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Article
Publication date: 24 May 2013

Sonny Nwankwo

This paper aims to explore how the complex interrelationship between historical factors and socio‐economic contexts contributed in shaping the contemporary representation of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how the complex interrelationship between historical factors and socio‐economic contexts contributed in shaping the contemporary representation of African entrepreneurship in Britain. Using this prism, it highlights some of the critical developmental challenges and future prospects.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to track the connection between historical/immigration experiences and conditions of entrepreneurial development among Africans in Britain, the paper follows in the tradition of socio‐historical method. It leans on syntheses drawn from a broader underpinning literature.

Findings

The way in which the historiography of African entrepreneurship is generally presented reveals hybrid and ambivalent positions; guiding as well as constraining the representation of entrepreneurial choices of contemporaneous British Africans. Historical antecedents have strong explanatory powers in the construction or reconstruction of entrepreneurial identities of British Africans.

Practical implications

Against the backcloth of the problems generally encountered in attempts to stimulate and support entrepreneurship in black and African communities in Britain, policy designers very often ignore the fact the solutions will have to be sought from within the paradigms that created the problems. The positioning of this paper is intended to begin to plug this gap.

Originality/value

The concept of discourse is critical to understanding entrepreneurial processes of British Africans and bears careful explanation to their entrepreneurial transitions. This angle of inquiry is novel, with possibilities for opening new sites of knowledge.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2002

Lisa Giddings

Relies on cross‐sectional survey data from 1986 and 1993 to explain an increase in the ethnic Turk‐ethnic Bulgarian earnings differential in Bulgaria in the country’s early…

Abstract

Relies on cross‐sectional survey data from 1986 and 1993 to explain an increase in the ethnic Turk‐ethnic Bulgarian earnings differential in Bulgaria in the country’s early transition. Empirical evidence indicates that the ethnic Turks closed both the gap in the number of years of education and experience acquired during this time. Further, the Turks began to enter the growing commerce and transportation industries in the early transition. Shifts in the wage structure, however, favored the ethnic Bulgarians, and these changes outweighed ethnic Turk gains in the measured characteristics. In addition to these shifts, an increase in the overall level of inequality in the labor market punished those at the low‐end of the wage distribution, exacerbating the existing ethnic earnings differential. These results imply however, that the ethnic Turks are responding to market signals and if it continues, this trend will diminish the ethnic earnings gap.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

Alison Cook and Christy M. Glass

The purpose of this paper is to understand the conditions under which racial/ethnic minorities are promoted to top leadership positions in American corporations. In addition to…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the conditions under which racial/ethnic minorities are promoted to top leadership positions in American corporations. In addition to testing the glass cliff theory for racial/ethnic minorities, the paper also develops and test two additional theoretical mechanisms: bold moves and the savior effect. While the glass cliff theory predicts racial/ethnic minorities will be promoted to struggling firms, the bold moves theory predicts the opposite, that racial/ethnic minorities will be promoted to strong firms. The savior effect predicts that minority CEOs will be replaced by white male leaders if firm performance struggles during their tenure.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper relies on conditional logistic regression to analyze all CEO transitions among Fortune 500 companies over a 15-year period.

Findings

Consistent with the bold moves thesis but contrary to the predictions of glass cliff theory, the results suggest that racial/ethnic minorities are more likely than white executives to be promoted CEO in strongly performing firms. As predicted by the savior effect theory, the paper also finds that when firm performance struggles under the leadership of racial/minority CEOs, these leaders are likely to be replaced by white CEOs.

Research limitations/implications

The findings contradict theory of the glass cliff and suggest additional mechanisms that shape the promotion probability of minority leaders.

Practical implications

Race and ethnicity shape promotion and replacement decisions for top leadership positions in important ways. While minority leaders are not set up to fail, as glass cliff theory would predict, the authors do find that confidence in the leadership of minority leaders may be tenuous. To overcome the risks of replacement of minority leaders, firms should seek to eliminate bias by allowing minority leaders enough time and resources to overcome declines in firm performance and increase the transparency of replacement decisions.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to test the glass cliff thesis with regard to racial/ethnic minorities. The paper also develops and tests two new mechanisms related to leader succession: bold moves and the savior effect.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2018

Yurong Wang and James Warn

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Chinese immigrant businesses in Australia were able to shift from low return start-up businesses and move to more competitive business…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Chinese immigrant businesses in Australia were able to shift from low return start-up businesses and move to more competitive business models targeting mainstream clientele. The research aims to identify the factors enabling a break-out strategy for these entrepreneurs and whether a horizontal or vertical break-out was achieved.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research method with in-depth interviews is employed. Interviews were conducted with 55 Chinese immigrant business owners in Sydney and Canberra.

Findings

The analysis found that a break-out strategy depended on a range of business activities, including innovation, marketing, networking and personnel strategies. Importantly, the current research found that these resources have varying degrees of importance in the different stages of the transition to the new business model. Accumulating sufficient financial capital was a fundamental enabler for a break-out strategy, followed by the capacity to learn and benefit from the experience of social networks.

