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Racism: A barrier to entry? Experiences of small ethnic minority retail businesses
Mohammed Ishaq, Asifa Hussain and Geoff Whittam
International Small Business Journal 2010 28: 362
DOI: 10.1177/0266242610363523
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Small Firms
Article
Racism: A barrier to entry?
Experiences of small ethnic
minority retail businesses
International Small Business Journal
28(4) 362–377
© The Author(s) 2010
Reprints and permission: sagepub.
co.uk/journalsPermission.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0266242610363523
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Mohammed Ishaq
University of the West of Scotland, UK
Asifa Hussain
University of Durham, UK
Geoff Whittam
University of the West of Scotland, UK
Abstract
The participation of ethnic minorities in self-employment has been a phenomenon of the British
labour market for many decades. One area in which there has been a preponderance of ethnic
minority groups, especially those of South Asian origin, has been the independent retail sector,
where many set up what became commonly known as ‘corner shops’.This sector has experienced
radical change in the last decade, which has posed a real threat to the livelihood of business
owners, leading to a decline in the number and profitability of shops. Many of those which have
survived have to face one of society’s social ills, racism. This study, based on semi-structured
interviews, attempts to establish the degree of racial discrimination experienced by owners of
small retail businesses in Glasgow, with a working hypothesis that racism in all its forms will not be
conducive to encouraging potential entrepreneurs from ethnic minority backgrounds to establish
new businesses, and hence racism is a barrier to entry.
Keywords
ethnicity, entrepreneurship, racial discrimination, retailing, self-employment, small business
Introduction
Racism has been a problem in British society for some time; it has been more apparent ever since
the large-scale influx of immigrants during the 1960s (Cashmore, 1996: 40–43). A number of studies by the likes of Abbott (1997), Baxter (1997), Ishaq and Hussain (2001) and Modood et al.
(1998a) have offered evidence of racist tendencies in areas such as health, education, the uniformed
Corresponding author:
Mohammed Ishaq, University of the West of Scotland, Business School, Paisley Campus, High St, Paisley PA1 2BE,
Scotland, UK.
Email: [email protected]
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Ishaq et al.
services and in society in general. Despite the passage of legislation such as the Race Relations
Act 1976 and more recently the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, racism still rears its ugly
head both in Britain’s communities and in its institutions. The murder of Stephen Lawrence and
the subsequent MacPherson inquiry, which labelled the police as ‘institutionally racist’, highlighted that racism is a real problem and a challenge to harmonious race relations in an increasingly
multicultural British society (MacPherson, 1999).
While some research has been conducted on the extent of racism suffered by ethnic minorities as
service users (see for example Modood et al., 1998a), and on the experiences of racism in the workplace, very little has been carried out on the extent of racism directed toward minority ethnic business owners in their role as service providers. Research into ethnic minority businesses (EMBs),
which has noted racism as a problem for conducting business, has tended not to have the issue as a
central focus. The majority of EMBs are to be found in the retail sector known in the literature as
small ethnic minority retail businesses (SEMRBs) but more commonly known by the colloquial
‘corner shop’. The main objective of this article is to determine the extent of racial discrimination
suffered by SEMRBs and whether this issue constitutes a barrier to entry to the establishment of
businesses for the minority ethnic community and thereby reduces the potential of entrepreneurial
talent which may have an impact on economic development. The established literature suggests that
one of the factors encouraging potential entrepreneurs to establish businesses is ‘knowing someone
who is already an entrepreneur’ (see Hisrich, 1990). Additionally there is a rich bank of literature
identifying the link between self-employment and family background; that is, entrepreneurs come
from homes where the father or mother was self-employed (Roberts and Wainer, 1968; Ronstadt,
1984; and Dyer, 1992). The negative impact of racism on the minority ethnic community engaged
in business activity is not going to have a positive impact on other potential entrepreneurs within
the ethnic minority community and hence will act as a barrier to entry.
As well as meeting the prime objective of establishing the extent of racism endured by SEMRBs
and the role this plays in the demise of such businesses, it is also hoped that this study will contribute to the growing general literature on EMBs, in particular, our understanding of the social conditions and environment in which SEMRBs operate, shed some light on the views and experiences
of ethnic minorities as service providers, and allow an examination of the relationship which
SEMRBs have with the indigenous population, who comprise the majority of their customers.
