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1 – 10 of over 3000Turkish food retail in Germany fulfils social, cultural, and economic functions, but is threatened by shifts in demand and competition. The purpose of this paper is to give a…
Abstract
Purpose
Turkish food retail in Germany fulfils social, cultural, and economic functions, but is threatened by shifts in demand and competition. The purpose of this paper is to give a holistic, interdisciplinary, and action-oriented view of the challenges and opportunities of Turkish food retail in Germany.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a qualitative study using expert interviews with 18 businesspersons from different parts of the Turkish food supply chain in Germany and a qualitative survey of 349 working Bachelor students of trade, industrial, and logistics management as well as business informatics, this paper takes a value chain approach.
Findings
The main opportunities of Turkish food retail in Germany lie in increasing its efficiency, using purchasing associations and brand building, targeting well-funded German consumers, offering fluent Turkish-German customer service and shopping experiences, providing appealing shop locations, designs, and layouts, product range adjustments, and promotions.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on a small scale qualitative study as access to Turkish food retail experts is limited. The sample was carefully selected to be a fair representation of the Turkish food supply chain. As for the consumers, only students have been surveyed so far, because they were targeted by the experts interviewed. In order to allow wider generalizations, this sample could be extended.
Originality/value
This study complements and enhances the very limited research on Turkish food retail in Germany. For the first time, the call for a holistic, interdisciplinary, and action-oriented examination of the challenges and opportunities of Turkish food retail in Germany is answered from a value chain perspective.
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Gordon Chi Kai Cheung and Edmund Terence Gomez
This paper aims to examine the UK’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) policies under Margaret Thatcher’s era in the 1980s, with a view to understand the success stories…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the UK’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) policies under Margaret Thatcher’s era in the 1980s, with a view to understand the success stories, historical development and the structures of Chinese family business through a case study of See Woo Holdings Ltd.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have achieved the objective on the study of the SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher through critical evaluation of the historical literatures, books, journals and newspapers. The study on overseas Chinese business and the case of See Woo Holdings Ltd. is mainly through the research of the Chinese overseas in the UK and Southeast Asia, and the companies report from the Companies House in the UK. The authors have used the latest 2011 UK Census statistics and academic reports to locate the most current demographic changes and Chinese business characteristics in the UK and the Northeast of England.
Findings
First, the UK’s SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher were quite receptive towards the ethnic business. Second, the case of See Woo Holdings Ltd. indicates that family business networks are still one of the characteristics of Chinese business. Finally, the broader UK’s SMEs policies play an important role in this case study.
Originality/value
The authors provide a tentative linkage between the UK’s SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher and Chinese family business. In addition, the case study of See Woo Holdings Ltd. improves the current understanding of Chinese family business with a clearer picture about their structure, practice, characteristics and development.
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The present paper aims to report and analyse empirical data from 391 ethnic minority entrepreneurs and 132 of their family members, from eight different ethnic communities of…
Abstract
Purpose
The present paper aims to report and analyse empirical data from 391 ethnic minority entrepreneurs and 132 of their family members, from eight different ethnic communities of Albanians, Armenians, Bulgarians, Chinese, Georgians, Indians, Nigerians and Russians in Greece.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents empirical data from face‐to‐face interview‐type research conducted between January 2006 and August 2008 in the regions of Attica and Central Macedonia, Greece. The selection criteria used for the inclusion of enterprises in the ethnic minority business (EMB) database were: ethnicity of the business owner; sectors, including traditional sectors and emerging sectors of EMB; and finally location, i.e. in the regions of Attica and Central Macedonia.
Findings
The findings of this research point to the fact that the three theories of “block mobility”, “opportunity structures” and “ethnic resources” complement each other in explaining the process of starting up an ethnic minority business and becoming self‐employed, while the “cultural thesis” seems to stand on its own.
Originality/value
This paper presents the results of the first‐ever large‐scale authoritative analytical research on EMBs and immigrant entrepreneurship in Greece, provides empirical evidence to why and to what extent ethnic groups are attracted to self‐employment, in which economic sectors they develop occupational niches, and how strong family participation and support is in the EMBs, and attempts to go beyond most of the existing literature, which is focused mainly on “Black” or “Asian” ethnic groups. The research makes a contribution by presenting empirical evidence of five “White”, one “Asian”, one “Indian” and one “Black” ethnic group.
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Andrew J. Knight, Michelle R. Worosz and E.C.D. Todd
The goals of this study were to study consumer perceptions of food safety at restaurants and to compare these results to those of other food system actors.
Abstract
Purpose
The goals of this study were to study consumer perceptions of food safety at restaurants and to compare these results to those of other food system actors.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study were gathered from telephone interviews conducted with 1,014 randomly selected US adults.
Findings
The main findings were that a substantial number of consumers think about food safety in general and particularly when eating at restaurant establishments; and while a majority of consumers stated that restaurants were doing a good job, were capable, and were committed to food safety, in comparison to other actors, restaurants ranked significantly lower than farmers, food processors and manufacturers, and grocery stores and supermarkets.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study was that distinctions were not made between fast food and sit‐down restaurants or other types of restaurants, e.g. chains, independent, and ethnic. These results highlight the need for more comprehensive studies on how food safety issues affect consumer perceptions of restaurants and how these perceptions affect consumer behavior.
Practical implications
The findings reinforce the importance of food safety behaviors at restaurants, particularly in the areas of personal hygiene and workplace sanitation, food handling, and food preparation.
