

All interviews were semi-structured interviews. The themes were predetermined, but the order of asking the questions were not fixed, meaning that the order could vary depending on the given information and the flow during the interview. By doing so, it is possible to go more in-depth with regards to a certain topic. The choice for this type of interview has been made on purpose. This results in more personal interaction and more freedom for the interviewees, and gathering valuable information at the same time. All interviews have been done face-to-face and one-on-one. By choosing to do a one-on-one interview instead of a paired or group interview, the reliability of the data increases. When interviewing separately, an interviewee will not be influenced by the perspective of a different person during the interview. Furthermore, the time and place of the interview have been determined by the interviewee itself in order for them to feel more comfortable in a setting they feel familiar with.

3.3.2 Units of research

The interviewees have not been selected randomly on purpose in order to create as much diversification as possible. In total twelve interviews have been held of which eleven with Chinese entrepreneurs and one with a marketing manager of the Vereniging Chinees-Aziatische Horeca Ondernemers (VCHO). VCHO is the Association for Chinese-Asian Hospitality Entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. The Chinese entrepreneurs are a mix of people from different Chinese origin, age, sex and entrepreneurial status (e.g. starting, established, retired). The chosen sample size has been determined based on the available research time and saturation. To reach saturation in a qualitative research Guest et al. (2006) found that twelve interviews are sufficient. Conducting more interviews would not generate any new information. Table 7 gives an overview of the twelve interviewees. The identities of the interviewees have been made less visible in this report due to requested anonymity by some of the interviewees.

Interviewee Last name Sex Age Generation Origin Type of entrepreneur

A Lam M 67 First Hong Kong Portfolio

B Tsen M 42 Second Taiwan Standard

C Liu M 63 Second Hong Kong Serial

D Liu F 58 First Hong Kong Serial

E Van der Klis M 45 N/A The

Netherlands N/A

F Lam M 67 First Shanghai Serial

G Wong F 58 First Hong Kong Standard

H Lam M 57 First Hong Kong Serial

I Cheung F 52 Second Hong Kong Serial

J Yang M 28 Second Zhejiang Standard

K Wong M 55 First Hong Kong Standard

L Li M 48 Second Hong Kong Standard

3.3.3 Interview protocol

All appointments with the interviewees were scheduled beforehand for approximately an hour. This estimation seemed to be right, as most of the interviews took about an hour in order to answer all the questions. The interviewees received all questions beforehand as they wanted to read and prepare the questions. This way, they were able to provide the right information in the most effective way. The majority of the interviews were held at the working place of the interviewee. All interviewees were based in the province Noord-Holland. Appendix 1 shows the interview guide for the conducted interviews. Not all questions were the same for every interviewee, as this simply is not possible due to their own status and position. For example, one entrepreneur was already retired and one interviewee was a marketing manager of VCHO. This required different types of questions for different interviewees.

3.4 Data analysis

The collected data from the interviews will be analyzed through coding. All interviews have been recorded in order to listen to the tapes again so that valuable information would not get lost. The audio recordings of the interviews are all transcribed in order to create codes for the data.

3.4.1 Coding

All interviews have been transcribed in order to analyze the data. By doing so, it is possible to read the data several times to get familiar with the data. After reading the interviews, different codes have been developed for the data that is relevant for this research. After having created codes for all interviews, different themes and categories have been created to organize all the codes. The generated codes are used to provide an answer to the main and sub questions of this research.

3.4.2 Reliability

Reliability is concerned with the consistency of the measurement over time, which means the results should be the same if the exact same research would be conducted for a second time (Blumberg et al., 2008). If the answer to this question is yes, then the data is reliable. In order to increase the reliability, different factors that may influence the data have been taken into account. As mentioned before, all interviews were carried out during work time in their own working space so that they would feel comfortable. Also, the identity of the entrepreneurs has not been revealed, enabling them to tell their own personal story freely without worrying about any consequences. Furthermore, every interviewee has gotten the same interview protocol to ensure that the core of the interviews remained the same.