The research for this article was conducted in Glasgow, a city which has the highest concentration
of ethnic minorities in Scotland (Scottish Executive, 2004). In Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, racist
incidents against shopkeepers have been frequently reported in the press (MacDougall, 2001; Silvester,
2003). Unfortunately global events such as 9/11 and the London bombings have fuelled racism further
(see Hussain and Miller, 2006: 33–4). Reports have revealed evidence of an increase in physical and
verbal abuse towards SERMBs as a consequence of these events (see MacDougall, 2001). While this
article focuses on the experiences of SEMRBs in Glasgow, reports in the media (BBC, 2002) suggest
that the experiences reported in this paper are universal across the UK. But there has been no systematic study of the extent of this abuse for SEMRBs, so this article is both timely and pertinent.
The next section will provide some background on the development of self-employment among
Britain’s ethnic minorities. This will then be succeeded by an explanation of the methodology
adopted for this research. The remainder of the article will focus on the findings of the research and
an analysis of the results, ending with some concluding remarks.
Ethnic minorities and self-employment in Britain
Britain is an increasingly multicultural society with many different ethnic groups. Data from the
2001 Census reveals that the population of the UK classed as being of ethnic minority origin is 7%
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(Scottish Executive, 2004). In Scotland it is much lower, at just over 2%, of which the largest
groups are Pakistanis who make up almost one-third (31%) of the Scottish ethnic minority population, followed by the Chinese at 16% and Indians at around 14%. The majority of Scotland’s ethnic
minority groups are based in the city of Glasgow with sizeable minorities also present in Edinburgh
and Dundee. In attempting to measure the numbers of SEMRBs, the proxy of self-employment has
been used. The figures, in line with other research, reveal that rates of self-employment are higher
among ethnic minority groups than they are for the white indigenous population (GROS, 2004).
The average self-employment rate for Scotland has been calculated at 10.2%. For Pakistanis it is
28%, while it is 21% for the Chinese and 20% for Indians. It is around 8% for White Scottish and
11% for Other White British (Deakins et al., 2005). A quarter of all self-employed ethnic minorities
in Scotland are based in Glasgow (Scottish Executive, 2004). This is particularly the case for ethnic
minorities of ‘Asian’ origin,1 especially South Asians. It is this ethnic minority group which has by
and large entered self-employment, especially in the form of setting up their own businesses
(Modood et al., 1997).
Previous research, typically utilizing self-employment as a measure of entrepreneurial activity,
has focused on the differing levels of participation from the differing ethnic groups. Most of this
research has tended to focus on the conditions in which EMBs operate and reasons why a proportionately larger number of ethnic minorities opt for careers in self-employment and by extension
small business ownership (Clark and Drinkwater, 2010). Several reasons for this have been identified. Early studies tended to focus on different immigrant groups living in close-knit communities
yet isolated from many institutions such as career opportunities in their new host countries. While
these barriers to employment opportunities were the results of racism whether direct or institutional, being academics in a subject where barriers are seen to be opportunities, this ghettoization
of immigrant groups, it was suggested, provided opportunities for entrepreneurial endeavours.
Within the immigrant communities there existed a ready market, a plentiful and flexible labour
force, and the potential of pooled, if limited capital; in other words there existed ‘ethnic resources’
ready for the entrepreneur to utilize (Ram and Jones, 2007; Jones and Ram, 2010).
An extension of this approach which we can term the ‘blocked upward mobility thesis’ has been
advanced by the likes of Aldrich et al. (1981, 1984), McEvoy et al. (1982) and Jones et al. (1994),
who argued that entry into self-employment was prompted by a desire to escape racial discrimination in the labour market, which saw ethnic minorities having to settle for low status jobs or unemployment. However, these explanations were challenged by Werbner (1990) who believed that the
role of culture has been overlooked. Her ‘cultural resources’ approach illustrates that cultural heritage which stresses thrift, industriousness and self-reliance contributes towards the success of
Asian businesses and may partly explain the reason for entry into entrepreneurship. More recently,
Chaudry and Crick (2003) have given added voice to the important role played by cultural factors
in business start-ups, particularly among South Asian communities. However, Barrett et al. (2002)
note their earlier involvement in a project which included research into 580 South Asian and White
entrepreneurs in three UK cities with significant ethnic variations between the three:
There were, however, remarkably few variations in entrepreneurial outcomes between the three cities,
which disadvantage the leitmotif, in each, irrespective of ethnic identities: heavy concentration in low
order retailing; long entrepreneurial working hours producing only poor returns; extensive use of uncosted
family labour; and overdependence on low income local Asian customers. (Barrett et al., 2002: 17)
Recently there appears to be the emergence of an over-arching analytical framework for conducting research into EMBs, which goes under the generic title of mixed embeddedness (Klosterman
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Ishaq et al.