Research limitations/implications

The current research highlights the importance of financial capital and capacity to benefit from social networks as fundamental factors in enabling a break-out strategy. The benefit of the qualitative approach in obtaining rich data needs to be offset by potential limitations on generalisability. Future research could incorporate comparison between different size businesses as well as analysing factors underpinning a failure to successfully implement a break-out.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that business support groups and policymakers could review access to financial capital for entrepreneurs seeking break-outs, consider improving opportunities for developing capacity to utilise heterogeneous social networks, and consider pathways for improving skills acquisition amongst immigrant entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the research literature on break-out strategies used by immigrant entrepreneurs by analysing, in detail, the transition steps undertaken by ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs in the shift to more competitive business models.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2010

Steven Lenaers

Several Flemish social scientists argue for the existence of a dual Flemish labour market as a result of ethnic stratification. Flanders is the Northern, Dutch speaking region of…

Abstract

Purpose

Several Flemish social scientists argue for the existence of a dual Flemish labour market as a result of ethnic stratification. Flanders is the Northern, Dutch speaking region of Belgium, which inhabits around six million people. The poor educational level of ethnic minority youngsters is generally considered to be one of the main explaining factors. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether ethnic minority graduates, who have successfully completed their higher education, also face ethnic stratification in the labour market, even though the educational argument does not apply. Therefore, the paper examines differences in labour market positions of the third (Italian) and the second (Turkish and Moroccan) generation immigrants, and a matching Flemish ethnic majority control group.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is essentially of a quantitative nature. A postal survey was used to ask recently graduated ethnic minority and majority students from two schools of higher education and one university in Flanders about their career on the labour market after graduation. Universities provide education leading to master diplomas whereas schools of higher education train professional bachelors.

Findings

The waiting period between leaving school and entering the labour market is longer for ethnic majority graduates than for ethnic minority graduates. However, once on the labour market the differences in labour market position tend to disappear. Differences in first job wage, contract modalities, labour regime or the executive character of the job were small and non‐significant. Yet 61 per cent of the graduates of Turkish and Moroccan origin feel they have to try harder both in gaining access to the labour market and once in employment.

Research limitations/implications

Further studies will need to confirm these findings, perhaps even with ethnic minorities of other educational levels, in other locations.

Practical implications

The results suggest that closer attention should be paid to the psychological dimension of the school‐to‐work transition of ethnic minority graduates as their psychological contract is under pressure. As they feel their efforts are not sufficiently rewarded – since they feel they have to try harder than others and are rewarded the same – chances are they will reduce their efforts.

Originality/value

The paper focuses on the under‐researched area of ethnic stratification among higher educated graduates. Moreover, it is not limited to factual labour market positions. The inclusion of subjective variables such as opportunity perception and self‐confidence allows additional insight in existing differences and similarities.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2013

Gözde Inal, Akram Al Ariss and Cynthia Forson

The purpose of this paper is to examine the self‐employment process of Turkish‐Cypriot restaurateurs and lawyers in the UK, in particular the way they mobilize resources as a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the self‐employment process of Turkish‐Cypriot restaurateurs and lawyers in the UK, in particular the way they mobilize resources as a strategic choice for their career transition.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on a qualitative empirical research consisting of semi‐structured in‐depth interviews from two different sectors with 20 restaurateurs and lawyers in London.

Findings

Findings indicate that Turkish‐Cypriots in Britain deliberately draw on social, economic, cultural, and symbolic forms of capital in order to pursue their career projects. The impact of the interconnectedness and availability of one resource on the participants’ ability to acquire other resources is shown to have a key role in developing and transitioning into careers in self‐employment.

Research limitations/implications

The number of participants interviewed (20) is limited for the purposes of making generalizations and the paper has a main focus on micro‐individual experiences of individuals.

Originality/value

The limited literature on self‐employment for ethnic minorities is often conceptualized as an option to avoid employment inequalities. This paper offers an understanding of self‐employment as a career strategy for Turkish‐Cypriots in Britain.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 32 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1997

Barbara A. Zsembik, Greg L. Drevenstedt and C. Preston McLane

Using data from the 1990 Latino sample of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the 1988 National Survey of Elderly Hispanics, this research examines ethnic variation in the…

Abstract

Using data from the 1990 Latino sample of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the 1988 National Survey of Elderly Hispanics, this research examines ethnic variation in the economic well‐being of older Latinos. Older Puerto Ricans are less economically secure than Cubans or Mexican Americans, reporting lower median incomes, higher rates of poverty, and disproportionate enrollments in the state health insurance program. We decompose household income into its sources to provide insight in ethnic differences in economic security and highlight how federal cutbacks in social programs for the elderly will uniquely impact each Latino ethnic group. The results show that older Puerto Ricans remain most vulnerable to the negative consequences of changing social policies. Health insurance coverage varies by ethnicity, revealing that access to health care is most limited among older Cubans. Clearly, each Latino ethnic group present a distinctive economic profile for older adults, profiles which call for policies guarding economic security to be tailored to each ethnic group.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 17 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2004