Originality/value
This paper helps restaurant managers to better understand consumer perceptions of food safety and highlights the importance of instituting and monitoring food safety practices.
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Yasser Mahgoub and Reham A. Qawasmeh
Population diversity is one of the main challenges facing metropolitan centers worldwide. Especially in emerging Arab Gulf countries, where the population is composed of multiple…
Abstract
Population diversity is one of the main challenges facing metropolitan centers worldwide. Especially in emerging Arab Gulf countries, where the population is composed of multiple nationalities; socio-physical, socio-economic, and socio-cultural presence in the city is highly noticeable. Doha, the capital of Qatar, is an example of Gulf cities that attract an inflow of foreigners to live and work due to its economic prosperity. It is noticeable that utilization of urban spaces in Doha is affected by socio-cultural and socio-economic backgrounds of its inhabitants. This study focuses on investigating the experiences of the multicultural groups within the city's spatial dimension. It aims at understanding the cultural, economic and spatial connections of these diverse groups and how the urban environment of the city can be improved to support the experiences of these multicultural populations. The paper explores the experiences of different nationalities according to the social activities distribution of the sub-cultures as an exemplary of other Gulf cities. In depth interviews, questionnaires and systematic observations were conducted to gather information from Qatari and non-Qatari populations focusing on their weekly activities and preferred urban spaces in the city. The paper argues that urban spaces define limits and boundaries for social experiences and interaction based on the cultural and economic background and suggests measures to improve the quality of urban experience of the diverse cultural groups.
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Heather McIlveen and Samantha Chestnutt
The recent arrival of the UK multiples has had a significant effect on the Northern Ireland market, particularly in terms of product range and choice. Ethnic foods offer a…
Abstract
The recent arrival of the UK multiples has had a significant effect on the Northern Ireland market, particularly in terms of product range and choice. Ethnic foods offer a potentially lucrative sector, as evidenced in Great Britain. However, retailers in Northern Ireland are only beginning to develop range and ethnicity and are familiarising themselves with a market which has been characterised more often by traditional eating habits. The preliminary study considered consumer perceptions of ethnic food products in Northern Ireland. It would appear that product awareness needs to be developed carefully, and the onus is on the retailer (and indeed, the hospitality establishments) to inform consumers and respond to their needs and wants, particularly with the more recent trend towards regional cuisine and greater authenticity. Only then can a larger range of truly ethnic food products penetrate the Northern Ireland market successfully.
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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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– The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework to explain the development of sustainable culinary places and restaurant clusters.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework to explain the development of sustainable culinary places and restaurant clusters.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical approach is based on a multi-level and multi-perspective case study approach toward studying the organization and governance of clusters of culinary activities and firms.
Findings
The main part of findings is based on the comparison of two case studies of the development of restaurant clusters, representing two different forms of knowledge management and governance.
Research limitations/implications
The findings underscore the importance of local entrepreneurs, cluster organization and governance, knowledge exchange and learning and dependence on a local catchment area. The findings also show that several forms of cluster organization can coexist in the same area and support each other, adding to increased sustainability and connectedness in an urban area.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that there is a need for a more realistic approach to the development of culinary places and destinations, and not solely rely on place branding, standard marketing procedures and support from local authorities. To develop a sustainable and connected place, we need an appropriate form of organization and governance. The findings indicate that different types of restaurant clusters require different forms of governance of knowledge management processes to be effective.
Social implications
The paper directs attention to the fact that the food sector constitutes an important sector for employment of immigrants, females and part-time workers, which together constitute the largest group with regard to unemployment in many cities. The paper also shows how the evolution of a culinary culture in Oslo has contributed to solidarity within and between ethnic groups, which is sorely needed today.
Originality/value
This paper shows that sustainable, liveable and connected places can be developed without reliance on standard branding and marketing procedures, and despite opposition from the retail industry and lack of support from local authorities.
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The purpose of this paper is to outline how the food acculturation of British expatriates in Toulouse (France) translates into their shopping behaviours. Having established this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline how the food acculturation of British expatriates in Toulouse (France) translates into their shopping behaviours. Having established this population’s specific food acculturation outcomes, mechanisms and motivations, it then studies their buying behaviours and shopping experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative research is based on 70 semi-directive interviews of British expatriates in Toulouse. Specific emphasis was placed on facilitating respondents’ expression and analysing the wealth of their answers. The transcribed interviews were thus manually analysed.
Findings
This food acculturation process proves simpler than what seminal papers outlined, i.e. fewer acculturation outcomes, but also more complex: respondents show intertwined outcomes. The marketing channels and store formats respondents privilege in their food provisioning show discrepancies with French buyers’, and the retailers’ mix variables they particularly react to are identified, leading to managerial implications. Overall, both acculturated consumption and shopping practices display fluid behaviours.
Research limitations/implications
This paper investigates a specific situation. Research on other populations or circumstances should confirm its results, especially migrants’ acceptance and satisfaction with local marketing channels and store formats.
Practical implications
Local retailers should address the shopping expectations of this affluent target through minor alterations to their operations without antagonising the locals.
Originality/value
This paper’s main contribution is to extend consumer acculturation literature in two dimensions. First, by studying wealthier migrants escaping “dominated acculturation”, the paper outlines respondents’ “embraced acculturation”. Then, by extending its scope beyond consumption, to shopping experience and store selection, it bridges the gap between consumer acculturation and retailing literatures.
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