et al., 1999). The essential aspect of this approach is that EMBs operate in a social economic framework and therefore the restrictions and opportunities afforded by their own social capital is limited
and shaped by this framework. Of particular significance is the role of the state in defining through
legislation the limitations and opportunities for EMBs. Building on this perspective it is argued:
Ethnic minority self-employment rates in Britain tend to be significantly higher than those of immigrants
in continental Europe, a highly distinctive gap which surely cannot be explained purely as a product of
ethno-cultural disparities, such as between Moroccans in Austria and Indians in Britain. It is much more
likely to stem from decisive differences in politco-legal regimes … and economic structural conditions.
(Barrett et al., 2002: 14)
It is this approach which informs the subject of this article, namely the extent of racism faced by
SEMRBs.
The most observable form of SEMRBs are known colloquially as ‘corner shops’ and it is these
establishments which provide the sample for this article. The ‘corner shop’ has been a feature of
the British landscape for several decades with owners often working very unsociable hours to
provide a service to the community and in turn earn a living. The future of these small businesses
is under threat as a result of changes in both the external and internal environment (see Bent et al.,
1999; O’Shea, 1997; Voyle, 2002; and Ritchie, 2006). Despite adverse economic conditions in the
last ten years, caused primarily, but not solely, by competition from large supermarkets, and which
have had a substantial adverse effect on profit margins, the ‘corner shop’ has just about survived.
The economic threat confronting ethnic minority shopkeepers has been placed in context by a
study which revealed a 25% decline in the number of Asian-run ‘corner shops’ since the early
1990s, a trend which was expected to continue (Brown, 2002). Similarly work by Barrett et al.
(2001) and Welsh et al. (2003) also highlighted the difficulties facing small retailers as a consequence of competition from larger businesses such as supermarkets.
Methodology
A qualitative research methodology was adopted because the researchers wished to tease out many
issues, which would not have been revealed by a quantitative approach. The main method used to
conduct research for this article was semi-structured interviews. This involved the design of a
questionnaire. Interviews were carried out with small retail businesses owned and managed by
members of the ethnic minority community in Glasgow. The researchers did not have a specific
sample size in mind. The sample was selected using a technique known as ‘snowball sampling’
(Saunders et al., 2005). The size of the sample was likely to be affected or constrained by the number
of contacts that would be generated as a result of the snowball effect. This technique involved making
contact with a few known small retail business owners in Glasgow and then asking them to identify
further owners, who were then invited to identify further cases and so on (Saunders et al., 2005).
Owing to the difficulties in interviewing ethnic minorities, such as unwillingness to participate,
suspicion and the language barrier, this technique was seen as very useful and indeed proved
invaluable. Ethnic minorities have a low level of participation in surveys (see Saggar, 1998; Evans
and Norris, 1999). Overall, the size of the sample was constrained by time, resource constraints and
the exhaustion of contacts. A total of 120 interviews were conducted with SEMRB owners. In addition, two unstructured or in-depth interviews were carried out with the director of the Commission
for Racial Equality (CRE)2 in Scotland and a sergeant based at the Diversity Unit of Strathclyde
Police in order to explore in more detail the scale of reported racism facing shopkeepers.
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The response rate was very high (94%) due to the fact that the respondents represented contacts
that were provided by others. Hence, subsequent contacts had been warned in advance from our
original source that we would be contacting them for an interview. As a consequence there were
only eight refusals.
Given that small retail businesses are a common form of employment among Asians from the
Indian sub-continent, it was not surprising that our sample comprised almost exclusively those of
Pakistani and Indian origin. The questions focused on:
• The extent to which owners of SEMRBs had suffered racial discrimination.
• The nature and frequency of such behaviour.
• What strategies, if any, had been used to respond to racist behaviour.
Throughout this article, the terms respondents, shopkeepers, owners, small ethnic minority
retail businesses, and small retail business owners are used interchangeably. The terms culprits,
racists and racist customers are used interchangeably to refer to those individuals whom respondents identified as having perpetrated racist behaviour.
