Asma Rauf and Jay Mitra
Ethnic minority female entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial ventures have attracted the attention of researchers and policy makers for some time now in the UK. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor United Kingdom Report (GEM, 2004) notes that ethnic minority women are to a large extent ‘more entrepreneurial than their white female counterparts’. These female entrepreneurs contribute to family earnings by participating in the family business, or by establishing their own independent business. For such businesses the role of networks is crucial as many of them rely on ‘both their own communities and outside for financial and non-financial reasons.
Their own communities are often considered to be a primary source of help and support for the growth of ethnic minority their businesses. A broad range of studies has explored minority and immigrant entrepreneurs by assuming that they form a cohesive group without taking into account intergroup (geographical categorisation) and intra-group (generational) differences. However, other studies have found that there are considerable differences in entrepreneurial endeavour and outcomes between and within the individual ethnic minority groups. These differences are explained by socio-economic and cultural factors such as family background and support, ethnicity, religion, education, and more importantly personal network. What is worth noting is that female minority and especially Pakistani female entrepreneurs remain a relatively under-researched community.
Our particular interest is to explore the scope, depth, variations and limitations of the personal networks of Pakistani female entrepreneurs in their effort to grow their business.
Entrepreneurs are Embedded in Social Context
In this article we focus on the role of social relations in shaping entrepreneurial activities and their outcomes because entrepreneurs are embedded in networks of social relationships. Network studies suggest investigating the network relationships of the entrepreneur from his/her individual point of view because the individual entrepreneur’s perspective is an important consideration as the nature of social interaction depends mainly on his/her perspective and how he/she uses these relationships for the entrepreneurial venture. The personal network approach to entrepreneurship considers the entrepreneurs as embedded and dependent actors.
Impact of Ethnicity, Gender and Generation on Personal Network
The network of relationships exist in the social context where ethnicity, gender and generational factors shape the relationships of Pakistani female entrepreneurs. The interaction of these factors has significant impact on their personal network formation and its use. Gender roles are constructed in different societies differently and they are passed on to next generations. As socially constructed gender roles are constructed and re-constructed, they may vary in different generations, and can have implications for their actions including their choice of personal network. Their network formation and use is subject to the social conventions and requirements of their traditional gender roles. Generally, ethnic minority entrepreneurs use the network of social relations in the host country to extract social and economic resources, to get the information about the new surroundings, and to assimilate and integrate in the host society. However, the composition of a personal network and its use varies across different ethnic minority groups.
Expansion of Personal Network and Venture Growth
The temporal dimension in the expansion of network/social contacts is also important because it is with time that immigrants settle in the host society and get integrated in its normative framework. This process of integration enables them to link up with other communities and to expand their network of social relations. The expansion of network of ethnic minority entrepreneurs is said to be the outcome of growth of their businesses. Business growth results in contacts with large number of suppliers, customers and professional networking organizations. However, this expansion does not happen automatically; growth and expansion of a business is dependent on the personal choice of the entrepreneur. Business growth depends mainly on the entrepreneur’s perception of her business and these perceptions are shaped by social beliefs and values, cultural restrictions, perceptions and for some, religious values.
Our Specific Research Findings
In order to explore the meaning and perceptions attached to relationships and the way they are being used for growing entrepreneurial ventures, we conducted in-depth interviews with 40 Pakistani female entrepreneurs (20 immigrants and 20 British born). The accounts of their lived experience regarding their personal networks in relation to their entrepreneurial ventures were analyzed using grounded theory methods.
Personal Network of Pakistani Female Entrepreneurs – The Product of Ethnicity, Gender and Generational Differences
Analysis of the interview data of Pakistani female entrepreneurs shows that personal networks are a product of socially constructed gender roles of Pakistani females, their cultural norms and religious values, and have considerable impact on the choice of business sector, information and resource availability and growth prospects for their entrepreneurial ventures. There are subtle differences in the composition of personal networks of immigrant and British born Pakistani female entrepreneurs. Immigrant Pakistani entrepreneurs prefer to retain ethnic ties in their personal network as opposed to British born Pakistani female entrepreneurs who have non-minority ties in their network. However, the personal network of British born Pakistani female entrepreneurs is based on a strict adherence to religious values and traditional gender norms; hence their networks are ‘women only networks’ mostly consisting of Muslim (but non-Pakistani) females. The personal networks of immigrant Pakistani female entrepreneurs have more of a minority orientation rather than one based on gender or religion.
The unique composition of personal network has deep impact on the conceptions of business growth. Business growth is considered to be a personal choice that is subject to her gender role requirements shaped by cultural and religious values. For Pakistani female entrepreneurs growth can be termed as a personal choice because they are ‘entrepreneurs by choice’ and in trying to attain their desired status they do not necessarily take advantage of all the opportunities that come their way.. However, British born Pakistani female entrepreneurs have a stronger growth orientation because of the composition of their personal networks.
From Ethnic to Non-Ethnic Network – A Transition Caused by Mistrust
Empirical results show that the transition in personal networks from ‘ethnic to non-ethnic’ members is a feature of growth. However, this transition results from mis-trust of ethnic members. Although the literature shows that the expansion of personal network to include non-ethnic network members can be taken as indicator of growth, in this case the spread was triggered mainly by mistrust of co-ethnics. Growth marks a shift in the dependence on ethnic to non-ethnic business associates for both immigrant and British born Pakistani female entrepreneurs. Supporting or working with Pakistani female entrepreneurs needs to take into consideration these nuances that distinguish immigrant and British born female entrepreneurs.
Asma Rauf and Jay Mitra, University of Essex
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