Books
Wendy Beech, BLACK ENTERPRISE GUIDE TO STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS (1999).
Abstract (from publisher): This book offers essential, timely advice on all aspects of entrepreneurship, including defining and protecting a business idea, researching the industry and the competition, confronting legal issues, choosing a good location, financing, and advertising. You'll even learn how to make the most of the Internet by establishing a Web presence. Plus, you'll hear from black entrepreneurs who persevered in the face of seemingly unbeatable odds and have now joined the ranks of incredibly successful black business owners. This exceptional reference tool also includes: The ten qualities you must possess to be a successful entrepreneur. A list of helpful resources at the end of every chapter.
Flournoy A. Coles, Black Economic Development (1975).
Ethnic Communities in Business: Strategies for Economic Survival (Robin Ward & Richard Jenkins eds., 2010).
Abstract (from Amazon.com): Originally published in 1984, this book was the first broad review of the development of business among ethnic minorities in Britain. Chapters describing business performance among established groups such as Jews and Italians were accompanied by accounts of business development among minorities from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent. Reviews of parallel trends in the United States and Western Europe underlined the important role of ethnic businesses in capitalist societies as a whole. At the time, ways of encouraging business development among minorities were raising important questions. Was this the way to give new life to the economy in the inner city? Could involvement in business provide opportunities for economic advance and increase stability in ethnic communities? Or was it simply an attempt to make the best of the increasingly marginal social and economic situation in which they found themselves in the 1980s? This book allowed for a clearer assessment of ethnic business development as a strategy for economic survival.
Entrepreneurship Education in Asia (Hugh Thomas & Donna Kelley eds., 2011).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): The continuing success of the Asian Miracle relies on an entrepreneurial revolution that has increased the productivity and flexibility of economies across the region. Yet this revolution has largely been necessity-driven, traditional and vulnerable to erosion as the region becomes increasingly prosperous and well educated. How to educate the next wave of entrepreneurs is a pressing Asian question that resonates around the world and is the subject of this volume. Hugh Thomas and Donna Kelley draw on 24 scholars from 15 institutions to report on regional entrepreneurship education. They identify problems encountered by educators and describe solutions that stimulate students to create value. The approaches are hands-on, project-based and multidisciplinary, geared to develop educator-to-business entrepreneurial ecosystems. The entrepreneurial programs described in this book involve experiencing foreign cultures, working with major corporations, consulting to small and medium sized enterprises, travelling to distant lands, addressing environmental and social problems, and reaching out to the disadvantaged. Social entrepreneurship is combined with for-profit entrepreneurship in programs that extend the concept of value creation. This book eloquently and expertly describes how entrepreneurship education – whether in Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, China or elsewhere on the globe – can combine with community to help youth create a better world.
Robert W. Fairlie & Alicia M. Robb, RACE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS: BLACK-, ASIAN-, AND WHITE-OWNED BUSINESSES IN THE UNITED STATES (2008).
Abstract (from publisher): This book examines racial disparities in business performance. Drawing on the rarely used, restricted-access Characteristics of Business Owners (CBO) dataset compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, Fairlie and Robb examine in particular why Asian-owned firms perform well in comparison to white-owned businesses and black-owned firms typically do not. They also explore the broader question of why some entrepreneurs are successful and others are not. After providing new comprehensive estimates of recent trends in minority business ownership and performance, the authors examine the importance of human capital, financial capital, and family business background in successful business ownership. They find that a high level of startup capital is the most important factor contributing to the success of Asian-owned businesses, and that the lack of startup money for black businesses (attributable to the fact that nearly half of all black families have less than $6,000 in total wealth) contributes to their relative lack of success. In addition, higher education levels among Asian business owners explain much of their success relative to both white- and African American-owned businesses. Finally, Fairlie and Robb find that black entrepreneurs have fewer opportunities than white entrepreneurs to acquire valuable pre-business work experience through working in family businesses.
Joe R. Feagin & Nikitah Imani, Racial Barriers to African American Entrepreneurship: An Exploratory Study, 41 Soc. Probs. 562 (1994).
