Minority Entrepreneurs Research Articles

Borrower discouragement: Explaining under-represented racial minority entrepreneur’s relationship with debt financing

This study examines the factors influencing borrower discouragement among underrepresented racial minority entrepreneurs (URMs) in the United States, focusing on their engagement with debt financing. Despite their significant economic contributions, URMs face systemic challenges in accessing financial resources essential for growth. The research explores how experiences in racialised environments lead to feelings of stereotype threat, which in turn result in borrower discouragement. An experiment involving 186 entrepreneurs revealed that stereotype threat fosters a prevention focus while diminishing a promotion focus. Interestingly, stereotype reactance can mitigate the impact of stereotype threat on prevention focus. These findings enhance our understanding of the micro-processes in debt acquisition for URMs, contributing to URM entrepreneurship literature and resource acquisition research. They also have practical implications, highlighting the need for strategies to counteract borrower discouragement and support URMs in their entrepreneurial endeavours.

Assessment of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and SMEs’ Growth in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State

SMEs often face resource constraints, ranging from financial capital to human resources and market access. Understanding how entrepreneurial ecosystems facilitate resource allocation and address these constraints is crucial for enabling sustainable growth. This study therefore investigated the impact of entrepreneurial ecosystems on firms’ growth, with a focus on SMEs operating in Ilorin metropolis, Kwara State. A cross-sectional survey research design and a quantitative data gathering method were used in this study. Three hundred and forty-three (343) SMEs make up the study's sample size, which was chosen to represent the 3124 SMEs that are registered with the Kwara State Board of Internal Revenue and pay taxes totaling one hundred thousand naira or more. Standard multiple linear regression analysis was employed to analyze the data obtained from the administration of a structured survey questionnaire. Findings of the study revealed that entrepreneurial ecosystems through access to capital, entrepreneurial support infrastructure and talent and knowledge exchange have significant impact on SMEs growth. The study concluded that entrepreneurial ecosystems constitute the bedrock upon which SMEs thrive and catalyze economic growth. By providing startups with the necessary resources to invest, innovate, and expand, access to finance plays a pivotal role in fueling entrepreneurial activity, job creation, and economic growth. The study recommended among others that, programs and initiatives aimed at improving financial literacy among entrepreneurs, empowering them to make informed decisions about financing options and investment opportunities should be invested on and implement policies and initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion within the financial ecosystem, ensuring equitable access to finance for women, minority entrepreneurs, and underserved communities.

The role of financial literacy and risk management in venture capital accessibility for minority entrepreneurs

This research paper explores the critical role of financial literacy and risk management in enhancing venture capital accessibility for minority entrepreneurs. It delves into the challenges minority entrepreneurs face, including systemic biases, limited access to resources, and inadequate financial education, which hinder their ability to secure venture capital. The paper emphasizes the importance of an integrated approach that combines financial literacy and risk management to improve business viability, investor confidence, and overall success. Key policy recommendations include developing targeted financial literacy programs, increasing access to mentorship and professional networks, and advocating for diversity and inclusion within the venture capital industry. The conclusion reiterates the significance of financial literacy and risk management in overcoming barriers to venture capital and suggests future research directions to further address these gaps. Keywords: Financial Literacy, Risk Management, Venture Capital, Minority Entrepreneurs, Policy Interventions.

A comparative study of minority entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial intention between LGBT versus traditional markets

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the entrepreneurial intention (EI) manifested by potential entrepreneurs for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) and traditional markets, thereby tracing a comparative EI for both markets. The intention is to understand the vision of potential future entrepreneurs related to markets focused on the LGBT public (i.e. if entrepreneurs perceive this market as an option for future business).Design/methodology/approachUsing a quantitative research design, data were collected from a sample of 157 students in Brazil and analyzed by applying structural equation modeling.FindingsThis study primarily identified a difference between EI when comparing the focus on LGBT and traditional markets. Results show that the impact of personal attitude is significantly higher on EI for general markets (all markets) than for markets focused on LGBT audiences. Furthermore, the impact on entrepreneurship for traditional markets is generally significantly lower than for the LGBT market.Originality/valueThe study explored the EI for LGBT markets, which has not been studied extensively. It aims to gain a better understanding of various aspects that may influence the decision-making and perceptions of potential future entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the study compares traditional and LGBT audiences, providing valuable insights for potential future entrepreneurs in both scenarios. This comparison is a unique contribution to the literature and contributes to important analyses and debates.

