Social embeddedness, entrepreneurial orientation and firm growth in ethnic minority small businesses in the UK

Abstract

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of ethnic minority small businesses (EMSBs) and its antecedents and consequences are under-researched. Grounded in ethnic entrepreneurship theory and the social embeddedness approach, this article examines the relationships of EMSBs’ access to various networks, their EO and firm growth. Drawing on quantitative data collected through 258 face-to-face structured interviews with Chinese- and Turkish-owned EMSBs in London, UK our findings reveal that family and co-ethnic advice and labour do not have a significant impact on firms’ EO. Instead, both access to co-ethnic products and access to co-ethnic suppliers of utilities and facilities have a significant impact on firms’ EO, which in turn has a significant positive effect on employment growth. Moreover, Chinese-owned EMSBs demonstrate a higher level of EO and pursue different paths to growth (that is, they are more likely to grow through acquiring more business premises) compared with Turkish-owned EMSBs. The findings have important implications for the understanding of growth patterns of EMSBs, particularly the role of EO in the EMSBs’ break-out strategies and growth.