Jerome Krase

Ever since Robert Ezra Park and Ernest Burgess published their classic research on Chicago which described “how” residential neighborhoods follow a distinct ecological pattern…

Abstract

Ever since Robert Ezra Park and Ernest Burgess published their classic research on Chicago which described “how” residential neighborhoods follow a distinct ecological pattern, generations of urban practitioners and theoreticians have been arguing about “why” they are spatially distributed. This essay is designed to demonstrate the utility of Visual Sociology and the study of Vernacular Landscapes to document and analyze how the built environment reflects the changing cultural identities of neighborhood residents. It is strongly suggested that a visual approach can also help build a bridge between various theoretical and applied disciplines that focus on the form and function of the metropolis. While discussing some of these often-competing models, the text is illustrated by a selection of photographs taken in Brooklyn, New York whose neighborhoods over the past century have been a virtual Roman fountain of ethnic transitions. Although many of the oldest and newest residents of Brooklyn such as Chinese, Italians, Jews, and Poles would be familiar to Park and Burgess, others such as Bangladeshis, Egyptians, and Koreans would not. Ideas about Old and New cities from the “classical” to the “post-modern”; from Park and Burgess to Harvey and Lefebvre are also synthesized via the insights of J. B. Jackson.

Details

Race and Ethnicity in New York City
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-149-1

Book part
Publication date: 11 August 2014

Arnout van de Rijt

Empirical studies show substantial variation across immigrants in the rate and direction of assimilation along various dimensions (e.g., cross-ethnic contact, language, identity)…

Abstract

Purpose

Empirical studies show substantial variation across immigrants in the rate and direction of assimilation along various dimensions (e.g., cross-ethnic contact, language, identity). To explain this variation, past research has focused on identifying exogenous factors, such as discrimination, human capital, and settlement intention. In this chapter we argue that variation in immigrant outcomes emerges endogenously through positive interaction effects between dimensions of assimilation. We propose a new assimilation model in which processes of social influence and selection into congruent social environments give rise to multiple long-term equilibria. In this model, migrants who are already assimilated along many dimensions tend to also adapt along other dimensions, while less assimilated migrants become more strongly embedded in their ethnic group.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the assimilation model, we derive a number of hypotheses, which we evaluate using trend analysis and dynamic panel regression on data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada.

Findings

The data mostly confirm the hypotheses, providing overall support for the assimilation model.

Research implications

Our theory and findings suggest that immigrants would follow divergent assimilation trajectories even in the absence of a priori population heterogeneity in external factors.

Social implications

The positive interaction effects between cultural and structural dimensions of assimilation suggest that mixed policies that promote integration while seeking to prevent loss of identity go against the natural tendency for cultural and structural assimilation to go hand in hand.

Originality/value

The present chapter proposes a novel model of immigrant assimilation and an empirical test.

Details

Advances in Group Processes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-976-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 October 2013

Oxana Karnaukhova

This article aims to explore informal entrepreneurial activities in ethno-cultural clusters in the Russian South. It evaluates the agglomeration economy efforts of ethno-cultural…

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Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to explore informal entrepreneurial activities in ethno-cultural clusters in the Russian South. It evaluates the agglomeration economy efforts of ethno-cultural communities and the formation of a new operations of the informal sector. The transition of the ethnic project “Obukhovsky Choir” from an informal to a formal enterprise is considered as unfinished. The emphasis is pointed at the barriers affecting the process and extra-economic factors influencing entrepreneurship activities in ethno-cultural clusters in Russia.

Design/methodology/approach

For investigation of the informal entrepreneurship in the Southern Russian agglomeration, in-depth interviews method has been used. The paper researched concept of entrepreneurship and cultural entrepreneurship through the interviews, trying to distinguish the core factors influencing activities of Obukhovsky Choir. These questions concern motivation to enter entrepreneurship activity, regional and local policies affecting the overall situation, core values (ideology) of these types of activity, the role of institutional and other contexts, spatial distribution and social capital influence.

Findings

The case of the Rostov agglomeration demonstrates the delayed development of ethno-cultural clusters and attempts to closure activities of communities into local political space. Rostov agglomeration has not stepped through the threshold and involved ethno-cultural communities in the formation of the “common good” conception. While Rostov agglomeration is still attractive for labour migration and migrants' entrepreneurial initiatives, local government does not support such intervention into the stable regional market. These steps delay the development of ethno-cultural clusters and contradict communication between ethnic communities, autochthonic population and local administration.

Originality/value

The case chosen for analysis is Cossack music entrepreneurial space as a salient sample of ethno-cultural cluster with powerful economic potential. It could be used for further consideration of ethno-cultural cluster as a source for socio-economic modernization of Russian multicultural agglomeration where established ethnic communities' communicative style strategically provides support or opposition to the local administration initiatives.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

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