Research findings and analysis
Profile of respondents
A number of general questions were asked at the start of the questionnaire in order to establish the
profile of respondents. In total, 120 small retail business owners were surveyed. Eighty-five per
cent of respondents in our research were male. This is perhaps not surprising given that the ethnic
minority groups surveyed were all of Indian sub-continent origin. The cultural practices of this
group tend to assign the role of housewife to women, while paid work is viewed primarily as being
the responsibility of men (Dhaliwal and Kangis, 2006). Studies reveal that ethnic minority groups
of Indian sub-continent origin have among the lowest rates of female participation in the labour
market (see Modood, 1998a, 1998b; Scottish Executive, 2004).
The respondents represented a diverse range of age groups (see Table 1). Fifteen per cent were
in the youngest age-group (17–24). There were more than 20% in the age groups 25–34 and 45–54,
and more than 25% in the 35–44 age group. Eleven per cent were in the 55–64 age group, and 2%
in the oldest age group, 65 and over. This spread of age groups was very useful as it allowed the
experiences of both the young and old to be gauged.
Table 1. Breakdown of
Respondents by Age-group
Age Group
Respondents (%)
17–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55–64
65 and above
15
23
27
22
11
2
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Ishaq et al.
The majority of shopkeepers (64%) were born overseas, more specifically in either Pakistan
(48%), India (15%) or Bangladesh (1%). The remaining 36% were born in the UK (primarily
Scotland). Many of those born overseas had married into UK-based families and had taken on the
shop business as a form of employment. Many either do not have relevant qualifications to enter
other professions or view, whether wrongly or rightly, owning and managing a small retail business
as an opportunity to earn ‘a decent standard of living’.
To some extent, the overseas born were replacing the second and third generation British-born
ethnic minorities who were unwilling to enter the family business (Bachkaniwala et al., 2001).
Statistics show that there is a high level of participation in higher education among British-born
ethnic minorities. As a consequence they have aspirations to enter professions other than running
a small retail business, an aspiration which will be reinforced if other factors such as racism act as
a further barrier to entry (Leslie and Drinkwater, 1999; Scottish Executive, 2004).
The vast majority of small retail business owners were Muslims (78%). Again this is not surprising as the research focused on Glasgow, which hosts the largest Muslim community in
Scotland (GROS, 2004). Other religions reported by respondents included Hinduism (12%) and
Sikhism (10%).
Respondents were also asked how long they had owned their business. Almost one-fifth of
shopkeepers (18%) had owned their business for less than a year while almost one-third (31%)
said that they had only owned their business for between one and three years. This is not a surprise
as recent figures show a growing trend in which SEMRBs are in decline and many such owners
have sold their businesses to others who are now ‘trying their luck’ (Ritchie, 2006), and thus adding to the process of ‘churn’. Therefore change of ownership appears to be connected to the
decline in the number and profitability of small shops (Ritchie, 2006). Around 16% had owned
their business for between four and six years, while 17% had owned their business for more than
13 years.
Experience of racial discrimination
When respondents were asked if they had ever suffered racial discrimination at their premises,
64% said ‘yes’ while 36% said ‘no’. A majority had therefore experienced racism. The semistructured interviews continued with the 64%, 77 of the original total, who had suffered some
form of racism. A gender comparison reveals that a disproportionate number of men suffered
racism compared to women, with 87% of those experiencing racism being men and the remaining 13% being women. However, this is slightly misleading because the number of females in
the sample was very small. Therefore this result is unlikely to be explained by the existence of a
conscience among racists to refrain from abusing women. When examining the country of origin
of those who had suffered racism, it was evident that those shopkeepers whose country of origin
was not the UK were more likely to suffer from racism. Sixty-one per cent born in the Indian
sub-continent did so compared to only 39% of those born in the UK. This can be accounted for
partly by the fact that those born abroad were seen as easy targets because their proficiency in
the English language was poor and/or they spoke with an accent. Furthermore, those born in the
UK tended to be more assertive and less likely to accept racism as earlier work has shown (see
Parekh, 2000).
Thirty six per cent of SEMRBs said they had never encountered racism; however this figure
should be viewed with some caution. Many of these owners did not feel ready to ‘open up’ and
appeared to be hesitant about commenting on the issue. In some cases they were very dismissive
of the question and just did not want to talk about the issue at all. There may well be a number
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among them who have experienced racism but are not willing to admit it. A typical response
reinforcing this view was ‘Don’t really want to talk about it.’