3.4.3 Validity

Validity is whether the findings are what they appear to be about and exists of two parts, namely internal validity and external validity (Saunders et al, 2009). Internal validity means that the variable measures what it is supposed to measure (Blumberg et al., 2008). External validity is about whether the conclusions are generalizable across people, setting and time (Blumberg et al., 2008). In order to increase the validity of this research, an attempt has been made to choose interviewees in areas with the most Chinese restaurants to be representative for Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands as a whole.

In an attempt to do so, interviews have been conducted in Chinese restaurants in the province Noord-Holland. Furthermore, by choosing different type of Chinese entrepreneurs (e.g. age, sex, status) it is possible to gain data from different perspectives.

4. Results

This chapter will present the results from the findings based on twelve interviews of which eleven Chinese entrepreneurs and one marketing manager of the branch organization. Short summaries of each interviewee will be presented before presenting the coding scheme.

4.1 The twelve interviewees

For all twelve interviewees, the most important information will be presented down below, based on the codes generated from the collected data through interviews.

4.1.1 Interviewee A

This male entrepreneur is a portfolio entrepreneur having owned four Chinese restaurants during his time as an entrepreneur. Currently, he is retired and enjoying life from his hard-earned money. Increasing his living standards was the biggest motivation for him to start his first restaurant. Being an employee did not earn enough money for him to take care of his family. He started his restaurants together with a Dutch partner, which was needed due to language barriers. He gained confidence to open the second restaurant, as his first restaurant was successful. He used opportunity thinking to improve himself and his restaurants. By putting a lot of time and effort it was possible to run four successful restaurants. He is very modest about his own success and does not regard himself as very successful overall. According to him, you need to work hard and never be lazy. Otherwise, you will be doomed to fail. Due to low education, he has learned everything by doing in order to gain experience.

4.1.2 Interviewee B

This male entrepreneur worked in the banking industry after graduating. He saw that a Chinese restaurant was failing, but he was convinced he could save it as he saw room for improvement. He decided to take this opportunity and start his first restaurant. He had a strong personal motivation to try to make the restaurant great again. Also, he wanted to earn more money to provide for his family, because he and his wife were expecting their first child. He had a clear vision and goal in mind.

Unfortunately, he did not succeed in making the restaurant successful again. Although he was not successful, he still gained a lot of experience and knowledge that he will put to use when presented with a second opportunity. He definitely is not afraid to take risks. Currently, the thought of opening a restaurant again is going through his mind a lot. He does not want to include his family in working for his restaurant.

4.1.3 Interviewee C

This male serial entrepreneur came to the Netherlands with his parents. He started working in the restaurant of his dad. His dad taught him everything about the Chinese cuisine. One day some family members wanted to open a new restaurant and asked him to be a shareholder as he spoke some Dutch. This was his start as an entrepreneur. Later on, he opened his own restaurant to improve his living standards and providing for his wife and children. He has started and sold several restaurants and is currently owner of his third restaurant. He is really focused on innovating and improving his restaurant. His strategy lies in ensuring and improving the quality of the food he serves to his customers.

4.1.4 Interviewee D

This female serial entrepreneur started her career as an entrepreneur by being one of four shareholders of a Chinese restaurant. A year later, she opened her own restaurant. Due to pregnancy, she sold her restaurant. In 1986, she took over the restaurant of her brother-in-law as he was about to migrate to Germany. Currently, she is still the owner of this restaurant. She is very modest about her own success. She compares herself to other entrepreneurs, who own many big restaurants. By being an owner of this restaurant, she is able to provide everything her children wants and does not have to worry about her personal finances. That has always been her goal. She always imagined herself being able to do everything she wants without worrying too much. In her current position, she is able to do so and live freely.

4.1.5 Interviewee E

This was the only person who was not an entrepreneur. He is the marketing and communication manager of the Chinese-Asian branch organization in the Netherlands. According to him, times are changing for the ‘traditional’ Chinese takeaway restaurants in the Netherlands.

There seems to be a shift towards more all-you-can-eat restaurants and different Asian cuisine (e.g. Japanese and Korean). However, Chinese cooks are still much needed in his opinion.

