Udueni, Igho Anthony

320 Pages·2017·14.86 MB·English

by  Christine Middleton

MAPPING THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SMALL
BUSINESS AS DISCOURSE AND PRACTICE: AN
INVESTIGATION OF AFRICAN AND CARIBBEAN MICRO
BUSINESSES IN LONDON AND NOTTINGHAM, UK.
Igho Anthony Udueni
MSc. BSc. AIEMA, ARTPI
Thesis submitted to the School of Geograplhy,
University of Nottingham, for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
December 2010
IMAGING SERVICES NORTH
Boston Spa, Wetherby
West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ
www.bl,uk
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Abstract
Increasing globalisation, neoliberal policies and migration inflows have in the
last few decades transformed the United Kingdom into a largely cosmopolitan
nation with a varied and growing population of ethnic minority owned and/or
managed businesses. There is however very little knowledge of how the
imperatives of social responsibility resonate within this ever expanding cluster
of ethnic minority businesses.
This study investigates how the concept of social responsibility (SR) is
understood and practiced by African and Caribbean small business
owner/managers in the UK cities of London and Nottingham. The social,
business and institutional networks of owner/managers are examined in order
to understand the em bedded ness of their understanding and practice of social
responsibility in particular places and spaces. The research also investigates
the motivations underlining owner/managers' interpretations, attitudes and
involvement in socially responsible practices and activities and identifies
different styles of behaviour common within the African and Caribbean small
business community. The research adopted an interpretive qualitative
methodology to the empirical investigation. It combined semi-structured
interview data from African and Caribbean small business owner/managers
and key informants in the local small business community, together with
participant observation data from case studies of a sample of small
businesses, to examine the issue of social responsibility in the two study
areas. The key findings of the study include: that African and Caribbean
owner/managers of small businesses were oblivious of the terminology of
corporate social responsibility and that their interpretation and practice of
social responsibility was in many ways incongruent with normative notions of
"Corporate Social Responsibility"; that the concept of social responsibility is
generally interpreted as a moral imperative to contribute to the welfare of
stakeholders and others in society, but in some cases, also understood as a
responsibility exclusively owed to co-ethnics; that social responsibility as
practiced by African and Caribbean owner/managers was generally
inconspicuous, informal and motivated by their idiosyncratic predispositions
towards cultural, moral and/or religious traditions; that while the
embeddedness of SR practice in co-ethnic business and social networks
predominates, nonetheless, second generation African and Caribbean small
business owner/managers were more likely to locate their SR activities and
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practices within mainstream networks and communities; and that the
different styles of BSR behaviour of African and Caribbean small business
owner/managers can be understood as "insular", "clannish" and "eclectic", On
the basis of these findings it was concluded that the SR attitude and
behaviour of African and Caribbean small business owner/managers were
influenced and shaped by their ethno-cultural and religious beliefs, as well as
their embeddedness in social and institutional networks across space and
time,
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisors, Susanne
Seymour and Shaun French, for their constant guidance, support and patience
during this thesis. I would also like to thank all staff of the School of
Geography for their administrative and academic support, with special
appreciation to Jon Beaverstock for his advice and comments over the course
of this research. Secondly, I would like to thank all the small business
owner/managers and key officers of public and private organizations who took
part in this study in the form of granting interviews and giving me the
opportunity to shadow, observe and participate in their organisation. Without
your kind offerings of time, information and interest in this subject, there
would have been no research.
