Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship Research Articles

South Asian businesses in retreat? The case of the UK

The quantitative prominence of South Asians in self-employment has assumed an almost taken-for-granted status within the field of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Whilst the issue of Asian business 'success' has provoked controversy, the numerical significance of South Asian self-employment is accepted with little comment. This paper presents evidence that questions this unspoken agreement. Although the experiences of South Asian groups in business differ in important respects, the numerical gap between them and the rest of the small business population is gradually being whittled away. A combination of 'competitive push' and 'labour market pull' factors account for this little-noted convergence.

Paving Professional Futures Ethnic Minority Accountants In the United Kingdom

There are some signs that ethnic minority entrepreneurs, particularly in the UK, are gradually diversifying into potentially more rewarding economic activities in the 'professions'. Yet, the experiences of these professional ethnic minority entrepreneurs have rarely been documented. This article explores the case of ethnic minority accountants operating as entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom. The results highlight the importance of the small ethnic minority accountancy practice as a stepping-stone for ethnic minorities seeking to establish themselves in the profession. An unanticipated finding is the potential importance of the ethnic minority accountants as a business resource for their ethnic minority clients. Finally, although ethnic minority accountants appear to be operating successfully, continued reliance on such firms may prove problematic.

Enterprise Development under an Economic Detour? Black-Owned Advertising Agencies, 1940-2000

This article uses the economic detour theory of enterprise development to assess the origins and development of black-owned advertising agencies in the United States since the World War II era. In light of this concept, key socioeconomic phenomena—racial segregation, desegregation, and multiculturalism—are addressed in terms of their impact on opportunities for and practices among black advertising entrepreneurs. Historical evidence is largely consistent with key principles of the economic detour model. In sum, it appears that a contemporary form of racial separation persists in the advertising business, which serves to constrain entrepreneurial efforts among black and other ethnic minority entrepreneurs in the industry.

Immigrant and Minority Businesses: Making the Policy Case

The government plays an important role in the socio-inclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities in its capacity as employer and purchaser of services. The government's functioning as "a business," in particular as a buyer of goods and services that includes immigrants and minorities in Europe, is examined. Several factors are significant in the growing importance of ethnic minority and immigrant entrepreneurship in Europe: (1) as an alternative to wage labor, unemployment, and public assistance; (2) as a source of benefit for national economies; (3) as a pathway to socio-economic integration. Immigrant and ethnic minority business is gaining recognition among several European governments (Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Public procurements and the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) of 1994 are reviewed, along with European Union legislation, and debates on a social approach to public procurement. In most countries, government at all levels is the largest consumer in the market; the current trend in government is to contract out an increasing proportion of its spending. In the European Union, public procurement contracts account for 14% of the GDP, i.e., over 1,000 billion Euros per year. Proactive procurement policies are profitable and advantageous from both a business and a social policy viewpoint.(CBS)

Managing the locals: employee relations in South Asian restaurants

This paper examines the management of employee relations in South Asian firms in the UK independent restaurant sector. Key working practices pertaining to the employment relationship are examined in a particular socio-economic and spatial context. Acknowledging such contexts facilitates an appreciation of how ethnicity and employment relations interact, rather than abstracting culture from the material context in which it operates. Consistent with this analytic focus, a mixed embeddedness perspective (Kloosterman et al. 1999) is adopted which recognizes the importance of both economic and social aspects of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. A qualitative methodology, drawing upon 23 case histories (involving both employer and employee perspectives) is deployed. The indications from this research suggest that the employment relationship is an outcome of the fluid interaction of social, economic and geographical contexts. This renders problematic both culturalist and purely economic approaches to ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Future research should carefully consider how the employment relationship is influenced by its embeddedness within specific communities.

Ethnic minority business in comparative perspective: The case of the independent restaurant sector

British research on ethnic minority entrepreneurship has often endeavoured to account for the prominence or otherwise of ethnic minority groups in business. This trend towards explicating the diversity of ethnic minorities in business has intensified with recent attention to apparently significant variations within the South Asian community itself. But how 'different' is ethnic minority business activity from the wider small firm population? This question is addressed through a qualitative study of a variety of ethnic groups involved in Birmingham's independent restaurant sector. In this article we examine two processes that have been marked out for particular attention in debates on ethnic minority business activity: the role of the family in the process of business formation and management of the enterprise, and the dynamics of 'workforce construction'; that is, the 'qualities' that employers look for in recruiting workers. The results highlight the interplay of culture and economics at work. In so doing, they serve to bring into question 'solidaristic' notions of ethnicity, that attach primary importance to 'culturalist' explanations of ethnic minority business development. It is argued that accounts of the apparent distinctiveness of ethnic minority businesses need to be more carefully embedded in the sectoral context in which they operate. Further, qualitative approaches are more likely to capture the connection between culture and economics in action than quantitatively-based survey assessments.

“Ethnic matching” in enterprise support: the process in action

Should enterprise support for ethnic minority firms be configured along ethnic lines? This question has confronted many officers engaged in the “enterprise industry”, as they grapple with the task of supporting the increasingly significant phenomenon of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. The situation is complicated by the markedly different experiences of ethnic minority groups in business; the apparently low take‐up of existing services; and wider debates in the policy world encouraging the “integration” of business support activities. Policy initiatives to support ethnic minority businesses have had to engage with such issues; but rarely have they been documented. This paper assesses the experience in a Midlands city of AsCo, a Pakistani‐dominated business group that is attempting to “bridge the gap” between South Asians in the retail sector and the providers of business services. The paper is distinctive in a number of respects: The issue of practical enterprise support provision for South Asian firms has rarely been subject to academic scrutiny. Hence, the paper provides a rare case study of this process in action; The design of the initiative was a genuinely collaborative endeavour involving the researchers, policy makers (the local Training and Enterprise Council) and small businesses in AsCo. Indeed, the research was commissioned by the local Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) and AsCo; A methodologically heterogeneous approach is adopted. This involved in‐depth qualitative interviews with 25 member businesses of AsCo (out of a total membership of 80); ten interviews with non‐members; observations of a number of AsCo executive committee meetings; interviews with key TEC officers; and an insider’s view (the second author) of how the research has actually informed TEC policy.

From ethnic minority niche to assimilation: Turkish restaurants in Brussels1

Summary A 25‐year observation of Turkish restaurants in the heart of the Turkish neighbourhood of Brussels shows considerable changes in the characteristics of the restaurants and in their location. Both dimensions of change are interrelated and are explained on the one hand by strategies of ethnic minority entrepreneurship and on the other by the Hotelling effect.

Developing success strategies for ethnic minorities in business: Evidence from Scotland

This article draws upon qualitative research with ethnic minority entrepreneurs in Strathclyde, involving 43 interviews with ethnic minority small firm owners and entrepreneurs from the Strathclyde region in Scotland and three more detailed case studies. We argue that, in Scotland, ethnic minority entrepreneurship has faced different issues from those that have been identified in the literature, success has been achieved through innovative developments, necessary partly due to special environmental factors in Scotland, which include a low rate of new firm formation and the peripheral nature of the market. The relevance of such development, however, provides examples and ‘cases’ of successful entrepreneurship that has relevant application to other areas of the UK and Europe. We use analysis of the recorded interviews and case studies to demonstrate that the keys to successful diversification and development rely upon the development of effective networks and marketing strategies and the use of contacts to form the bridge into mainstream development. Our recommendations concentrate on how enterprise development can be achieved successfully for ethnic minority entrepreneurs. We concentrate upon the lessons that can be learned and the results that can be applied to other areas in terms of policy and support towards ethnic minority entrepreneurs.