Building an inclusive ecosystem for minority and women entrepreneurs: A case study of Columbus

We all agree that it is essential to build an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem for all kinds of people, particularly minority and women entrepreneurs, as the past studies are clear to demonstrate underperformance of those demographic groups. At the same time, we are only beginning to understand what kind of systemic barriers exist for women or minority entrepreneurs at the regional system level. Furthermore, it requires a different set of knowledge about how we can practically create an inclusive ecosystem. This paper applies the concept of equity planning for the context of economic development. This paper examines a case study of the City of Columbus, Ohio, in 2018–2019 in which the City Government actively promoted to build an inclusive ecosystem for women and minority entrepreneurs. We induce five essential steps that we could learn from this inclusionary practice which provide tangible implications for other city governments, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and other stakeholders of local entrepreneurship systems.

Competency-based training within the prison system: enhancing the likelihood of entrepreneurial activity upon release

ABSTRACT Recidivism rates across the world remain high, and one of the key reasons for this situation is that people leaving the prison system have great difficulty in securing employment. Addressing this issue must be explored from a broad perspective, but one potential career option that is under-explored is self-employment, with few entrepreneurship programmes available within prison systems. This study explores a competency-based approach to training, examining the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to enhance the prospects of persons with lived experience of prison becoming entrepreneurs. Using thematic analysis on ten in-depth interviews, this article identifies three categories of competency (generic, specific, and existing) that need to be developed, honed and leveraged through an in-prison entrepreneurship programme designed to enhance the likelihood of participants undertaking entrepreneurial activity upon release. Such findings aim to contribute to the competency-based approach to training, to the minority entrepreneurship domain, and to the entrepreneurship education literature.

Understanding Barriers to Development and Growth in Women, Ethnic, and Minority Entrepreneurship

Aim: The study aimed to investigate factors contributing to the success of specific ethnic entrepreneurs over others and to identify challenges hindering the growth of businesses owned by women, ethnic groups, and minorities. Methodology: The study employed a mix of positivism and interpretivism philosophy and utilized a descriptive survey design employing a cross-sectional method to gather and analyze data. The objectives and purpose of the study influence the decision toward the selection of research design, it is necessary to select a research design that matches the problem studied. Data were collected from sample comprised 30 respondents selected randomly from three distinct groups: women entrepreneurs, ethnic entrepreneurs, and minority entrepreneurs within Dar es salaam, using simple randomly sampling technique. The study employed in-depth interview to collect information from entrepreneurs’ women entrepreneurs, ethnic entrepreneurs, and minority entrepreneurs situated in various locations in Dar-es-Salaam. Data analysis was conducted using the content analysis method, where gathered data were coded, aligned according to discernible patterns, quantified and transformed into numerical values. Findings: The study found various factors contributing to the success of confident ethnic entrepreneurs, including motivations, opportunity structure, group characteristics, predisposing factors, and customer relationships. Challenges hindering women and minority-owned businesses included social-cultural barriers, financial constraints, and market accessibility challenges. Based on the study's findings, recommendations were made, including launching a nationwide campaign to address negative mindsets about women in business, developing specialized financial schemes for small businesses, and advocating for support groups and entrepreneurship clubs to tackle market challenges collectively.