This thesis could not have been completed without the grace and mercy of
God who made this research possible in more ways than one. To my parents,
brothers, sisters and friends, I say a big thank you for all your help. This work
is dedicated to my wife Margaret and our children Henry, Jedediah and
Joanna, whose love, motivation, support and encouragement was pivotal to
the success of this thesis.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................i i
ACKNOWLEDGM ENTS ............................................................................ iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................... ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................... x
1. Introduction ...................................................................................0 1
1.1. Introduction .............................................................................0 1
1.2. Research Background ................................................................ 02
1.3. Research Aims .......................................................................... 05
1.4. Research Objectives .................................................................. 06
1.5. Structure of Thesis ....................................................................0 7
2. The Social Responsibility of Business: Theory and Practice .......... 10
2.1. Introduction ............................................................................. 10
2.2. The Role of Business in SOciety ................................................... ll
2.2.1. The Classical View ........................................................... 12
2.2.2. Social Embeddedness View ............................................... 13
2.2.3. Business Philanthropy ...................................................... 15
2.2.4. Business Ethics ............................................................... 16
2.2.5. Business and Sustainability ................................................ 18
2.3. Corporate Social Responsibility: A Field of Research & Practice ...... 21
2.3.1. A Political History of CSR ................................................... 24
2.3.2. CSR Theories and Typologies ............................................. 28
2.3.3. CSR Practice: The Orthodoxy of Formalisation ..................... 30
2.4. The Small Business Question ..................................................... 33
2.5. Conclusion .............................................................................. 34
3. Small Business Social Responsibility ............................................ 36
3.1. Introduction ............................................................................. 36
3.2. Small Business Characteristics .................................................... 38
3.2.1. The Agency of Small Business Owner/managers .................. 39
3.2.2. Formal Management Structures ......................................... 39
3.2.3. Informal Stakeholder Relations ......................................... .40
3.3. Making a Case for Small Business Social Responsibility .................. 42
3.4. Small Business Attitude &Behaviour to Social Responsibility ........... 45
3.5. Ethnicity, Small Business Ownership and Social Responsibility ........ 48
3.5.1. Contrasting Views of Ethnic Entrepreneurship ..................... 50
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3.5.2. The Distinctiveness of EMBs and Its Implications ................ 52
3.6. Ethnic Minority Business in the UK .............................................. 56
3.6.1. Population Growth and Composition .................................. 56
3.6.2. Geographical Distribution ................................................ 58
3.6.3. Participation Labour Market ............................................. 60
3.7. African and Caribbean Owner/managers in the UK ....................... 63
3.7.1. Selecting Case Study Business Sectors ............................ 67
3.7.2. The Study Areas ........................................................... 68
4. Research Methodology and Methods ......................................... 74
4.1. Introduction ............................................................................. 74
4.2. Methodological Traditions ........................................................... 74
4.3. Underpinning Methodological Theory ............................................ 77
4.4. Adopting a Qualitative Methodology ............................................. 79
4.5. Research Methods .....................................................................8 4
4.5.1. Semi-Structured Interview .............................................. 84
4.5.2. Participant Observation ................................................... 87
4.6. Research Ethics ........................................................................8 8
4.7. Researcher Positionality ............................................................. 90
4.8. Collecting Data .........................................................................9 4
4.8.1. Purposive Sampling ......................................................... 94
4.8.2. Conducting Interviews ..................................................... 97
4.8.3. Conducting Participant Observations .................................. 99
4.9. Social Desirability Bias ............................................................. 101
4.10. Data Analysis ....................................................................... 102
4.11. Validity and Reliability ........................................................... 104
4.12. Conclusion ........................................................................... 107
5. Owner/Managers Understanding &. Practice of Social
Responsibility ............................................................................... 109
5.1. Introduction ............................................................................ 109
5.2. Awareness of the Rhetoric of Corporate Social Responsibility ........ 109
5.3. Making Sense of the Role of Business in Society .......................... 111
5.3.1. Economic Perspectives .................................................... 112
5.3.2. Social Perspectives ......................................................... 113
5.3.2.1. SR as Philanthropy .................................................. 114
5.3.2.2. SR as Ethical Business Behaviour .............................. 116
5.3.2.3. SR as Improving the Welfare of Other Co-ethnics ...... 117
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5.4. Attitudinal Orientations towards Social Responsibility .................. 121
5.4.1. Positive Attitudes to SR ................................................. 122
5.4.1.1. A Matter of principle ....................................... 122
5.4.1.2. A Religious Duty ............................................ 123