Chinese cooks are especially needed for Chinese restaurants targeting the higher segment, due to skill requirement and complex communication. In his opinion, keeping up with current food trends and using the right marketing mix are very important for the success of a restaurant. He describes the Chinese entrepreneur as very modest and hardworking people, who are satisfied with less and are very self-sufficient. Family still plays an important role in the life of a Chinese entrepreneur. However, children are less willing to take over their parents’ restaurant, as they want to study or start their own concept.

4.1.6 Interviewee F

This male serial entrepreneur came across an opportunity to open a Chinese restaurant in Germany together with a partner. He returned to the Netherlands after having opened and sold two restaurants in Germany. In the Netherlands, he started his third restaurant, which he still operates after more than twenty years. He has a strong belief and wants to continuously improve his life and become better. The main reason to become an entrepreneur for him was to earn money to provide for his whole family. His family has been the main driver for him to keep working hard and look for opportunities. Also, status, money and achievements motivate him to continue being an entrepreneur. He always had a clear vision and talks a lot to himself to further improve himself.

4.1.7 Interviewee G

This female entrepreneur started as an entrepreneur, because she wanted to support her husband as he wanted to become an entrepreneur. In order to increase their living standards and be able to provide for their children, they decided to start their own restaurant. In her eyes, being an entrepreneur gives you more freedom, but also more responsibility for the actions you take. According to this female entrepreneur, it is very important to be customer-focused. Customers should feel appreciated and comfortable at her restaurant. Having enough professional employees, who are passionate about the hospitality industry, is therefore very important. Being able to provide the best service and quality is one thing, but in her opinion you can only be successful when you can earn money by doing so.

4.1.8 Interviewee H

This male serial entrepreneur started by working in the restaurant of his dad. When he was 25 years old he decided to start a restaurant for his own. He did not want to work for a boss. Being an entrepreneur was the only option. He gained a lot of experience and knowledge about the Chinese cuisine so starting his own restaurant was the logic move. His vision and goal have changed over the years. In the beginning, earning a lot of money was his main motive. This gradually changed to providing a stable platform for his children and retiring early to enjoy life with his wife. According to this entrepreneur, working hard and perseverance are important factors to become a successful restaurant owner.

4.1.9 Interviewee I

This female serial entrepreneur grew up working in the hospitality industry and has never left the industry since. Freedom and earning money are the reasons for her to become an entrepreneur. Having a vision is important to her. In order to create a vision, she talks a lot to herself. Family plays a significant role for running the business. Her little brother has always and is still helping her in the restaurant. Also, her two children are highly involved in the business. In her opinion, work is never done and there is always room for improvement. Therefore, to become successful you have to work hard and should expect that there will be hard times.

4.1.10 Interviewee J

This young male entrepreneur has been very clear about his motivation and view on entrepreneurship. He did not want to work for a boss because he thinks that working as an employee is not something he wants to do for the rest of his life. According to him, family is very important for a Chinese restaurant. Without help from family it would be very difficult for him to run his restaurant. He does not think he is successful, because he has not yet reached his goal. To him being successful is when you do not have to work anymore and are able to enjoy life. He has a clear vision and strategy to make his restaurant a success. He is also intending on starting a second restaurant.

4.1.11 Interviewee K

One day A friend of this male entrepreneur approached him to start a restaurant together because he speaks Dutch pretty well.

As he wanted to earn more money in order to provide for his family, he accepted the offer. Earning money to provide for his wife and children was the main motivation. However, later he realized that earning money is not everything. He did not have a long-term vision. By being an owner of a Chinese restaurant it was not possible to spend a lot of time with his family, which in his eyes damaged the relationship between him and his children. Also, having a restaurant lead to a lot of stress and pressure. Although he was able to earn money and increase his living standards, he chose to quit as an entrepreneur after twenty years. Now, he works in a Chinese restaurant as a cook and is able to spend more time with his children. When confronted him with the question if he would have stayed an employee if he could turn back time, his answer was no. He would still have pursued a career as an entrepreneur but would try to manage his time much better.

