Giles Andrew Barrett and David McEvoy
The purpose of this paper is to describe and assess the sustainability of an emergent West African business quarter in Manchester, UK. Comparisons are drawn with developments…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and assess the sustainability of an emergent West African business quarter in Manchester, UK. Comparisons are drawn with developments among other ethnic groups. The research is placed in the context of international literature on ethnic entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is primarily qualitative, using semi‐structured interviews and conversational life histories with a sample of West African retail businesses and a comparative group of other local businesses. Some use is made of quantitative information from census and other public data sources.
Findings
New West African enterprises appear, over the last few years, to have stabilised the declining retail district of Moston Lane in north Manchester. These new businesses are however confined to few sectors: food stores, hair and beauty salons, cafes, Internet cafes and clothing shops. These developments may parallel the success of longer established retail quarters in Manchester and elsewhere. However, most of the businesses may not survive long, having provided a temporary living, and some entrepreneurial experience, for their owners.
Research limitations/implications
Limited sample size and short time frame make results exploratory rather than definitive. The research provides however a base for future investigations.
Practical implications
The businesses studied provide economic opportunities for some immigrants with limited labour market opportunities.
Social implications
Immigrants are helped to maintain the integrity of their culture through the purchase of appropriate goods and services.
Originality/value
This paper provides the first consideration of a specifically African retail quarter in Britain, adding an additional ethnicity to the roster of identifiable geographic business locations.
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This paper seeks to understand the role played by transnational family networks in ethnic minority business development.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to understand the role played by transnational family networks in ethnic minority business development.
Design/methodology/approach
The Vietnamese nail‐care sector is taken as a case study. The research involved interviews with ten owner‐managers and four key informants involved in this industry in London. The analysis draws on concepts of “strong” and “weak” network ties and “mixed embeddedness” to explain why the Vietnamese continue to enter such a competitive sector.
Findings
The results highlight the importance of transnational family networks within all aspects of the business and suggest that these links can sometimes provide a fertile source of new business ideas, but can equally limit innovation. The presence of innovative and well‐educated members within the entrepreneurs' “strong‐tie” network appeared to encourage more successful business development and diversification.
Research limitations/implications
The research challenges the traditional “strong/weak” ties thesis and suggests that, while it has some general value, in the context of groups from more collectivist societies and with family links overseas, it is necessary to take account of the human and social capital resources of the extended family rather than just those of the individual entrepreneur.
Practical implications
To maximise the potential of these links it suggests that business advisers need to undertake a comprehensive audit of entrepreneurs' networks and assist them in assessing how their family ties can best contribute to the development of the business.
Originality/value
The paper focuses on a new community (the Vietnamese), and a new sector of study (transnational family networks), both of which have received little attention in the entrepreneurship literature.
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Giles Barrett, Trevor Jones, David McEvoy and Chris McGoldrick
Immigrant‐owned business in Britain is reviewed in the light of both cultural and structural economic perspectives. The latter view is emphasised. Concentration in trades which…
Abstract
Immigrant‐owned business in Britain is reviewed in the light of both cultural and structural economic perspectives. The latter view is emphasised. Concentration in trades which are in decline, or are labour intensive, or both, creates acute competitive pressures which are exacerbated by the growing presence of corporate rivals in many markets. Real and perceived bias on the part of banks helps to limit diversification. Attempts to move away from characteristic activities, both geographically and sectorally, have had only limited impact. Accumulation of class resources holds the greatest promise for entrepreneurial success.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the markets in which immigrant entrepreneurs are active and to examine whether these differ between first‐ and second‐generation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the markets in which immigrant entrepreneurs are active and to examine whether these differ between first‐ and second‐generation immigrants.
Design/methodology/approach
Information was gathered from 252 in‐depth interviews with first‐ and second‐generation immigrant entrepreneurs in The Netherlands.
Findings
The results of this paper show that the second generation are more active in mainstream markets and entrepreneurs move from one market to another by the strategic use of ethnicity.
Originality/value
The more traditional literature on immigrant entrepreneurship gives the impression that immigrant entrepreneurs are mainly active in an ethnic or a middleman market. However, the paper demonstrates that this is no longer the case for second‐generation immigrant entrepreneurs who were born and/or raised in the receiving society. Furthermore, it reveals the dynamic character of immigrant entrepreneurship by examining the first and second generations.
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The aim of this paper is to highlight differences and similarities in human resource management (HRM) practices between first‐ and second‐generation South Asian entrepreneurs and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to highlight differences and similarities in human resource management (HRM) practices between first‐ and second‐generation South Asian entrepreneurs and the extent to which such practices support an integrated HRM system.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws its theoretical underpinning via five “generic HRM functions” and practices, i.e. selection, appraisals, reward, development, and strategy. To help understand the application of such practices from an ethnic dimension, 42 semi‐structured interviews were carried out with two ethnic groups. The two groups chosen were first‐ and second‐generation Sikh and Pakistani Muslim entrepreneurs from micro and small businesses situated within the Greater London area. In addition, nine businesses across both ethnic groups were selected to complete the multiple (comparative) case‐study stage of the research. Investigation was conducted within the phenomenological paradigm.
Findings
The paper notes that differences and similarities between the two generations are based more on sectoral location and type of business with minor instances of cultural and generational nuances. With regard to the development of an integrated HRM system, the evidence suggests that time, cost and expertise are considered constraining factors and, as such, respondents adopt an informal ad hoc approach. Interestingly, although this informality is common within the business, respondents are in fact leaving themselves exposed to breaches of employment law.
Practical implications
The paper supports the literature, whereby training and advice for EMBs that emphasise formal procedures may be counterproductive. Instead, direction should be given to ensure that HRM practices stress accountability, control and connectedness, help to reduce any perceived risk of litigation, and ensure that statutory requirements are met.
Originality/value
The paper offers unique insight into an unknown entity, namely HRM issues within ethnic small businesses.
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Prodromos Ioannou Panayiotopoulos
Applying a multidisciplinary perspective combining theories about immigration, citizenship and enterprise, this paper seeks to examine the influence of the political‐institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
Applying a multidisciplinary perspective combining theories about immigration, citizenship and enterprise, this paper seeks to examine the influence of the political‐institutional framework in the development of enterprise amongst Turkish immigrants in the European gateway cities, pointing to the relevance of the case study for wider theoretical debate about immigration, globalisation and enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on information gathered from European research centres on Turkish migration and employment combined with a review of national and European legislation on immigration, citizenship, entrepreneurship and the regulation of the “informal economy”.
Findings
The findings point to change and continuity in the positioning Turkish entrepreneurs in the EU. Continuity appears in a lack of citizenship and political rights for the majority of Turkish speakers and their inability to influence the political system compared with other people. Change appears in the expansion in the number of enterprises and perhaps more significantly in the growing economic differentiation between enterprises in terms of scale and purpose. One optimistic conclusion is that many of the entrepreneurs have broken out of the economic margins despite the political constraints faced by them.
Practical implications
The paper identifies that immigrant‐owned enterprises in the EU are creating jobs, typically by employing co‐ethnic workers, but also workers from diverse immigrant backgrounds. The potential of Turkish self‐employment in the EU is indicated in trends which show that in The Netherlands and Germany this has been the most significant source of net additions to employment growth.
Originality/value
The paper provides insight into how the political‐institutional framework and legal status influence the labour market positioning and repositioning of an immigrant group.