A Theory of Minority Entrepreneurship

Since different racial and ethnic groups experience different entrepreneurial outcomes, we need to develop an explanation for these differences as a foundation for overcoming them. Early analyses of entrepreneurship by Cantillon, Turgot, Smith, Say are applied to problems of minority entrepreneurship. Menger, Schumpeter, and Kirzner provided the most modern and complete treatments, but entrepreneurship’s multifaceted nature makes it difficult to incorporate into formal models. Segmented markets and preferred habitat theories drawn from financial economics are applied to address special issues confronting minority entrepreneurs and suggest how they might inform public policy. Because policy implications are suggested, it is hoped that this paper may contribute to a constructive conversation on opportunities to encourage entrepreneurship and advance minority communities.

Everyday prejudices: an intersectional exploration of the experiences of lesbian and gay entrepreneurs

PurposeThere is a gap in understanding with regards to the discrimination and prejudice experienced by gay entrepreneurs. To address this, an intersectional perspective is adopted to facilitate a better understanding of how lesbian and gay entrepreneurs may experience heterosexism.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of 14 lesbian and gay entrepreneurs as they navigate homophobia and heterosexism.FindingsThe study contributes novel insights to the field of entrepreneurship, extending the study of lesbian and gay entrepreneurs to include gender and a fine-grained analysis of the experience of heterosexism. Its inclusion of an intersectional perspective of the lesbian-female entrepreneur expands the emerging body of literature examining intersectional identities of minority entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThe authors provide a more nuanced understanding of the impact of heterosexism on LGBT+ entrepreneurial activities. This is facilitated by the authors' adoption of an intersectional perspective which shows how the different axes of identity influenced gender identity performance in relation to the model of perceived neutrality in LGBT+ entrepreneurship. The authors also make an original contribution to minority stress literature through the authors' exploration of one facet of minority entrepreneurship, namely the impact of heterosexism on LGBT+ entrepreneurial activities.

Examining the Entrepreneurial Intentions of U.S. Ethnic Minorities During the Covid-19 Pandemic

We examine minority entrepreneurial intentions in the U.S. and seek to make business leaders and business educators aware of minority students’ interest in entrepreneurship activity. Utilizing the theory of planned behavior, we investigated if demographic and behavioral factors are related to entrepreneurial intentions. A major contextual factor was that we performed our research during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed the entrepreneurial intentions of 400 U.S. business college students, comparing minority respondents (n=137) with white respondents (n=263). The minority respondents belonged to the three predominant minority entrepreneur groups in the U.S. -- African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. Minority respondents had significantly greater entrepreneurial intentions than their white counterparts. We investigated contextual factors affecting minority entrepreneurial intentions and found that a significant difference existed regarding the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in that it counter-intuitively increased minority entrepreneurial intentions. Significant personal factors included having family members who own a business and having a role model.

Can business clinics induce minority entrepreneurship? Treatment effect estimates from Atlanta and New Orleans

Can business clinics induce minority entrepreneurship? Treatment effect estimates from Atlanta and New Orleans

The promise of entrepreneurship ecosystems: a conceptual model for black American entrepreneurs

