Impacts of Cultural Diversity on the Promotion and Growth of International Entrepreneurs in the Food Industry

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the impacts of cultural diversity on the promotion and growth of international entrepreneurs and ascertain the correlation between cultural diversity and the rise of foreign entrepreneurs. The study adopted an inductive method, a model of interpretative research that entails acquiring data and formulating a hypothesis due to data analysis based on qualitative research design. The design allowed qualitative research design allowed a better understanding of how entrepreneurs view the importance of cultural diversity in the growth and promotion of their businesses. In the study, the primary data collection was collected using semi-structured interviews, which were distributed to ten respondents who were fast-food restaurant owners in Huddersfield. The data was analysed using thematic analysis that resulted in three major themes based on the research objectives. The study’s findings showed that cultural diversity has roles in entrepreneurial realization and recognition in the marketplace. It impacts international entrepreneurship promotion in the UK and the relationship between cultural diversity and the rise of entrepreneurship in the food industry.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background to the Study

The world has continued to evolve, becoming a global village due to various factors, such as globalisation, technological advancement, and cultural diversity. These factors have impacted the international business environment, making investors and market players leverage the business opportunities presented by the new world order and realities (Gunasekaran and Ngai, 2012; Martens et al., 2010) as one of the major forces of this evolution, cultural diversity is aggressively driving the world economies and freely opening the economies for more international trade and global investments. Cowen (2002) opined that an environment characterised by cultural diversity has a high propensity to promote and foster viable investments and entrepreneurial growth. Kirzner (1997) equally supported this claim when he stated that cultural diversity is a sine qua non for creating business opportunities, which gives rise to the proliferation and growth of international entrepreneurs worldwide. Cultural diversity is a phenomenon that has allowed the borderless business to be practicable. With this, many economies of the world are gradually opening up and becoming more culturally friendly to attract international entrepreneurs and foreign investors to their countries (Subedi, 2012). It is also interesting to note that most of the significant and vibrant cities in the world, such as London, New York, Tokyo, Manchester, and San Francisco, among others, have a critical element in common: a large diversity of cultures. These cities experience a massive daily influx of tourists, foreign visitors, and even international students from around the world, and most of these foreign visitors would often find several places in these cities with a cluster of their countrymen and women, thereby having no problem locating restaurants that serve their local and country cuisines.

An individual from Turkey, for instance, would feel a sense of “home away from home” when they visited “Istanbul Restaurant” in the city centre of Huddersfield. Similarly, foreign visitors from Pakistan or China would likely find many Pakistani stores and Chinese “Chinatowns” in most of these big cities. This is the powerful effect of international entrepreneurship leveraging these cities’ cultural divert. Today in the UK, for instance, there is a plethora of foreign nationals and international entrepreneurs thriving and viably floating all kinds of businesses. These entrepreneurs’ businesses cut across virtually all the industries in the UK, evidently the food industry. Only would you visit any part of the country if you saw different foreign restaurants and food stores serving local dishes and foodstuff to benefit their clustered target markets. As a result of its immigration strategy/policy, the United Kingdom is becoming increasingly culturally diverse (Vertovec, 2007). The UK is also currently one of the nations with the most significant percentage of foreign-born citizens.

The notion articulated by Cowen (2002) that globalisation causes a blending of cultures and broadens the range of options available to customers is closely related to the theory that the merging of various cultures within a specific geographic area encourages the promotion of entrepreneurship. While some scholars, like Barber (1995), have argued that cross-cultural trade or what is popularly referred to as “globalisation”, destroys the authenticity of traditional cultures, Cowen implies the exact opposite. According to Cowen, interaction among individuals from various cultures leads to the developing of new and innovative ideas. Cowen makes the case that cultural exchange fundamentally gives people a more comprehensive, adaptable, and varied range of options. Trade and globalisation enrich existing cultures as creative destruction occurs, giving people new options or choices (Sobel, Dutta, and Roy, 2010).

