Entrepreneurship – a learning process: the experiences of Asian female entrepreneurs and women in business

Abstract

The growth of Asian enterprises has been a much commented on feature of the small business population. While academic research has sought to identify the key success factors for this entrepreneurial minority, little study has been undertaken of the role female Asian entrepreneurs and Asian women working in``family'' businesses play. This article features interview evidence gathered from both Asian women entrepreneurs in their own right and Asian women working in family enterprises, and seeks to provide a clearer picture of the roles, responsibilities and relationships of these two groups. In addition, the study is methodologically novel in so far as the researcher (an Asian female from a``typical'' family business background) has taken care to observe the cultural proprieties often noted within this particular group. Hence, the data are arguably more authentic than previous studies undertaken by``distant'' researchers.

Networks in family business: a multi-rational approach

“…If defining a family business is complex and partially reliant on self-definition, the definition of a business family is even less clear within the literature, but the term has been used in relation to enterprise development in a variety of communities (Dhaliwal 2000;Kenyon-Rouvinez 2001;Dhaliwal and Kangis 2006) to refer to families with a range of businesses and a track record in business start-up, development and on occasion sale. The idea that a family business may develop a vision which encompasses a variety of business interests operating for the benefit of the family, extends the principle of multiple rationalities and offers an overarching framework encompassing literature focusing on family businesses, business families and new business development where it is supported by a family.…”

“…There is substantial cross-over between those researchers who set out to study networks in a business context and those who set out to explore the reasons for higher levels of apparent entrepreneurship within certain minority ethnic communities (Ram 1994;Ram and Jones 1998;Dhaliwal 2000;Levent et al 2003;Dhaliwal and Kangis 2006). Where Dhaliwal (2000) writes of the 'hidden women' in Asian businesses in the UK, there is an element of cultural specificity.…”

Asians in the UK: gender, generations and enterprise

“…Many business people have aspirations for their children to become professionals and well educated, to have wider opportunities and choices and a better future (Dhaliwal, 2000b). Conflict between generations arises as the decision forum, or boardroom, becomes the place of struggle between the older generation's entrepreneurial instinct and the new generation, its aspirations and paper qualifications in management (Gidoomal, 1997).…”

British Indian and Chinese Student, Graduate and Academic International Entrepreneurship

“…Ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) are more likely to have employees than WB businesses (DTI 2006d ONS 2005b). In Scotland, it is estimated that there are likely to be over 4,500 Minority Ethnic Businesses contributing an estimated £500 million to £700 million towards Scotland's GDP (Deakins et al 2005 estimate as family members are often engaged in full or part-time work in family businesses but are not counted as 'employees' (Dhaliwal 2000, Ram et al 2001a, Ram & Jones 2002. First generation ethnic minority businesses, including Indian and Chinese businesses, which tend to be embedded within the ethnic enclave economy are more likely to employ coethnics (Ashton et al 2006).…”