Nature and frequency of racism
Those small retail business owners who had suffered racism were then asked about its nature (see
Table 2). The overwhelming majority (73%) said it was verbal while 9% said it was verbal combined with graffiti. Ten per cent said they suffered physical abuse combined with verbal abuse.
Eight per cent had experienced abuse in the form of graffiti being sprayed on their property. A
number of owners felt that the greater prevalence of verbal abuse was because it was viewed as a
safer option by racists. One shopkeeper elucidates this point:
Many thugs just swear at you and then walk away. They know this is easy because if they try to fight then
they could also get hurt.
One shopkeeper highlighted the degrading nature of some of the verbal abuse: ‘The sort of
names we get called are black bastard, nigger and Paki.’ Interestingly research by the Scottish
Executive (2005: 13) revealed that 38% of White people did not regard the use of terms such as
‘Paki’ as constituting racism.
A sergeant based at the Diversity Unit of Strathclyde Police appreciated that racism ‘was a daily
problem faced by shopkeepers’. He also acknowledged that it was a problem which existed in
society in general on a regular basis. This was a view echoed by the director of the CRE in Scotland:
The feedback we get and the incidents we track through the media suggest that it (racism) is a big problem.
It can start off with low level harassment and can frequently escalate into violence and assault.
The CRE director also appreciated that ‘the lack of reporting of such crimes also made it difficult to effectively gauge the scale of the problem’. Statistics provided by Strathclyde Police highlight that shops and business premises were the most common place for racial incidents to occur
(Strathclyde Police, 2005). This concurs with a report in 2004 which revealed an alarming growth
in violence and abuse against shopkeepers (Thomson, 2004).
When asked about the frequency of racial discrimination initiated (Table 3), just under 30% said
it occurred ‘often’ while around the same number (31%) said it occurred only ‘rarely’. Forty
per cent said it happened ‘sometimes’. This tells us that while the occurrence of racism is not
exactly rampant and a daily occurrence for all small retail businesses, for others it can be a frequent
phenomenon.
Table 2. Nature of Racism Experienced
Nature of Racism
Response (%)
Verbal
Verbal and physical
Verbal and graffiti
Graffiti
73
10
9
8
Notes: N = 77, the number of respondents who
stated that they had suffered racist abuse.
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Ishaq et al.
Table 3. Frequency of Racism Experienced
Frequency of Racism
Response (%)
Rarely
Often
Sometimes
31
29
40
Note: N = 77, the number of respondents who
stated that they had suffered racist abuse.
Causes of racial discrimination
When asked to comment on what they felt had caused the racist behaviour (see Table 4) more than
a quarter (26%) put it down to some of society’s biggest social ills, drug and alcohol abuse. This is
not surprising as drug and alcohol abuse and the impact they have on the behaviour of individuals
have been in the headlines as major problems in Glasgow and the UK in general (Adams, 2004).
Many SEMRBs noticed that the behaviour of the perpetrators of racism was abnormal and
displayed signs of drug and alcohol abuse:
The customers during the daytime are fine but during the evening and night they are drunk and can become
aggressive.
They are unemployed hooligans who take drugs and need drugs so they pick on those who have money.
Ten per cent put the abuse down to ignorance and 10% to lack of education, which are often
perceived as going hand in hand:
It can depend on the area. Those living in deprived areas are uneducated and these people fight and swear
more at Pakistanis.
Table 4. Causes of Racial Discriminationa
Causes
Response (%)
Drug/alcohol abuse
Jealousy
Fear of foreigners
Lack of education
Ignorance
Customers don’t get their way
Feeling of superiority
Global events: 9/11 and 7/7
Football related
Poor parenting
26
18
13
10
10
8
7
5
2
1
Note: N = 77, the number of respondents who
stated that they had suffered racist abuse. aWhere
respondents registered multiple responses, only the
first/main response was accepted and reported.
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Strategies adopted to tackle racism
When shopkeepers were asked about how they dealt with racist behaviour (see Table 5) a staggering
45% said they ignored it. Many shopkeepers felt it would be better not to fuel further trouble by retaliating. However, 18% disagreed and said they threatened retaliation or returned the violent behaviour:
I swore back at him. The man swore at my wife and spat at her. I slapped him and he went away. I don’t
tolerate that kind of abuse from anyone.
