Resilient And Regenerative Strategies Among Minority-Owned Small Businesses: Knowledge Exchange Pathways to Social Transformation and Community Resilience in North-East Scotland
Dr Imaobong James & Dr Eleni Kesidou, Robert Gordon University
Minority SME entrepreneurs in the UK make significant contributions to local economic growth, job creation, community cohesion, and social resilience, particularly in communities affected by inequality, instability, and systemic exclusion. However, research has largely emphasised barriers such as discrimination, limited access to finance, and survival-focused business activities, often reinforcing negative stereotypes. Although recent studies emphasise entrepreneurial resilience, community-focused ventures, and regenerative development methods, minority SME entrepreneurs remain underrepresented in these discussions. This project will examine how minority entrepreneurs in the North-East of Scotland develop and implement resilient and regenerative entrepreneurial strategies, and how these efforts support community resilience and social change. The research addresses growing academic and policy focus on resilience, regeneration, and inclusive growth amid post-pandemic recovery, economic instability, and widening social inequalities. This project will adopt a qualitative, exploratory approach through semi-structured interviews with 25 minority entrepreneurs from diverse sectors and communities across the North-East of Scotland and an online roundtable bringing together minority SME entrepreneurs as community knowledge-holders with enterprise support providers, community organisations, and local policy/ economic development stakeholders to examine how lived entrepreneurial experience can inform more inclusive support provisions for strengthening resilient and regenerative entrepreneurial ecosystems. As part of our dissemination strategy, knowledge exchange workshops will also be held with entrepreneurs, enterprise support organisations, policymakers, and community stakeholders to foster dialogue, co-create knowledge, and develop practical insights. The project aims to generate new conceptual and empirical insights into resilient and regenerative minority entrepreneurship and to enhance engagement among academia, communities, and enterprise stakeholders.
Insurance and Entrepreneurial Resilience in UK Food and Beverage SMEs: The Role of Adaptation and Adaptability
Dr David Achtzehn & Dr Sahattaya Achtzehn, Nottingham University Business School
UK hospitality SMEs, including restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars, catering, hotels and other accommodation, are facing growing pressures from rising costs, market uncertainty and recent spikes in closures. These challenges highlight the importance of ‘entrepreneurial resilience’ which is the ability of small business owners to adapt, survive and rebuild in the face of disruption. While large organisations often rely on insurance and formal risk management to support resilience, we know far less about how these tools are used by smaller businesses. This project explores how UK hospitality entrepreneurs use insurance and other risk-management practices to strengthen their resilience and respond to economic challenges. By working in partnership with leading hospitality associations across England, Wales and Scotland, the project will gather insights from 120–240 hospitality SMEs across the UK. The study aims to generate practical, easy-to-use guidance to help small businesses better manage risk and build resilience. Importantly, it will also consider how more resilient hospitality SMEs contribute to stronger local economies and communities, supporting regeneration in times of change. Findings will be shared through a RAKE funding report, public-facing articles (e.g. The Conversation, ISBE and hospitality, food and beverage association webpages), and workshops or webinars with members of hospitality, food and beverage associations. The findings will be presented at the annual ISBE conference, with the further aim of submitting a journal article to a peer-reviewed journal following the completion of the project.
Resilient Entrepreneurship under Turbulence: Women-led SMEs and Ecosystem Engagement in the West Midlands
Dr Samia Mahmood, University of Wolverhampton
Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the United Kingdom are operating in an era of sustained uncertainty. Rising costs, energy price volatility, supply chain disruption and shifting social expectations are placing significant and overlapping pressures on entrepreneurs. For women-led SMEs, these pressures are experienced within an additional layer of structural constraint. Unequal access to finance, exclusion from business networks and disproportionate caregiving responsibilities shape what resources women business owners can draw upon when times are difficult. Existing research tells us a great deal about how entrepreneurs respond to single crises, particularly in developing countries. Far less is known about how women-led businesses in developed, post-industrial regions of the United Kingdom respond to sustained and interacting pressures over time, or about whether the business support ecosystem around them is structured in ways that genuinely serve their needs. This study addresses that gap. Through ten to twelve in-depth interviews with women business owners across the West Midlands and Black Country, we will examine what pressures women-led SMEs are experiencing, how they are responding, and how they perceive the local business and support ecosystem in relation to their efforts to keep their businesses going and growing