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to set forth a conceptual model describing the actors and roles in ecosystems created to enable productive black entrepreneurship in the USA.Design/methodology/approachThis paper provides a systematic literature review of entrepreneurship ecosystems. It further leverages such literature review by using an autoethnographic approach recommended by Guyotte and Kochacka (2016), drawing on the authors’ practical experience in studying, owning, educating or consulting employer businesses owned by persons of color in the USA and abroad.FindingsEach actor in the ecosystem has practical wisdom and assets that can be shared and leveraged through interacting with the other actors either as role model institutions or capacity development institutions, thus mitigating social inequalities and boosting economic progress by extending entrepreneurial opportunities beyond those that are greatly resourced.Research limitations/implicationsOur literature review is based on selected samples of relevant articles on entrepreneurship ecosystem research and ethnic minority entrepreneurship, and thus, is not exhaustive. The selection was partly influenced by the authors’ opinion of whether a given study was relevant or not to a black entrepreneurship ecosystem. There is the possibility that some relevant studies were excluded. Thus, other actors are encouraged to revise or adapt this model to inform their distinct roles and goals.Practical implicationsThe proposed model can help actors involved in the operation or support of a black-owned business make optimal business decisions, enabling each actor to be instrumental in another’s understanding of how to facilitate the success of black American entrepreneurs and business owners and thus, deploy marketing campaigns to boost the visibility and role of each actor. These campaigns play a role in their entrepreneurial marketing efforts.Originality/valueResponding to Gines and Sampson’s (2020) call, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to explicitly provide a comprehensive black entrepreneurship ecosystem model that identifies the actors, roles and activities that can help black Americans address social inequalities that limit their ability to become a successful employer business. The proposed model may aid in deepening the theoretical discussion on entrepreneurial ecosystems and be of inspiration for the future works of scholars and practitioners interested in the entrepreneurship and marketing interface.

ETHNIC ECONOMY IN MILANO: THE CASE OF THE TURKISH IMMIGRANTS IN THE KEBAB SECTOR

Şelale BALAMBAR ERGAN Middle East Technical University/City and Regional Planning Department sbalambar90@gmail.com The concept of ethnic minority entrepreneurs in the economy represents the employment patterns in the particular country. Immigrants often experience discrimination and exclusion in the labor market and the outcome of this process is the high rate of unemployment. On the contrary, the ethnic economy could be regarded as a promising alternative to unemployment among immigrants. With this decision, immigrant entrepreneurs create their own business and support other immigrants if the business is successful. Currently, immigrant entrepreneurs are comprising big part of urban economies. Besides contributing to the economics of the countries, immigrant entrepreneurs also open the way for the integration of immigrants in the countries of settlement. By creating ethnic economy to overcome discrimination and exclusion, immigrants are making themselves attractive and integrated into the host society. In Italy, migrants from Turkey often are self-employed in the kebab fast-food restaurant sector. The ethnic economy plays a significant role to overcome discrimination and create integration channels. Data were obtained from interviews with migrants from Turkey who arrived in Milano in the years between 1988-2010. In Italy, many migrants from Turkey are immigrating for the purpose of work, study, and so on. In general, the kebab sector entrepreneurs migrated to Milan as asylum-seekers. Like any other post-industrial/low-skilled market, the kebab sector is easily accessible and attractive for many aspiring immigrant entrepreneurs. Thanks to the low demand for human capital and no requirement for special skills, therefore, Turkish immigrants preferred this sector. Turkish immigrants as ethnic entrepreneurs are open to new opportunities. The result of the study highlights the question of how did the Turkish immigrants manage their own insertion and incorporation into the host society.

Minority entrepreneurs and start‐up financing

AbstractThere is a need for additional research on minority entrepreneurs need to access start‐up funding to grow and sustain their businesses. The problem is access to financial capital is a constraint for minority entrepreneurs and negatively impacts their ability to stay in business. Minority borrowers face more difficult borrowing conditions than Caucasian entrepreneurs. The results from this case study demonstrated the pecking order theory and the resource base theory, and that there is no relationship between the source of the funding and the success and failure of 11 minority‐owned small business startups. Case study is an excellent research design for this study because it allows a researcher to investigate the lived experiences of individuals who have shared experiences of a particular event or condition. The results from this case study showed a majority of the research participants indicated that avoidance of debt is a primary motivating factor to use personal savings as a primary choice in funding their respective businesses. This article is designed to assist policymakers at both the state and federal government levels in better understanding how to provide accessible financing to these entrepreneurs. Also, this article is designed for all individuals who have started a business or may be thinking about starting a business to get a better understanding of the obstacles and motivations minority entrepreneurs encounter when attempting to find financing to start their businesses.

