Cambodian French Returnees and Their Work for Cambodia. A Study on the Evolution of Institutional Entrepreneurship

This paper explores the return of Cambodian French refugees to their native country and their personal experiences in entrepreneurship aimed at the reform of Cambodian institutions. The question under scrutiny is in what ways first generation Cambodian French returnees evaluate the employment of their social capital in institutional entrepreneurial activities. This subject is linked to the societal debate on the ways in which the broad spectrum of institutional entrepreneurial activities, as visible in, for instance, (inter) national aid organizations and the government sector, may impact the development of an emerging nation. Next to a historical overview of Cambodian exile and return, three limited case studies on institutional entrepreneurship by Cambodian French returnees are presented. Findings propose that theory places too much emphasis on the positive uses of social capital and on the positive effects of institutional entrepreneurs’ multiple embeddedness.