Transnational Embeddedness and Sustainable Growth: the Birmingham Experience

1. Applicability to the Conference Theme
Recent advancement in ethnic minority migrant entrepreneurship research directs attention to transnationalism. Transnational migrant entrepreneurs utilize their bi-lingual and bi-cultural skills to establish transnational social capital, which offers commercial advantage in retaining deep social, cultural and economic ties to their home countries while they are able to help foster entrepreneurial processes in their host countries (Vertovec, 2001; Jones, Ram and Theodorakopoulos, 2009; Light, 2011). In particular, transnational embeddedness (Yamamura and Lassalle, 2022) has brought renewed understanding of superdiversity. Within this sphere, ethnic minority migrant entrepreneurs are breaking out of their ethnic enclave into mainstream markets, creating economic and social synergies through superdiverse entrepreneurial processes with divergent utilisations of transnational resources in diasporic, mainstream and transnational markets(Rusinovic 2008; Jones, Ram and Theodorakopoulos, 2009; Light, 2011; Bagwell, 2017; Yamamura and Lassalle, 2022). Therefore, this current research focuses on the entrepreneurial breakout experience of Birmingham based Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs, intended to comprehend the freshened meanings of sustainable growth by means of transnational embeddedness. This is closely linked to the research theme of Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) 2023 Conference in the following three ways.

Firstly, entrepreneurial breakout has created fresh meanings to sustainable growth, through examinations of Birmingham based Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs breaking out of their ethnic niche markets into British mainstream economies, to achieve entrepreneurial growth despite their existing economic barriers and social exclusions. Evidently, this is witnessed as economic development through transnational links in the development of Birmingham Chinese Quarter[1], as the ethnic enclave for Birmingham based ethnic minority migrant entrepreneurs in general and Birmingham Chinese diasporic community in particular, through both spatial and digital means. This is particularly applicable to the theme of ISBE 2023 Conference on dynamic entrepreneurial growth by means of technological innovation in unexpected places among ethnic minority communities. Secondly, entrepreneurial breakout of Birmingham based Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs with utilisations of their transnational links is evidenced as the development of Birmingham Chinese Quarter, not only as a representative example of economic growth but also a fine specimen of social integration. In particular, this is in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(UN SDGS) with close connection to the 11th goal to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable under the principle of sustainable cities and human settlements. Finally, with respect to methodological approach, this current research adopts the contextualised grounding methodology with an evolutionary analysis approach. This approach highlights the connections between breakout context and entrepreneurial embeddedness from a transnational perspective, through groundings of collected data from Birmingham based Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs. Therefore, this study is relevant to the theme of ISBE 2023 Conference in reference to the methodology approach of evolution analysis based contextual grounding with a focus on breakout opportunity structure in a dynamic entrepreneurial context to comprehend sustainable growth from a transnational perspective.

2. Research Aim and Objectives
The overall aim of this research is to examine economic and social dimensions of sustainable growth from a transnational perspective through evolutionary analysis based contextual grounding on accounts of entrepreneurial breakout experiences from Birmingham based Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs. To achieve the overall research aim, three research objectives are further developed shown as follows.

(1) To comprehend the economic and social values of sustainable growth through examinations on situational context in relation to entrepreneurial variations, on accounts of entrepreneurial breakout experience, with a focus on transnational spatial and digital channels.

(2) To understand the economic and social values of sustainable growth through investigations on historical context in relation to entrepreneurial selections, on accounts of entrepreneurial breakout experience, with an emphasis on superdiversity of transnational cultural recreations.

(3) To make sense of the economic and social values on sustainable growth through social context in relation to entrepreneurial retentions within transnational embedding process as dynamics on transnational entrepreneurial channels and superdiversity of cultural recreations.

