IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v65y2025i1d10.1007_s11187-024-00985-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethnic diversity in SME business teams: generating employment growth through digitalisation, innovation, and exporting

Author

Listed:
  • Julia Korosteleva

    (University College London)

  • Tomasz Mickiewicz

    (Aston University)

  • Mario Davide Parrilli

    (Bournemouth University)

Abstract

This paper examines how the ethnic composition of SMEs’ business teams, also in conjunction with their strategic behaviour (including digitalisation, innovation and exporting), affect their employment growth. The study conceptualises different forms and aspects of social capital to develop the theoretical framework and hypotheses. We utilise the UK Office for National Statistics’ Longitudinal Small Business Survey data for the period of 2018–2020 to test our hypotheses. Our study shows that ethnically diverse business teams achieve relatively higher employment growth as compared to more homogeneous teams. Moreover, ethnically diverse business teams that embrace innovation, international expansion, and digitalisation translate these strategies more effectively into increased employment compared to their more homogenous counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Julia Korosteleva & Tomasz Mickiewicz & Mario Davide Parrilli, 2025. "Ethnic diversity in SME business teams: generating employment growth through digitalisation, innovation, and exporting," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 107-130, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:65:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00985-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-024-00985-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-024-00985-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-024-00985-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:65:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00985-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.