Coping with Racism: Asian Employers in the Inner-City

Abstract

The growth of minority enterprise in recent years has attracted much interest. However, the concern with ethnic minority business formation has led to a neglect of issues beyond the initial business entry decision, most importantly, survival in the context of racism and intense competition. This paper explores the issue of business survival by examining the market and managerial settings of 50 Asian employers in the typical inner-city area of Wolverhampton, England. Despite operating in the `open' market, many employers still faced severe racial constraints which thwarted the development of their businesses. In managing these constraints, the family was an important though not uncomplicated resource. It could also act as a brake upon management and `rational' modes of operation. Furthermore, the `family' label masked the differential nature of gender relations within Asian firms and obscured the critical de facto managerial roles played by women at work. Business survival in such cases therefore is a complex social process that needs to be set against a context of racism and gender relations.