Sati Umaru Fwatshak, African Entrepreneurship in Jos, Central Nigeria, 1902-1985 (2011).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): This book recognizes the historic roles of African/Nigerian entrepreneurs in the economic development of Jos, in Nigeria’s central region, from the colonial period to 1985. It provides a comparative analysis of African/Nigerian enterprises (private and public) and foreign enterprises. The book also analyzes entrepreneurship theories as an aspect of the history of economic thought and surveys African entrepreneurship in the context of scholarly research traditions. It is the first major study of the business history of Jos, which identifies general and specific business lines and their owners. The book uses historical methodology, and it consults a wide range of primary and secondary source materials. Fwatshak analyzes different sources using the multi-disciplinary research tradition.
Steven J. Gold, The Store in the Hood: A Century of Ethnic Business and Conflict (2011).
Abstract (from Amazon.com): This book develops a more nuanced understanding by exploring merchant/customer conflicts over the past hundred years across a wide range of ethnic groups and settings. Utilizing published research, official statistics, interviews, and ethnographic data collected from diverse locations, the book reveals how powerful groups and institutions have shaped the environments in which merchant/customer conflicts occur. These conflicts must be seen as products of the larger society's values, policies and structures, not solely as a consequence of actions by immigrants, the urban poor, and other marginal groups.
Earl G. Graves, How to Succeed in Business Without Being White: Straight Talk on Making it in America (1998).
Abstract (from Amazon Product Description): Nationally recognized authority on black business development Earl G. Graves pulls no punches in his honest and inspirational new book, How to Succeed in Business Without Being White: Straight Talk on Making It in America. Aimed directly at African Americans struggling with the White-dominated corporate world, it presents a profusion of helpful suggestions drawn from Graves's 26 years experience as publisher of Black Enterprise magazine and a leader in numerous other minority-oriented business projects.
Leonard Greenhalgh & James Lowry, Minority Business Success: Refocusing on the American Dream (2011).
Abstract (adapted from Amazon.com): In this important and path-breaking book, the authors focus especially on the need for and ways to facilitate the growth of minority-owned businesses, not only to ensure minorities' full participation in American economic success, but also to help assure that outcome. Their hard-headed analysis and recommendations deserve the full attention of citizens and policymakers at this critical juncture in the nation's history.
Joshua D. Griffiths, Minority Business Ownership: Characteristics and Issues (2011).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): Minority business enterprises are an engine of employment growth and economic expansion in America. Although the number of minority firms continued to increase at a fast rate between 1997 and 2002 their growth rate in gross receipts has lagged behind their growth in number of firms. This new book analyzes minority businesses to identify trends that may have impacted their performance and examines some of the challenges minorities may be facing in growing their businesses
Wendy Harris, Against All Odds: Ten Entrepreneurs Who Followed Their Hearts and Found Success (2001).
Abstract (from Amazon Product Description): Discover the compelling true stories of African-American men and women who beat the odds to become some of today’s most successful black entrepreneurs. In a series of intimate profiles, journalist/author Wendy Harris details the paths they traveled, the obstacles they overcame, and the important lessons they learned along the way about what it takes to succeed in business.
Joy Kooi-Chin Tong, Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Modern China (2012).
Abstract (from publisher): Inspired by Max Weber’s thesis on the Protestant ethic, ‘Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Modern China’ sets out to understand the role and influence of Christianity on Overseas Chinese businesspeople working in contemporary China. Through its in-depth interviews and participant observations (involving 60 Overseas Chinese entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and the United States), the text discusses how Christianity has come to fulfill an increasingly visible and dynamic function in the country, most notably as a new source of business morality. Recognizing that China’s economic transition toward a market-oriented economy was not initiated by Christians (or indeed any other religious group), this volume demonstrates the importance of exploring the impact of religious ethics on economics at micro and organizational levels, via the subjective understandings of individuals and small businesses. Significant but often neglected facets of Weber’s thesis arise as a result. Of key importance is the issue of gender differences within the Christian ethos – a crucial aspect of the Protestant ethic that has yet to be systematically studied, but which offers great potential to enhance our understanding of Weber’s work. As a result, the text’s novel application of Weberian sociology to the context of contemporary China can be seen to offer a double return, elucidating both the theory and its subject.
Marilyn L. Kourilsky et al., THE ENTREPRENEUR IN YOUTH (2007).