“Really being yourself”? Racial minority entrepreneurs navigating othering and authenticity through identity work

PurposeDrawing on an intersectional perspective on racial, migrant and entrepreneurial identities, this paper investigates the identity work of racial minority entrepreneurs with native-born and migrant backgrounds, confronted to experiences of othering in a White entrepreneurial ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachThe study takes a qualitative-interpretivist approach and builds on six cases of racial minority entrepreneurs in nascent stages of venture development within the Dutch technology sector. The dataset comprises 24 in-depth interviews conducted over the course of one and a half year, extensive case descriptions and online sources. The data is thematically and inductively analysed.FindingsDespite strongly self-identifying as entrepreneurs, the research participants feel marginalised and excluded from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which results in ongoing threats to their existential authenticity as they build a legitimate entrepreneurial identity. Minority entrepreneurs navigate these threats by either downplaying or embracing their marginalised racial and/or migrant identities.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature on the identity work of minority entrepreneurs. The paper reveals that, rather than “strategising away” the discrimination and exclusion resulting from othering, racial minority entrepreneurs seek to preserve their sense of existential authenticity and self-worth, irrespective of entrepreneurial outcomes. In so doing, the study challenges the dominant perspective of entrepreneurial identity work among minority entrepreneurs as overly instrumental and market-driven. Moreover, the study also contributes to the literature on authenticity in entrepreneurship by highlighting how racial minority entrepreneurs navigate authenticity threats while building legitimacy in a White ecosystem.

Impact of socioeconomic prosperity and race on crowdfunding success

PurposePrior research treated entrepreneurs’ actions as purely opportunistic and voluntary, excluding social and economic systems’ influence on entrepreneurial actions. However, the applications of communication strategies, project management and social network are anchored in socioeconomic systems in which the entrepreneurs are rooted. To address the gap, this study aims to articulate – through the prism of institutional theory – how restaurant crowdfunding (CF) success is affected by socioeconomic prosperity according to entrepreneurs’ race and geographic area.Design/methodology/approachThe current study analyzed 2,008 restaurant CF projects launched in the USA through the Kickstarter platform from 2010 to 2020. By conducting one-way analysis of variance and multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression models, this study examined the relative socioeconomic prosperity and CF success according to the race of the restaurant entrepreneurs. The study also examined how socioeconomic prosperity affected CF success and how that relationship was moderated by the entrepreneurs’ level of restaurant experience.FindingsThis study finds that relative socioeconomic prosperity and CF success does differ according to race. Also in the CF context, lower socioeconomic prosperity does impede fundraising success. While the level of restaurant experience significantly increased an entrepreneur’s CF success, the impact was not so significant as to overcome the impact of socioeconomic prosperity.Research limitations/implicationsDrawing on institutional theory, this study examines the impact of socioeconomic prosperity on CF project outcomes. By uncovering the significant impact of socioeconomic systems on CF success, this study fills the research gap. Previous studies have generally treated minority entrepreneurs as an aggregated form. The authors’ results extend the literature by including major ethnic groups – whites, African Americans and Asians.Practical implicationsThe findings of the current study show restaurant entrepreneurs can raise the likelihood of CF success by doing two things: first, accumulate experience in the restaurant industry; second, use their CF websites to highlight testimonials about the value of that experience. Federal, state and local governments can institute policies to help improve racial minorities’ socioeconomic conditions and thereby promote startups’ fundraising success.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine unexplored institutional effect on CF outcomes. It examines how and why socioeconomic factors affect minority entrepreneurs’ funding success. It compares the prosperity and CF success of white, African American and Asian entrepreneurs.