Nineteen per cent said they contacted the police. Therefore the number of small retail business
owners who reported incidents to the police is very low. This is surprising given that racially motivated crimes are illegal and the police now have more power to take action. When the sergeant at
Strathclyde Police was asked as to why racism was poorly reported in general by ethnic minorities,
he gave four main reasons:
•
•
•
•
Lengthy legal process tended to put people off.
The process was too bureaucratic.
The passage of time often diminishes the importance of the incident.
Witnesses are required to be present at the time of an incident.
The CRE director however said that one of the reasons was ‘a lack of confidence in how it (the
complaint) will be dealt with by the police’. This was despite the fact that the CRE’s own
Independent Review of the Police in Scotland revealed that the police were taking race crimes very
seriously and dealing with them in a professional manner (Commission for Racial Equality, 2005).
The problem was that some ethnic minority shop owners had owned their business for many years
and could only remember the negative aspects about the way in which the police dealt with complaints. They were unconvinced that the police had now become more reliable as alluded to by this
owner: ‘The police in Pollokshields cannot be trusted. They know who the criminals are but still
don’t do anything.’
Eighteen per cent of shopkeepers simply told the culprits to exit the premises without using force.
In a number of cases the culprits would use verbal abuse as they left the premises:
One man starting walking out but kept on turning back and swearing. He kept on banging the door with his
fist and was still shouting loudly as he left the shop.
Table 5. Strategies Adopted to Deal with Racisma
Strategy Adopted
Response (%)
Ignored culprits
Contacted police
Retaliated with physical and/or verbal abuse
Ejected culprits from premises
45
19
18
18
Notes: N = 77, the number of respondents who stated that they
had suffered racist abuse. aWhere respondents registered multiple
responses, only the first/main response was accepted and reported.
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Ishaq et al.
Requesting culprits to leave the premises was viewed as quite risky especially in cases where
they would refuse to leave.
There were variations in the type of strategy adopted to deal with racism depending on the agegroup of shopkeepers. The youngest age group (17–34) were more likely to take action to deal with
racism than the older age groups. All those in the 17–34 age group took action either unilaterally –
either by returning violent or abusive behaviour or ejecting culprits from the premises – or by contacting
the police. In contrast, 50% of those in the 35–54 age group and 59% of those aged 55 or over said they
were willing to ignore the racism. Very few in these age-groups retaliated in response to provocative
behaviour. This concurs with the current literature, which reveals that the younger generation of
ethnic minorities is less willing to accept racism and is more likely to react to it (Parekh, 2000).
Respondents were asked whether the strategy adopted had been effective. In response, almost
one-half (48%) said that nothing made a difference. This is evidence that there are owners of small
retail businesses who require support and may be suffering in silence. Seventeen per cent said that
their own retaliation and threat of violence was effective, while 16% said the imposition of a ban
was effective as it stopped culprits from returning. Those who had contacted the police (19%) had
mixed views. Almost half (9%) said the police had been useless and ineffective in dealing with the
problem:
I used to contact the police but found it to be a waste of time. It took them hours to arrive because they
claim they are too busy.
They never follow up any reports and always want a witness. Who is going to have the guts to be a
witness? Also I have heard that the police are scared themselves so they don’t do anything.
Others feared a backlash if they contacted the police:
In the past I gave names to the police of people who were causing trouble. Those people came back and
broke our windows and even throw a brick at the counter. I decided never again to call the police.
The other problem with reporting incidents to the police was due to the fact that on many occasions incidents occurred when there was no witness(es) present and the culprit knew this before he/
she did anything and in other cases respondents wrongly thought that an independent witness
would be required. The Strathclyde Police Sergeant confirmed this:
A main reason why racism is not reported by shopkeepers is because proof and corroboration is required
in Scots law. Witnesses have to be present to an incident.
In terms of the indifferent views about the police, the Sergeant at Strathclyde Police defended
the Force by arguing that ‘the police is doing all it can. Our hands are tied. We enforce the law. We
are not the law. Sometime people expect too much from us and don’t realize that we get just as
frustrated with the law as they do.’
The remaining 10% who had contacted the police said they had been efficient. One shopkeeper
was very complimentary of the police:
Last year some boys broke all of our shop windows. I phoned the police and they came very quickly. We
described the boys and the police knew right away who they were. The boys are now in jail. The policemen
were very helpful.
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It appears as though the varying experience of the police centred on issues such as the attitude
of the police officers who came out to deal with a complaint, the feeling that the police had little
power to take action, especially if there were no witnesses to the abuse, the failure of police to turn
up on time and the failure of police to turn up at all in a few cases.
