Cynthia Forson

A Bourdieuan Relational Perspective for Entrepreneurship Research

In this paper, we illustrate the possibilities a relational perspective offers for overcoming the dominant dichotomies (e.g., qualitative versus quantitative, agency versus structure) that exist in the study of entrepreneurial phenomena. Relational perspective is an approach to research that allows the exploration of a phenomenon, such as entrepreneurship, as irreducibly interconnected sets of relationships. We demonstrate how ierre ourdieus concepts may be mobilized to offer an exemplary toolkit for a relational perspective in entrepreneurship research.

Contextualising migrant black business women ' s work-life balance experiences

– Employing a feminist relational lens, the purpose of this paper is to explore the work-life balance experiences of black migrant women entrepreneurs, examining the relationship between macro, meso and micro levels of business activity. The paper examines the obstacles raised and opportunities enabled by the confrontation and negotiation between the private and public space. , – Qualitative methods are used and the paper draws on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 29 black women business owners in the legal and black hairdressing sectors in London. The analysis of the paper is informed by a relational approach that recognises the embedded nature of business activity in differing levels of social action. , – The analysis reveals that ability of the women in the study to manage their work-life balance was shaped by power relations and social interactions between and within cultural, structural and agentic dimensions of small business ownership. , – This paper contributes to the literature on business and entrepreneurial behaviour of women by embedding work-life balance experiences of black migrant women in context of relations between and within macro, meso and micro levels. It conceptualises the behaviour of the women in the study in terms of confrontations, negotiations and dialogue between notions of motherhood, femininity, family and entrepreneurship at the societal, institutional and individual levels. In so doing the paper expands the literature on minority entrepreneurship and underscores the interconnected nature of these three levels to produce unique experiences for individual migrant women.

Towards a Bourdieusian analysis of the social composition of the UK film and television workforce

The social composition of the workforce of the UK film and television industries does not reflect the diversity of the population and the industries have been described as white, male and middle class. While the lack of specific demographic representation in employment (for example gender or ethnicity) has been highlighted by both industry and academic commentators, its broader social composition has rarely been addressed by research. This article draws on the work of Bourdieu, particularly the concepts of field, habitus and capitals, to explore perceptions of the barriers to entry into these industries and the way in which individuals negotiate these by drawing on the various capitals to which they have access.

The Strategic Framework for Women's Enterprise: BME women at the margins

Purpose – Until May 2003, there was no coherent national strategic approach to the development of womens enterprise in the UK although for decades researchers and support groups have been calling for a distinctive approach to supporting women business owners due to their different business ownership profiles such as different motivations for entering business ownership, reduced access to resources, particularly finance and longer incubation periods. Historically, a piecemeal approach has dominated the policy landscape with regard to small business development as well as female entrepreneurship. As part of the effort to provide a more coherent national strategic approach to womens enterprise policy, the government launched the Strategic Framework for Womens Enterprise (SFWE) in 2003, an umbrella document from which all initiatives to support female entrepreneurship acquire their momentum. The paper seeks to explore the SFWE.Design/methodology/approach – Taking an intersectional approach, this paper expl...

The Equality Effects of the ‘Hyper‐Formalization’ of Selection

This paper explores how formalization of employee selection procedures for the purpose of ensuring equality of opportunity can become so extensive that the intended outcome of fairness is undermined. Drawing on empirical evidence from a large media organization, the analysis reveals the detrimental impact of formalization in relation to the recruitment of ethnic minority staff. While the existing literature describes how, during recruitment of employees, the circumvention of formal equality procedures can occur through managerial neglect and manipulation, the analysis in this paper shows that, paradoxically, circumvention can also occur through compliance with procedures. This new category takes three forms (robotic, defensive and malicious) and appears under conditions of excessive formalization – the term hyper‐formalization is coined to describe this. The paper develops new concepts that add to understanding of the limitations of equality and diversity procedures, and brings fresh challenges to some of the liberal assumptions about the efficacy and desirability of formalization for achieving fairness.

Dot-com women entrepreneurs in the UK

Drawing on two areas of academic interest, female entrepreneurship and the Internet sector, this paper provides an overview of female entrepreneurship in the Web-based business sector in the UK. Based on a field study of 20 Web-based small Internet companies owned by women, the paper explores why women start up dot-com businesses and presents a typology of dot-com women entrepreneurs. The findings provide interesting and indicative insights into patterns of female entrepreneurship in this growth sector.

Self‐employment as a career strategy for ethnic minorities

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 e...

4. Multi- level approaches to entrepreneurship and small business research: transcending dichotomies with Bourdieu

Entrepreneurship and small business (ESB) research has achieved a level of maturity which now presents a complex mixture in terms of the levels of analysis. As a result of these developments, the research on small business and entrepreneurship has a number of distinct traditions, which somehow remain in silos. In this chapter, we argue that this field of academic endeavour would benefit from a more integrated approach. We first identify the key approaches in ESB research in terms of the levels of analysis. Next, adopting a Bourdieuan perspective, we offer viable strategies for transcending contem-porary dichotomies of ESB research, and offer a novel way of approaching multi- level ESB research.