Factors influencing business growth: the rise of Turkish entrepreneurship in the UK

Abstract

PurposeThis paper seeks to evaluate the cultural variables which influence the growth of Turkish speaking ethnic minority businesses in London, UK.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports and analyses the findings of 227 face‐to‐face structured interviews with Turkish small business owners.FindingsThis study illustrates that there is a relationship between fluency in English and business growth in all sectors. Education appears to be an important variable for the business growth of the firms in the catering and service sectors. Reliance on co‐ethnic market is a key contributor to growth of firms in the retailing sector.Research limitations/implicationsData collection was limited to London; and non‐Turkish small business owners were excluded. Therefore, care should be taken in making generalisations from the sample.Practical implicationsThis paper illuminates challenges ethnic minority small business owners may face in their determination to grow and highlights the options that they may consider as part of their growth strategies.Originality/valueIn terms of theoretical value, the findings of this study clearly demonstrated linkage between internal and external environments of entrepreneurship thus providing support for the “mixed embeddedness” approach to explaining ethnic minority business growth. What is distinctive in this study is that it recognises the need for ethnic minority small business owners to scan the dynamics of business growth and the survival process.