Natalia Vershinina

Forms of capital, intra-ethnic variation and Polish entrepreneurs in Leicester

A study of ten Polish entrepreneurs operating in Leicester, UK is reported in this article. The concepts of social, cultural and economic capital are used as the lens through which to explore the way the capital they access is employed and converted into entrepreneurial activity. Ethnic entrepreneurship takes place within wider social, political and economic institutional frameworks and opportunity structures and so this is taken into account by differentiating two groups – post-war and contemporary Polish entrepreneurs. The differing origins and amounts of forms of capital they can access are shown as is how these are converted into valued outcomes. Combining the mixed embeddedness approach with a forms-of-capital analysis enables looking beyond social capital to elaborate on intra-ethnic variation in the UK’s Polish entrepreneurial community.

Methodological issues in studying hidden populations operating in informal economy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issues in studying hidden populations, with particular focus on methodology used to investigate ethnic minority entrepreneurs who illegally run their businesses in the UK. In this paper, on reflection, the authors look at what issues should be considered before engaging with such communities, as we identify current approaches and evaluate their merits.Design/methodology/approach – Certain methodological problems are faced by researchers working with hidden populations, and this paper explores these using a sample of Ukrainian illegal self‐employed construction workers operating in London. Semi‐structured interviews with 20 Ukrainians showcase the issues raised and help illustrate the limited applicability of some commonly used research methods to ethnic minority entrepreneurship studies. The authors used an intermediary to help gain access to these illegal migrants in order to satisfy the sensitive issues of this vulnerable group of respondents.Finding...

Ownership Structure, Cash Constraints and Investment Behaviour in Russian Family Firms

In this chapter, using a large representative panel dataset of 8,637 large firms in the European part of Russia and their balance sheet information over the period 2000–2004, we investigate the extent to which Russian firms and in particular a smaller sample of family firms are liquidity constrained in their investment behaviour and how ownership structure changes the relationship between internal funds and the investment decisions of these firms. Family firms differ from nonfamily firms due to the unique influence of family members in ownership, strategic control and succession and play a critical role in most economies throughout the world. We estimate a structural financial accelerator model of investment and first test the hypothesis that Russian firms overall and family firms in particular are cash constrained by conducting random-effects estimation. Our results confirm that firms are liquidity constrained when the ownership structure is not included in the econometric specifications. With regards to the ownership structure and the degree of ownership concentration, we find that companies owned by private individuals and families are less cash constrained, which is in agreement with previous literature. We also find that state-owned companies are less cash constrained, independently of whether their ownership structure is concentrated. No significant impact is found for banks and institutions.

False self-employment: The case of Ukrainian migrants in London’s construction sector

This article, presenting qualitative accounts of Ukrainian fake business owners, highlights how migrants engage in bogus self-employment in the UK. Their experiences problematise notions of legality and binary depictions of migrant workers as “victims or villains”, demonstrating that migrants see their illegal status as a transient stage before gaining legal status.

Logics and rationalisations underpinning entrepreneurial decision-making

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the logics that expert entrepreneurs use when faced with a critical incident threat. Design/methodology/approach Attempts have been made to define “entrepreneurial logic”. This paper is influenced by Sarasvathy’s work on high-performance entrepreneurs, which finds that when faced with uncertainty entrepreneurs employ unconventional logic, and encompasses later research acknowledging social contexts where entrepreneurs operate. A typology of decision-making logics is developed, taking into account the situation of crisis. Seven expert entrepreneurs who faced crisis and, despite this, are still successfully operating businesses were interviewed. The paper develops a critical incidents methodology. Findings Experienced entrepreneurs were found to tend towards causal logic when “the stakes were high” and the decision may affect the survival of their business. They also weigh up options before acting and tend to seek advice from trusted “others” within their network before or after they have made a decision. A mixture of causal and intuitive logic is evident in decisions dealing with internal business problems. Research limitations/implications The decisions that entrepreneurs make shape and define their business and their ability to recover from crisis. If researchers can develop an understanding of how entrepreneurs make decisions – what information they draw upon, what support systems they use and the logic of their decision-making and rationalisation – then this can be used to help structure support. Originality/value By exploring decision-making through critical incidents we offer an innovative way to understand context-rich, first-hand experiences and behaviours of entrepreneurs around a focal point.

Transnational Migrant Entrepreneurial Journeys within Family Business Context:A Gendered Analysis

Despite increased academic attention paid to the influx of migrants from Eastern Europe to the UK, the gendered nature of migrant entrepreneurial journeys within the family business context remains...

How does national culture enable or constrain entrepreneurship? Exploring the role of Harambee in Kenya

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise how various value dimensions of Harambee, the Kenyan culture, affect the fostering of entrepreneurial behaviours. Theoretically, we draw upon perspectives that view culture as a toolkit and use cultural variables provided by Hofstede to examine the links between national culture and entrepreneurial endeavours in an African context. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on review and synthesis of accessible secondary sources (published research, country-specific reports, policy documents, firm-level empirical evidences, etc.) on the topic and related areas to understand and advance research propositions on the link between enterprising efforts and national culture specific to the Kenyan context. Findings Several theoretical propositions are offered on themes of collective reliance, social responsibility, enterprising, resource mobilisation and political philanthropy to establish relationships, both positive and negative, between values of Harambee and entrepreneurial behaviours. Further, the study provides initial insights into how actors blend both collectivistic and emergent individualistic orientations and display collective identity in the process of mobilising resources and engaging in entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications The conceptual framework presented bears a considerable relevance to the advancing theory, policy and practice associated with the national culture and entrepreneurial behaviour in the African context and has potential to generate valuable insights. Originality/value This original study provides a springboard for studying the relationship between African cultural context and entrepreneurial behaviours.

Breaking out or Breaking In? Exploring family dynamics in planning for succession.

The aim of this paper is to explore family dynamics in planning for succession and continuity in Punjabi-Indian ethnic family firms in the UK. The research objectives are to analyse how household d...

Does an Entrepreneur’s Gender Matter for Credibility and Financing of SMEs?

The importance of entrepreneur credibility, that is, a sense of belief or trust in the individual’s ability to fulfil the entrepreneurial role and create and sustain a viable venture, as perceived by key stakeholders, is attracting increasing attention within contemporary entrepreneurship literature (Tornikoski and Newbert, 2007; Wry et al., 2011). Current literature emphasises the masculine discourse, which informs the idea of the contemporary entrepreneur (Ahl, 2006). As such, women business owners/managers may potentially be disadvantaged by their gender, which devalues the entrepreneurial integrity from the perspective of key stakeholders. Women lack business credibility in the eyes of employees, customers, suppliers and financial institutions (Baines et al., 2003; Belle and La Valle, 2003; Marlow et al., 2008). It has been suggested that it is more difficult for women to raise start-up and growth finance (Coleman, 2000; SBA report, 2013) as well as establish their credibility (Marlow et al., 2008; Freel et al., 2012) when dealing with banks in particular.