When shopkeepers were asked if they had banned racist customers whom they knew from the
premises, an overwhelming majority (71%) said ‘yes’ they had banned culprits from their premises
either at the time of the abuse or if they returned on another or subsequent occasion.
However, more than one-fifth (22%) said they had not banned culprits. When quizzed on this,
the main reason was fear of reprisal. In some cases, culprits would send friends to plead on their
behalf to have the ban overturned and this would often lead to more conflict. Others who did not
impose a ban said it was because the ban simply represented a symbolic gesture and was not serious enough, especially as any ban was difficult to execute unless it was done by force. This shopkeeper said that a ban was unprofitable: ‘I simply cannot afford to ban anyone. I need to make
money.’
Impact of racism on victims
Given that racism is an issue which attracts much debate and is viewed as a societal problem which
can cause mental and physical scars, it felt necessary to examine the impact racism had had on
shopkeepers (see Table 6). The overwhelming impact of racism suffered by shopkeepers was the
negative impact on health. More than a quarter of respondents (26%) said that racism contributed
to stress, depression and heart problems. One owner said:
You get fed up, feel upset and start arguing with your wife and children. The stress causes heart attacks and
depression. I work from 7am until 10pm and have to face abuse.
Around 22% said they simply ignored racism while 10% said it made them angry and violent.
Eighteen per cent said they actually feared for their safety and security, an important matter given
that the shop business is their livelihood.
Other effects included a feeling of inferiority when racism was suffered and a sense of embarrassment in front of customers. Eight per cent of shopkeepers actually said they felt like returning
to their country of origin, which seems very drastic and highlights the striking impact that racism
can have on individuals:
After 9/11 people stare at you more. I feel paranoid and would like to return to Pakistan. As a Muslim I am
a peaceful person. It is the media and a few bad individuals that cause problems and give us a bad name.
The CRE director agreed that racial crime had an adverse effect on an individual’s mental
health, sense of security and a person’s general sense of well-being. This made it even all the more
imperative that action is taken to deal with it.
It is undeniable that racism has a detrimental impact on sufferers. It is also clear that the degree
of impact is influenced by the personality of individuals. Some can cope better than others. While
more than one-fifth (22%) said they ignored racism, this of course does not mean that it does not
affect them. There is also the issue of avoidance: unwillingness to admit to any negative impact for
fear of insulting one’s pride. In this study, only 3% of respondents cited what could be construed
as a positive outcome of racism by citing that it ‘builds character and strength’.
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Ishaq et al.
Table 6. Impact of Racism on Shop Ownersa
Impact
Response (%)
Health problems
Attempt to ignore racism
Feel scared
Generates anger
Want to return to country of origin
Embarrassed in front of customers
Creates feeling of inferiority
Builds character and strength
Makes you feel non-British
26
22
18
10
8
6
4
3
3
Notes: N = 77, the number of respondents who stated
that they had suffered racist abuse. aWhere respondents
registered multiple responses, only the first/main response
was accepted and reported.
Conclusion
The prime purpose of this research was to establish the extent of racial discrimination suffered by
SEMRBs in Glasgow. The research reveals that racism is a problem faced by a majority of the
sample of SEMRBs in this research. Indeed racism is an occupational hazard experienced by many
shop owners. Almost two-thirds of SEMRBs had encountered racism. Those born overseas were
more likely to be victims of racial discrimination than their British-born counterparts.
For a majority of respondents, racism occurred rarely or just sometimes while for just under a
third it was a common or regular occurrence. Verbal racism was more commonplace than physical
abuse.
Respondents identified a catalogue of reasons to account for the causes of racial discrimination.
Among the most prominent cited were drug and alcohol abuse, jealousy, fear of foreigners/ethnic
minorities, lack of education and ignorance.
On the issue of responding to racism, almost half of shopkeepers chose to ignore it, that is, did
nothing, while just under one-fifth retaliated. Almost one-fifth contacted the police. On the question
of the effectiveness of the approach adopted to handle racism, almost half felt that nothing made a
difference while only half of those who approached the police felt this had been an effective move.
The experience of racism had a clear impact on victims. These ranged from the effects on
health, which manifested themselves in the form of stress, depression and heart problems, to a fear
for one’s safety and security. Others felt angered by the abuse while over a fifth simply said they
attempted to ignore the racism.