5.4.2. A Cautious Approach to SR ............................................ 125
5.5. Involvement in Socially Responsible Practices ............................ 128
5.5.1. Ethical SR Behaviour ..................................................... 129
5.5.1.1. Regard for Health, Safety and Welfare of
Stakeholders .............................................................. 129
5.5.1.2. Fostering Good Business Relations ................... 134
5.5.2. Philanthropic SR Behaviour ............................................ 138
5.5.2.1. Channels of Philanthropic Behaviour ................ 139
5.5.2.2. Self-Interest Philanthropy ............................... 146
5.5.2.3. Involvement in Pro-Environmental Actions ....... 149
5.6. Conclusion ............................................................................. 156
6. Formal and Informal Networks and the Embedding Of SR
Practice ........................................................................................ 158
6.1. Introduction ............................................................................ 158
6.2. Social Ties and Responsibilities .................................................. 159
6.2.1. Scope of Family and Kinship Ties ..................................... 160
6.2.2. Other Interpersonal Relationships .................................... 162
6.2.3. Leveraging on Interpersonal Ties ..................................... 165
6.2.4. Shaping SR Behaviour .................................................... 169
6.3. Socialising Business Relations ................................................... 174
6.3.1. Key Stakeholder Relationships ........................................ 175
6.4. Institutional Linkages and Support for SR .................................. 182
6.4.1. Regulatory Relationships and Formal Obligations .............. 183
6.4.2. Institutional Support for SR ........................................... 187
6.4.3. Relationships with Civil Society Institutions ...................... 196
6.5. Conclusion .............................................................................. 206
7. Chapter Seven: A Heuristic Characterisations of
Owner/Mangers' SR Behaviour. .................................................. 208
7.1. Introduction ............................................................................ 208
7.2. Insular Style of SR Behaviour .................................................... 210
7.2.1. Vignette 1: "Charity begins at home" ................................ 212
7.2.2. Vignette 2: "It is everyman for himself" ............................ 215
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7.2.3. Reflections on Insular Dispositions ................................... 219
7.3. Clannish Style of SR Behaviour .................................................. 220
7.3.1. Vignette 2: "Black people must learn to unite" .................. 222
7.3.2. Vignette 3: "We have to be true to your roots" ................. 225
7.3.3. Reflections on Clannish Dispositions ................................. 229
7 A. Eclectic Style of SR Behaviour ................................................... 230
704.1. Vignette 5: "No man or woman is an island" ..................... 231
704.2. Vignette 6: "It all depends on one's sense of community" .. 235
704.3. Reflections on Eclectic Dispositions .................................. 240
7.5. Conclusion .............................................................................. 241
8. Chapter Eight: Discussion and Conclusion ................................. 243
8.1. Introduction ........................................................................... 243
8.2. Summary and Discussion of Key Findings ................................... 243
8.2.1. SR Perceptions, Attitudes and Relational Networks ............ 245
8.2.2. Space, Place and SR Behaviour ........................................ 247
8.2.3. Scope and Character of SR Practices ................................. 250
8.204. Heuristic Styles of SR Behaviour ....................................... 252
8.3. Research Propositions .............................................................. 254
8.3.1. Ethno-cultural Values and Traditions ................................. 254
8.3.2. Social and Institutional Ties ............................................. 256
8.3.3. Religious Beliefs and Intensity ......................................... 257
804. Reflections on the Research Process ........................................... 259
8.5. Suggestions for Further Research .............................................. 261
REFERENCES .................................................................................... 264
APPENDIX 1: Letter of Introduction to Potential Participants .................. 295
APPENDIX 2: Information Sheet for Participants .................................... 296
APPENDIX 3a: Key Characteristics of Owner/managers Interviewed ......... 297
APPENDIX 3b: Key Informants Interviewed .......................................... 298
APPENDIX 4: Small Business Owner/managers Interview Schedule .......... 299
APPENDIX 5: Key Informants Interview Schedule .................................. 300
APPENDIX 6: Extracts of Interview Transcripts ...................................... 302
APPENDIX 7: Extracts from Field Diary ................................................. 306
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Share of Self-Employment in total employment by place of
birth 2007 ..........................................................................................4 9
Table 3.2 Unemployment Rates by Ethnic Group and Sex in the UK ............ 61
Table 4.1 Contrasting Characteristics of Quantitative and Qualitative
Methodolog ies ..................................................................................... 81
Table 5.1: Social perspectives on the meaning of SR ............................... 114
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1 Immigration from the New Commonwealth to the UK ................. 57
Figure 3.2 Ethnic Composition of the UK .................................................. 58
Figure 3.3 Geographical distributions of Ethnic Minority Groups in the UK .... 59
Figure 3.4 Self Employment across Ethnic Minority groups in the UK ........... 62
Figure 3.5 Graphical Representation of the Ethnic Diversity of London ......... 69
Figure 3.6 Graphical Representation of the Ethnic Diversity of Nottingham ... 71
Figure 4.1 Positivist and Interpretivist Paradigms ..................................... 77
Figure 4.2 Components of Data Analysis: An Interactive Model ................. 104
Figure 5.1 Awareness of CSR Terminology ............................................. 111
Figure 7.1 Stylised Model of BSR behaviour ........................................... 210
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