Abstract: This book offers an assessment of African American, Latino, and white high school students’ aspirations, knowledge, opinions and educational views related to entrepreneurship and philanthropy. A key strength is its longitudinal approach to analysis and interpretations, made possible by extensive surveys of over 11,000 respondents from high school youth and other groups, including adults and business owners. The key findings exhibit an extraordinarily high level of interest in entrepreneurship among youth as well as a strong desire to give back to their communities. However, they lack the knowledge and experience to achieve their aspirations.
Chan Kwok-bun & Chan Wai-wan, Mobile Chinese Entrepreneurs (2011).
Abstract (from publisher): From nomadic traders in the ancient world to peddlers on the American frontier, the immigrant entrepreneur is a timeless figure. In our current age of globalization and multinational corporations, however, this experience is complicated by patterns of adaptation and transformation, relocation and re-invention. Mobile Chinese Entrepreneurs draws extensively on the narratives of sixteen small-to-medium business owners, born on the mainland, who have immigrated to Hong Kong and returned to China to establish their enterprises. For these executives, business and social life alike are marked by constant interplay of identities, such as individual identity/group membership and ancestral/immigrant identity. Yet as often as this juggling of these “selves” can be beneficial in the economic sphere, it can also lead to feelings of rootlessness and alienation. Writing with rare sensitivity, the authors synthesize insights from economic sociology, psychology, ethnic relations, and social networks, creating an exploration of social capital and social identity comparable to similar groups of businessmen and –women in other areas of the world.
Melvin L. Oliver & Thomas M. Shapiro, Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States (2010).
Abstract (from Amazon.com): Thirteen million people in the United States—roughly one in ten workers—own a business. And yet rates of business ownership among African Americans are much lower and have been so during the last 100 years. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, businesses owned by African Americans tend to have lower sales, fewer employees and smaller payrolls, lower profits, and higher closure rates. In contrast, Asian American-owned businesses tend to be more successful. In Race and Entrepreneurial Success, minority entrepreneurship authorities Robert Fairlie and Alicia Robb examine racial disparities in business performance. Drawing on the rarely used, restricted-access Characteristics of Business Owners (CBO) data set compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, Fairlie and Robb examine in particular why Asian-owned firms perform well in comparison to White-owned businesses and Black-owned firms typically do not. They also explore the broader question of why some entrepreneurs are successful and others are not.
Paul D. Reynolds & Sammis B. White, The Entrepreneurial Process: Economic Growth, Men, Women, and Minorities (1997).
Abstract (from Amazon Product Description): Entrepreneurship is an extremely important, but little understood, component of the U.S. economy. This book aids that understanding by exploring the challenges and outcomes of the start-up phases of new firms. This is the first detailed, large-scale, longitudinally-based analysis of the entrepreneurial process. Three representative samples of new firms and two representative samples of nascent entrepreneurs (those attempting to start new firms) are used to consider a variety of factors that affect successful completion of the major transitions in the life of new businesses: conception, birth, and early development (survival and growth). Surprisingly, a substantial minority of start-ups become operational new firms. Among the many lessons the authors learn are that although new firm growth appears to reflect many factors, initial size is of special consequence. Not only are many general insights for entrepreneurs revealed, but the authors also pay special attention to the involvement of women and minorities in entrepreneurship and suggest effective government policy for different stages in the entrepreneurial process.
W. Sherman Rogers, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ENTREPRENEUR: THEN AND NOW (2010).
Abstract (from product description at Amazon.com): African American entrepreneurship has been an integral part of the American economy since the 1600s. Besides providing a glimpse into the world of black entrepreneurship both past and present, this book urges African Americans to gain financial independence as entrepreneurs. The book explores the lower economic status of black Americans in light of America's legacy of slavery, segregation, and rampant discrimination. Its main purpose is to shine a light on the legal, historical, sociological and political factors that together help to explain the economic condition of black people in America from their arrival in America to the present. In the process, the book spotlights the many breakthroughs made by black entrepreneurs even before the Civil War and Emancipation.
Alexander Shvarts, Russian Transnational Entrepreneurs: Ethnicity, Class, and Capital (2011).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): How have immigrants, who grew up in a state-controlled communist system, learned to become so adept at starting businesses in the North American market economy? This book follows the emergence of successful cosmopolitan entrepreneurs after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Through an analysis of interview data and biographies of entrepreneurs, Dr. Alexander Shvarts uncovers five diverse paths to self-employment for Russian immigrants, which are shaped by transitional economy, ethnic and class dimensions of entrepreneurship, and transnationalism.