During the course of the fieldwork for this research it was discovered that 36% of respondents
said they had not suffered any racism. What was intriguing about these shop owners was their clear
hesitancy to talk about the issue of racism thereby casting some doubt on the response they registered. It is widely accepted that racism has been under-reported by shopkeepers over the years as
already mentioned in this article. It appears that some shop owners view racism as an expected
hazard of the job while others felt discussing the issue openly may encourage a backlash.
If the government is to realize its objective of ensuring social inclusion and establishing a
just and fair society for all its citizens, then the voice of ethnic minority businesses cannot be
neglected, not least because ethnic minority shops are an integral part of many communities
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International Small Business Journal 28(4)
where they are located. In addition, the contribution made by ethnic minority businesses in
general to the Scottish economy and the nation’s prosperity cannot be overlooked. This contribution was highlighted in a recent study commissioned by the Scottish Executive and carried
out by academics from the University of the West of Scotland. The study revealed that ethnic
minority businesses, including SEMRBs, contribute around £700m to the Scottish economy on
an annual basis (Deakins et al., 2005). A relatively small country like Scotland cannot afford
to ignore this input from ethnic minority businesses. For this to continue to develop, a continuous stream of entrepreneurs will be required. However, the younger generation of ethnic
minorities is illustrating a distinct lack of interest in pursuing a career as shopkeepers
(Bachkaniwala et al., 2001). Indeed, a report by ABI Associates (1999) into the future of
Asian-owned ‘corner shops’ found that 94% of owners did not want nor expect their children
to follow in their footsteps. Instead many were encouraging their children to enter the professional and mainstream sectors. The extent of racism against SEMRBs outlined in this paper is
not going to reverse this process.
Racism is a society-wide problem, acknowledged by the Scottish Executive with its ‘One
Scotland Campaign’ with slogans such as ‘One Scotland. Many cultures’ to demonstrate its commitment to tackling racism (Scottish Executive, 2005). This recognition and the proposed solutions
to the problem of racism that SEMRBs face confirm that future research into MEBs generally
should take an embeddedness approach. It is also fair to say that whilst racism is detested by shop
owners, there is little evidence to suggest that it is likely to contribute to the widespread closure of
businesses, even though a few recent cases in England have revealed that years of racial abuse can
take their toll and force small retailers to abandon their business (see Powell, 2005). Indeed racism
has been a feature of British society since one can remember and ethnic minority businesses have
put up with it for many decades. However, given the additional burden that racism brings to ethnic
minority businesses, it is hardly conducive to encourage the next generation to follow in their
parents’ or family’s footsteps and seek to establish themselves as entrepreneurs. Racism should
therefore be recognized as a possible barrier to entry for minority ethnic communities. In today’s
business environment, racism is just one of many challenges facing shop owners. For many, other
matters such as competition and the burden of taxation may well represent more pressing issues.
Indeed, the position of small retailers has been compounded by trading in marginal economic conditions. This means that a coordinated policy is required involving a range of agencies such as the
Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise, Business Gateway, local authorities and relevant ethnic
minority organizations. Such assistance would not only be aimed at helping to achieve a breakout
from marginal conditions but could also provide an opportunity for a policy initiative targeted
against racial crime.
An obvious limitation of this research is that it is orientated solely towards Glasgow. While in
Scottish terms Glasgow may be a reasonable point of focus in order to examine the experience of
ethnic minority shopkeepers, it is accepted that the findings may not necessarily be indicative of
the UK as a whole. It is possible that the problem may be worse or better elsewhere than the picture
painted in this research. Nevertheless this research represents a useful starting point and a productive addition to a previously neglected area.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all those who participated in this study, including the owners of small retail
businesses, the then Commission for Racial Equality and Strathclyde Police. The authors are also indebted to
the University of the West of Scotland Business School for funding this study.
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Ishaq et al.
Notes
1. In the British context the term ‘Asian’ is used to refer to those ethnic minority groups with origins in
South Asia, i.e. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri. Lanka. It also includes those of Asian descent who
previously lived in the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This definition is accepted by
organizations such as the Commission for Racial Equality and was by and large adopted by the 2001 Census.
2. The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was replaced in October 2007 by the Commission for Equality
and Human Rights (CEHR).
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Dr. Mohammed Ishaq is a Reader in Management at the Faculty of Business and Creative Industries,
University of the West of Scotland.
Dr. Hussain is a lecturer at Durham University Business School.
Geoff Whittam is a Reader at the Faculty of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of
Scotland.
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