The Interaction between Culture and Entrepreneurship in London's Immigrant Businesses

Abstract

This article examines the interaction between culture and immigrant entrepreneurship with reference to London's ethnic minorities. It compares the cultural attributes of different ethnic groups and how these affect their entrepreneurial behaviour. The article reports and analyses the results of 163 interviews with entrepreneurs from six different immigrant communities in London: Indian, East African Asian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Turkish Cypriot and Turkish. The findings indicate diversity in business entry motives, patterns of start-up finance and family involvement in business among the different ethnic groups. These may be explained by differences in several cultural attributes including family tradition, migration motives, religion, family links, business experience and educational attainment. The evidence suggests that the interaction between culture and entrepreneurship is stronger in the case of some ethnic groups than others.