3. Methodology
Given the urgent need to integrate embeddedness with transnationalism(Rusinovic 2008; Jones, Ram and Theodorakopoulos, 2009; Bagwell, 2017; Yamamura and Lassalle, 2022) and the significant role of context in entrepreneurship research (Ucbasaran et al., 2001; Zahra, 2007; Baker and Welter, 2018), this current research was designed as an interpretivist qualitative research with adoption of grounded theory to construct concepts and ground theories (Urquhart and Fernández 2006; Starks and Trinidad, 2007). In particular, the contextualised grounding methodology was applied with an evolutionary analysis approach. Notably, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, with individually designed interview script used for every entrepreneur participant (Myers, 2009). According to data shown in the Birmingham population censuses, migrants from Hong Kong and mainland China constitute the majority of Chinese migrant population in Birmingham(ONS 2001; ONS 2011; ONS 2021). Therefore, both Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs were included in the sampling. Particularly, interviews of 10 Birmingham based Chinese entrepreneurs were included in this current research, with 5 from Hong Kong and 5 from mainland China through a process of thematic saturation (Mason, 2010).

This current research was designed as an interpretivist qualitative research, adopted evolutionary analysis approach in contextualised grounding, to examine economic and social dimensions of sustainable growth from a transnational perspective through breakout process of Chinese diasporic entrepreneurs in Birmingham. Two criteria were used to select the participants. Firstly, the selected participants were limited to Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs. Secondly, the selected participants were Birmingham based entrepreneurs with majority ownership of UK Micro-businesses and/or SME businesses. Noticeably, this study adopted the EU standard, EU recommendation 2003/361[2], to measure Micro-businesses and SMEs. On the basis of the two selection criteria, data was collected through semi-structured interviews of 10 Birmingham based Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs.

It is observed that participants of this current research as Hong Kong entrepreneurs were either born in the UK or migrated to the UK with their parents when they were young. They grew up in the UK, with experience of receiving formal education in the UK, and they all completed their university degrees, in which over half of the entrepreneurs held a master’s degree with one entrepreneur possessing doctorial degree. Meanwhile, most of the mainland Chinese entrepreneurs originally came to the UK as Chinese international students, with high levels of academic and professional qualifications obtained in the UK. Specifically, all the mainland Chinese entrepreneurs participated in this current research completed their master’s degrees, and two of the entrepreneurs finished their doctoral degrees in the UK.

4. Contributions
This study seeks to make three theoretical contributions. Firstly, a critical review provides the theoretical background of entrepreneurial breakout from a perspective of sustainable growth, with particular focus on developing discussions in superdiversity and transnationalism to draw links between entrepreneurial breakout and sustainable growth. Secondly, we contribute to the literature of entrepreneurial growth with reference to sustainability. In particular, the social dimension of sustainability in connection to the 11th goal of UN SDGS to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Thirdly, we adopt a methodological approach of ‘contextualised grounding’ with an evolutionary analysis method. This hybrid approach is the integration of grounded analysis with contextualised examination through an evolutionary approach provides meaningful interpretations of the dynamics between embedding process and entrepreneurial context.

Through the analyses on breakout experience of 10 Chinese entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and mainland China, this paper contributes entrepreneurial practices in three ways. Firstly, the breakout experience of these entrepreneurs from different industrial sectors and divergent migrant groups provide an in-depth understanding of the current socio-economic situation, in the city context of Birmingham. Secondly, divergent entrepreneurial patterns between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs as superdiverse breakout processes are traced back by way of dissimilar migration experiences between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese entrepreneurs. This is intended to provide an understanding of the historical entrepreneurial context for Chinese entrepreneurs in Birmingham. Thirdly, the superdiverse breakout paths of these 10 entrepreneurs indicate the possible future directions for migrant entrepreneurs to further develop their enterprises in a transnational context, with unprecedented socio-economic crises to achieve sustainable growth. In particular, attention is directed to the development of Birmingham Chinese Quarter, as one of the oldest and most representative inner-city Chinatowns in the world.

Key Words:

Transnationalism

Superdiversity

Transnational Embeddedness

Entrepreneurial Context

Entrepreneurial Breakout

Sustainable Growth

[1] The term ‘Birmingham Chinese Quarter’ is used to emphasise the historical and cultural characteristics of Birmingham City Centre inner city area of Chinese ethnic enclave, whereas the term ‘Birmingham Chinatown’ is used to address the shared features of Birmingham City Centre Chinese ethnic enclave together with all the other Chinatowns across the globe.

[2]According to EU recommendation 2003/361, the main determining factors of Micro and SME businesses include two of the following three criteria, namely staff headcount, balance sheet total as well as turnover.