4.1.12 Interviewee L

This male entrepreneur has been a Chinese restaurant owner for about three years now. Due to his family situation, he decided to start his own Chinese restaurant in order to provide for his family. Everything he does is for his family and not for personal success. By having this restaurant, he wants to offer his children a backup plan for after their graduation. His vision is that they can take over the restaurant if they cannot find a job after graduation. He has been working for three years straight without a day off and is happy that he now is able to make a living with his restaurant. From the beginning, he already had the trust and belief that he would earn money with his restaurant. He would not have started the restaurant if he did not know how to cook himself.

4.2 Generating codes and themes

The collected data have been investigated thoroughly in order to retrieve all the important information. First of all, data has been divided into demographic characteristics of the interviewees and data that is useful to generate different themes. Table 7 shows the demographic information that is conducted from all the interviewees. Next, data has been found and used to generate codes, which is focused on answering the sub-questions and main problem statement. Based on these codes, different patterns and links have been found from which different themes have been constructed. An overview of the different constructed themes can be found in appendix 2.

In appendix 2 there are some codes that have been found that are left out of the analysis. These are categorized under the theme ‘other’. This has been done intentionally in order to create consensus between the individual constructions. These codes are regarded as outliers. These codes have not been taken into consideration for answering the main problem statement.

4.2.1 Family

The first theme, family, is regarded as highly important according to all interviewees. Family is top priority for the Chinese population. It plays a large and significant role in the life of the Chinese entrepreneur. Therefore, this family theme has been constructed. For almost every entrepreneur, to be able to provide and take care of their family has been the main reason for starting their own restaurant.

B: “We were expecting our first baby. I was still working in the banking sector, but that is not

something I could be doing for the rest of my life considering the dismissal round. In an attempt to create a better future, I bought the restaurant.”

C: “I sold my restaurant after one year, because my wife and me had our first child. It was

too much to handle at that time. I started having different Dutch jobs, which were not related to the hospitality industry. I figured that this would not cut it for my family. So, I decided to start my own restaurant again in 1978.”

F: “I was always working as an employee. I actually really liked that, because it gives you

relatively more freedom and less stress compared to being a restaurant owner. However, after I got married and got children this all changed. My wife was not working due to pregnancy, so I was the breadwinner. I wanted to generate more money for my family. The only option was starting my own business.”

K: “Employment just did not pay enough. I wanted to earn more money not just for myself,

but also for my family.”

L: “At the moment, finding a job is very hard when you have just graduated. I want to provide

a backup plan for my children. When my restaurant is running smoothly, my children can take over the restaurant and search for a job in the meantime.”

Increasing their living standards is also a common reason for Chinese people to start their own restaurant.

A: “At that time, making a living in Hong Kong was very difficult. That is why a lot of people

immigrated to England. The main goal for us was to increase our living standards. The only way was by working hard and saving money to start your own restaurant.”

G: “Being an entrepreneur gives you the opportunity to earn more money. I wanted to earn

more money so that I could increase my living standards. That way I have more freedom than when I work as an employee.”

Family members are not just a big motive for starting a Chinese restaurant. They are also important for running the business. To all interviewees, family members are important for a Chinese restaurant.

A: “Whenever I was not able to hire people, friends and family would always help me out.

Also, every time that I started a new business my friends would come and help me. Not just on their day off, but also after a day of work! My children also have helped me during the weekend for many years.”

C: “Yes, the help of family is very important. In the early days, family of mine would come

and help me out during rush hour. At this moment, one of my sons is still helping me out in the kitchen.”

D: “I used to ask my family to help me out in the restaurant for the rush hour. When my

children were teenagers they also helped me. Now they are not helping me anymore because they all graduated and got their own job.”

E: “You still sometimes see that a whole family is involved in a business. They tend to rely on

family, because they cost less.”

F: “I started my first two businesses without help from my family. For my third restaurant,

G: “My children have always helped me out in the restaurant. I did not need help from other

family members as my business was not really big. Just the help of my children was enough.”

H: “My family helped me out financially so that I could start my own restaurant. Also, my

wife works here full-time and my two boys help me during the rush hour.”

I: “My little brother and two little sisters all have worked in my restaurant. My little brother

is still helping me. Also, my children help me. To me the help of family is very important. Not so for the start of my business, but definitely for running the business.”