Patricia Carter Sluby, The Entrepreneurial Spirit of African American Inventors (2011).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): Successful entrepreneurs and inventors share valuable characteristics like self-confidence, perseverance, and the ability to conceptualize unrealized solutions or opportunities. However, another personality trait has been required for African Americans wishing to become business owners, creative thinkers, or patent holders: a willingness to overcome the additional barriers placed before them because of their race, especially in the era before civil rights. The Entrepreneurial Spirit of African American Inventors provides historical accounts of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship among black Americans, from the 19th century to the present day. The author examines how these individuals stimulated industry, business activity, and research, helping shape the world as we know it and setting the precedent for the minority business tradition in the United States. This book also sheds light on fascinating advances made in metallurgy, medicine, architecture, and other fields that supply further examples of scientific inquiry and business acumen among African Americans.
Glenice J. Wood et al., Minorities in Entrepreneurship: An International Review (2012).
Abstract (adapted from publisher): Although there is an expanding body of literature on the characteristics, aspirations, motivations, challenges and barriers of mainstream entrepreneurs, relatively little is known about whether these findings can be applied to the entrepreneurial activities of minority groups. This book addresses this short-fall and presents an international review of the characteristics, motivations and obstacles of eight minority groups: younger; older; women; ethnic; immigrant; lesbian, gay and bisexual; disabled; and indigenous entrepreneurs. The expert contributors discover enormous variability between these minority groups, such as in the motivators that either ‘pushed’ or ‘pulled’ individuals into an entrepreneurial venture, as well as diverse attitudes toward ‘success’: some groups wanted to achieve financial security – others wanted to enhance their sense of self-worth, or to change existing social and economic circumstances. However, some striking similarities were noted: initial disadvantage often created a powerful impetus to starting up a business venture, and accessing finance was extremely difficult for many. Including comparative cross cultural data and case studies on the various minority groups reviewed, both post graduate students and undergraduate students studying entrepreneurship will find this book an invaluable resource.
Zulema Valdez, The New Entrepreneurs: How Race, Class, and Gender shape American Enterprise (2011).
Abstract (from Amazon.com): With a focus on a diverse group of Latino entrepreneurs, this book explores how class, gender, race, and ethnicity all shape Latino entrepreneurs' capacity to succeed in business in the United States.
Bringing intersectionality into conversation with theories of ethnic entrepreneurship, the author considers how various factors create, maintain, and transform the social and economic lives of Latino entrepreneurs. While certain group identities may impose unequal, if not discriminatory, starting positions, membership in these same social groups can provide opportunities to mobilize resources together. The Author reveals how Latino entrepreneurs—as members of oppressed groups on the one hand, yet "rugged individualists" striving for the American Dream on the other—work to recreate their own positions within American society.
Robert Weems & Lewis Randolph, BUSINESS IN BLACK AND WHITE: AMERICAN PRESIDENTS AND BLACK ENTREPRENEURS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (2009).
Abstract (from product description at Amazon.com): This book provides a panoramic discussion of various initiatives that American presidents have supported to promote black business development in the United States. Drawn from a variety of sources, the book illustrates how every administration since Coolidge has addressed the subject of black business development, from campaign promises to initiatives to roadblocks. Although the government's influence on black business dwindled during the Eisenhower Administration, the author points out that the subject was reinvigorated during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations and during the early-to-mid 1960s, when “civil rights” included the right to own and operate commercial enterprises.
Michael D. Woodard, Black Entrepreneurs in America: Stories of Struggle and Success (1998).
Abstract (from Publishers Weekly): This concise study of recent trends in black entrepreneurship, with its excellent historical summary, asks two questions: "Why has it taken so long?" and "Why is it still so hard?" Indeed, even in antebellum America, blacks owned prosperous businesses serving predominantly white clientele, while industrious slaves maintained small businesses in their free time (time for which they had to pay their masters). Between 1820 and 1830, Philadelphia's sail-making industry was controlled by African Americans, as was Cincinnati's largest provisions dealer in 1850. All might have progressed nicely had not the Supreme Court ruled for racial segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896.