Minority Entrepreneurship in Switzerland: The Challenges and Needs of Brazilian Women Entrepreneurs

The number of Brazilian citizens in Switzerland has risen significantly over the past decades by factor 24 compared to the total foreign population, which grew by factor 2.5. As with many migrant groups, integration into the labour market is difficult. This can lead to a higher number of people choosing to start their own business. Brazilians in their home country are more entrepreneurial than Swiss people and among Brazilian women, 17.3% are entrepreneurially active. This can partly be explained with less options on the labour market – a challenge that Brazilian women also experience in Switzerland. Therefore, entrepreneurship also became a viable career option abroad. Little is known about neither the businesses, the challenges, and the needs of female Brazilian entrepreneurs, nor of female entrepreneurs of other minority groups. This paper looked at these points to find out how they can be supported best to enhance their businesses. The findings will be of use for entrepreneurs themselves, as well as for supporting organisations to adapt their offerings. To get the required insights, we took a quantitative approach and surveyed 54 Brazilian women in Switzerland with an online questionnaire. The participants were members of a Brazilian women business club. The results were analysed using SPSS. The entrepreneurs came to Switzerland mainly for love and family reasons. The businesses are small, mainly targeting the Brazilian community and only a small minority can sustain themselves from their self-employment alone. While the financial success is rather low, the personal satisfaction of having a business is very high. The biggest challenges are finding customers, where also the biggest need for support is. The results show that the support structures are not accessible enough for founders from minority groups and that offerings need to be adjusted to have a broader reach.

Innovative activity and ethnic dynamics: an exploratory study of homophilic relationships among minority entrepreneurs

Innovative activity and ethnic dynamics: an exploratory study of homophilic relationships among minority entrepreneurs

The impact of Covid-19 on struggling ethnic minority entrepreneurs' business strategy: the case of Bangladeshi curry houses in the United Kingdom

PurposeThis paper outlines ways in which struggling ethnic minority entrepreneurial service ventures and their owners might respond to unforeseen economic and social shocks. Interviews with owners of Bangladeshi Curry Houses in the United Kingdom — whom historically have lower performance rates compared to other ethnic minority businesses in the country — reveal that the entrepreneurs' response strategies undertaken to survive and remain in the business despite the challenges faced from operating in a turbulence environment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted depth phone interviews with owners of Bangladeshi Curry Houses in London during January and February of 2021. The Gioia methodology was applied to the interview scripts to identify which crisis themes exist.FindingsDespite no advanced educational training, Bangladeshi owners have applied all of the different crisis management techniques present in larger companies: retrenchment, persevering, innovation, and exit. Although the results show that government schemes aimed at helping small businesses have contributed significantly to their survival, concerns regarding the post-health crisis situation remain challenging and threatening for their growth and survivability.Originality/valueThe results indicates that the ethnic minority owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are less likely to plan for the future operations; furthermore, they tend not to have formulated a strategy for dealing with an external shock hence affecting and threatening their performance and competitiveness in the marketplace.

Examining motivations and challenges of black wine entrepreneurs using the push–pull theory of entrepreneurship

PurposeThe two major entrepreneurial motivations of being “pushed” or “pulled” to start a business have been frequently explored in the entrepreneurship literature. In the global wine industry, thousands of small entrepreneurial wine businesses are flourishing, but few have been started by Black entrepreneurs. What is missing from the research is an exploration of the motivations of these entrepreneurs and what the industry can do to encourage the entrance of more minority entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to apply push–pull theory to better understand the motivations and challenges of what prompts Black entrepreneurs to start and succeed in the wine industry.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study uses a qualitative methodology of 42 in-depth interviews with US Black winemakers, retailers, and other wine business owners conducted over Zoom. The data were analyzed using Otter software and a thematic coding process for 2,120 pages of rich text.FindingsFindings included 12 motivation themes and 12 challenges for Black wine entrepreneurs, with more emphasis on “push” versus “pull” motivation factors. Many of these entrepreneurs were “pushed” to participate in the industry to create a more inclusive space for Black wine consumers and to create opportunities for other Black professionals and minorities in the industry. Managerial implications include solutions for more inclusive marketing and workplace culture.Originality/valueThis study contributes to push–pull theory by offering a unique perspective on the motivations of Black wine entrepreneurs, as well as being the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to focus on this issue.