J: “Without help of family it is very difficult for me to operate my restaurant.”

K: “My wife and children have always helped me during the start-up phase, but also helped

me operating the business. The same goes for my business partner at the time.”

L: “Family definitely plays an important role for me. My children help me a lot because

everything is digitalized nowadays. Me and my wife have discussed the matter of opening a business with my children. If they do not want to help me, then I would never have started my restaurant.”

One entrepreneur specifically made the decision to not involve his wife and children into his restaurant. Also, he did not want to involve his family in the starting phase.

B: “A family business is a cornerstone of the Chinese community in the Netherlands. That

means that father, mother and children are all part of the restaurant. There are not a lot of Chinese restaurants that operate without the help of family. I wanted to relieve my family from this burden by starting a business all by myself. I did not want to give my children the feeling that they are obligated to help me when they are older.”

“The moment I took over the restaurant, I did not involve my family business wise. I did that intentionally. It was easier. I would not change that.”

4.2.2 Education

Education is very important in the Chinese culture. The young Chinese generation in the Netherlands endures the change of studying and consists of usually highly educated individuals. However, most of the current Chinese restaurant owners did not have the opportunity to go to school like their children. They immigrated to the Netherlands and started working at a young age. Most of them are low educated, but they are still able to run a successful business. They somehow learned to manage and show leadership. Their leadership and management skills are mostly based on years of working experience in the hospitality industry and self-study.

A: “I have never learned how to manage or run a business at school. Everything I know is

through experience. I used to talk a lot with my employees to gather information. By doing so, I slowly gained more knowledge on how to manage and run a business.”

C: “I manage everything myself. I read a lot and do a lot of self-learning. Also, by doing a lot

of work myself I know how to do everything and know how to manage the different tasks.”

F: “Of course you have to do a lot of management. The way I do it is just however I want to

do it. It is not like in big firms where they have all kinds of different managers. I just do what I think is right. Just by simply doing I learned how to run a business.”

G: “My former boss gave me a lot of responsibilities when I was working as an employee. He

had several restaurants, so he could not do everything by himself. I basically was responsible for everything in the restaurant, except for the kitchen. I was 21 years old at that time and the owner gave me a lot of opportunities to learn. Everything I have learned I put to use in my own restaurant.”

H: “In the past years they have gotten very strict and there are a lot of rules. So, it is very

important to manage everything well. I have never learned how to manage at school. I did not know how to do that in the beginning. I asked friends and colleagues of mine to help me.”

L: “I never learned about how to be an entrepreneur. The same goes for management. I have

been working my whole life and by working I tried to absorb as much knowledge as I could like a sponge. So, for us it is really learning through experience.”

4.2.3 Aiming for success

All interviewees think that an entrepreneur needs to work hard in order to be successful. Working hard is something that they have incorporated in their daily lives making it almost something natural.

A: “Every entrepreneur needs to sacrifice time and put effort into their business in order to

become successful. That means you have to work hard. If you are not willing to do that you will never be successful. When you are ready to work hard and not be lazy you will be able to achieve anything you want. Chinese people are not afraid to work hard.”

B: “In the hospitality industry everybody has to work hard. That means that you must be

prepared to work hard when you want to begin your own restaurant. If you are not willing to do so, then do not even think about starting.”

C: “In a Chinese restaurant you need to be able to work hard. In the beginning, you have to

do everything yourself. You need to gain experience on every aspect of your business.”

D: “Chinese people are hardworking people. We have a feeling for responsibility and will

always work when we are able to. I am always at least an hour earlier than everybody else and will not leave until everything is done.”

E: “In my opinion, Chinese people are still one of the most hardworking people. They are

willing to satisfy with less compared to Dutch people. Chinese are very modest and hardworking people, who are very focused on customer service.”

F: “I never complain and always go to work. Even when it is 30 degrees outside and people

take the day off to lie on the beach, I will still be working. That is the difference.”

G: “When I started my business it was hard work for not a lot of money. I still had to learn a

lot about the business. So, I had to put in a lot of work. Even now, I have to work hard, but I do not mind. Nothing comes easy.”