Transnational Family Networks and Ethnic Minority Business Development: The Case of Vietnamese Nail-shops in the UK

Purpose To understand the role played by transnational family networks in ethnic minority business development. Methodology/Approach The Vietnamese nail care sector is taken as a case study. The research involved interviews with 10 owner-managers and 4 key informants involved in this industry in London. The analysis draws on concepts of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ network ties (Granovetter, 1973) and ‘mixed embeddedness’ (Kloosterman et al, 1999) to explain why the Vietnamese continue to enter such a competitive sector. Findings The results highlight the importance of transnational family networks within all aspects of the business and suggest that these links can sometimes provide a fertile source of new business ideas, but can equally limit innovation. The presence of innovative and well-educated members within the entrepreneurs’ ‘strong-tie’ network appeared to encourage more successful business development and diversification. Research limitations/implications The research challenges the traditional ‘strong/weak’ ties thesis and suggests that while it has some general value, in the context of groups from more collectivist societies and with family links overseas, it is necessary to take account of the human and social capital resources of the extended family rather than just those of the individual entrepreneur. Practical implications To maximize the potential of these links it suggests that business advisors need to undertake a comprehensive audit of entrepreneur’s networks and assist them in assessing how their family ties can best contribute to the development of the business. Originality/value This paper focuses on a new community (the Vietnamese), and sector of study (transnational family networks) both of which have received little attention in the entrepreneurship literature

Creative Clusters and City Growth

Considerable attention has been focused on the potential of the creative industries to contribute to economic development and regeneration. Creative clusters (networks of interconnected companies, and associated institutions operating in close proximity) are a favoured concept for identifying groups of companies on which to target intervention and through which to implement strategies for delivering this growth. Almost every region in the country now has a policy to target key local creative clusters. Recently clusters have been promoted as a means of encouraging the regeneration of deprived inner city areas (Porter, 1995) and this US inspired model of business led regeneration has led to the introduction of the City Growth Strategy (CGS) initiative in the UK. This paper draws on the work of an on-going evaluation of one of the initial pilot City Growth areas - the City Fringe area of London where six different creative clusters are being targeted as a means of stimulating economic development and social inclusion in the area. Drawing on baseline research with one of the most established clusters (jewellery) the paper explores the degree to which the jewellery cluster gains competitive advantage from clustering in its inner city location, and the extent to which it is able to contribute to the regeneration of the local area. It thus provides a critique of Porter’s theory and contributes to our understanding of the extent to which creative clusters can act as a tool for inner city regeneratio

CITIES: Car Industry, Road Transport and an International Emission Trading Scheme – Policy Options

This report evaluates existing regulations for climate change mitigation in the transport sector and investigates the effects of including transportation in emission trading schemes.

Affective Cities: Scenes of Innovation II

Full Program ScheduleInternational Association for the Study of the Culture of Cities (IASCC); Centre Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Connection Grant; York University; Centre for Social Innovation; University of Waterloo Conference Centr

Census 2000 University of Minnesota

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from the University of Minnesota.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/lib-services-govdoc-display-census/1005/thumbnail.jp

Growing cities

Towns and cities existed throughout Africa’s past. However since the late twentieth century Africans are witnessing a historically unprecedented transition from living mainly in rural areas to residing in cities. What are the driving-forces behind African urbanization? And what are the welfare consequences of rapid urban growth without sufficient economic growth in Africa