Entrepreneurship as lived experience. The voices of female business-owners of Bulgarian origin in London
2020
Since the 1980s the discipline of entrepreneurial studies has started to include more and more
perspectives from minority groups among others. Forty years onwards, the scholarly fields that have
emerged, namely migrant entrepreneurial studies and female entrepreneurial studies, are rich in
gathered data, created theories, and adopted approaches; yet there still exists knowledge gaps. One
such gap is linked with the lack of research with a focus on female migrants coming from developing
countries and initiating new business ventures in developed countries. Such studies are an important
asset to academia because they shine a light on the complexity of the entrepreneurial process and
entrepreneurial behaviour in general, and illustrate that both phenomena are in a state of constant flux
due to the stronger impact of globalisation nowadays.
The current master’s study addresses this knowledge gap by focusing on the lived experiences
of 10 female entrepreneurs of Bulgarian origin in London who have initiated their own business
venture. It explores their motives to start a business in the English capital and not in their own country,
i.e. Bulgaria. Meanwhile, the study also explores if they actually fit in the entrepreneurial framework as
created by prominent scholars such as Schumpeter, Ajzer, and Shapero and if not, why their
experiences should nonetheless be included in the field of entrepreneurial studies.
The study starts with a historical overview of the Bulgarian diaspora in the UK and in London in
particular and includes a partial mapping of the businesses of Bulgarian women in London today.
Considering the complexity of the research questions, the study adopts an ethnographic methodology
and includes 10 in-depth interviews and participant observations.
The central finding from the study is that entrepreneurial behaviour can also be considered as
a lived experience, which is not solely about aiming at higher incomes or improving economic
development, but is much more about self-expression, self-confidence, and independence. The study
tries to understand why the interviewees were not able to feel like this in their home country and
presents an alternative view towards their experience as migrants and business-owners in their host
country.
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