To a large extent, the hypothesis of this study supports Cowen’s argument and confirms the significance of cultural capital in producing effective results. Tsing (2011) postulates that trade and globalization bring diverse cultures together and benefit everyone. Increased cultural diversity creates new business concepts, improves existing ones, and replaces ineffective entrepreneurial endeavours with successful and viable ones. As a result of this increased cultural capital, entrepreneurial activities grow. The relevance of cultural diversity in developing international entrepreneurship has been persuasively shown in many recent studies, which lends validity to the claims mentioned earlier. Researchers such as Rodriguez-Pose and Hardy (2015), Sobel et al. (2010), Lee and Nathan (2013), and others have undertaken numerous studies on the potential link between cultural diversity and how it has boosted entrepreneurship. Similar to this, some studies have also examined organisational workplace variation (Parrotta et al., 2011; Ozgen et al., 2011; Mare and Fabling, 2011). While many of these research studies have approached the topic from a global viewpoint, it is crucial to embark on an industry-specific survey to determine how cultural diversity has impacted the promotion of entrepreneurship in a particular field, such as the “food industry”.

The UK food industry comprises manufacturing, wholesale, retail, non-residential food services, and catering. The justification for the selection of this industry is due to its clear visibility and physical evidence of the magnitude of foreign fast-food restaurants across the nooks and crannies in the United Kingdom. The UK Food and Beverage industry comprised about 7,590 Micro, Small and Medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in 2020, with a combined revenue of about £21 billion and 134,000 workers. SMEs made up 78% of firms, 26% of jobs, and 17% of the total revenue in the food industry alone (excluding beverages) (Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, 2022). In terms of food security, which is increased by obtaining food domestically and from a variety of stable regions, over half (54%) of the food consumed in the UK was imported. EU nations (28%) were the leading foreign food suppliers in the UK. 4% of the food consumed in the UK was produced in Asia, Africa, South America, and North America (Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, 2022). Based on the above premises, this study aims to ascertain whether cultural diversity and the promotion of international entrepreneurs in the UK food industry/business have a beneficial and symbiotic relationship.

Research Aim

This research aims to focus on industry and determine whether cultural diversity has a positive or negative impact on the promotion and growth of international entrepreneurs. The study also aims to ascertain whether there is a causal relationship between cultural diversity and the rise of foreign entrepreneurs. In particular, these aims are appropriate for the current investigation because previous researchers still need to examine the impact of cultural diversity on the promotion and growth of global entrepreneurs in industry-specific studies.

Research Objectives

Based on the above-stated research aim, the central objective of this research study is to determine whether or not cultural diversity affects the development and proliferation of international entrepreneurship, particularly in the United Kingdom’s food industry. Other objectives are:

1. To establish the role of cultural diversity in enabling entrepreneurial realisation and recognition in the marketplace.
2. To determine the impact of cultural diversity on international entrepreneurship promotion in the United Kingdom.
3. To report if there is a causal link between cultural diversity and the promotion of entrepreneurship in the food industry.

Significance of the Study

The study’s purpose is to produce recommendations to help inspire and enable entrepreneurs to comprehend better the business opportunities and economic benefits that cultural diversity might bring them in nations with diverse populations. Many entrepreneurs, especially those with an international focus, may find the recommendations of this study to be a turning point.

This research is significant for governments worldwide and society because it addresses the need to foster positive cultural diversity and close gaps that impede entrepreneurs’ effectiveness and efficiency in promoting economic development and growth simultaneously. The study is also helpful for academic purposes because of its potential to advance the body of knowledge regarding cultural diversity and how it affects the development of international entrepreneurs, particularly in industries such as the food industry.

Outline of the Thesis

A total of five chapters make up this thesis. The first chapter, an introductory chapter, consists of the background information, research aims, research objectives, and significance of the study. Thus, the chapter justifies the rationale for undertaking this research and equally sets the tone and theme for the research. The second chapter, the literature review, concentrates on reviewing relevant and related literature concerning the concepts, variables, theories, and empirical analysis. This chapter aims to identify a gap in the existing literature on cultural diversity and entrepreneurship and to determine the overall trend in research on cultural diversity. The third chapter of the thesis offers information on the research methodology, the design used to carry out this research, and its justification. The distinction between qualitative and quantitative research, as well as the evolution of positivism in the social sciences, were also covered in this chapter. In essence, this chapter applies the research design to the research objective. The fourth chapter presents findings, where the research objectives are examined based on the respondents’ responses. Chapter five covers the research conclusions, recommendations, and limitations. The conclusion involves an account of how the research has met the stated research objectives and suggested suggestions and the constraints encountered while carrying out this study.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Introduction

The chapter evaluates the relevant literature on the impacts of cultural diversity on the promotion of international entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom. The concepts discussed in this section include cultural diversity, entrepreneurship, cultural capital, and theoretical framework.

Cultural Diversity

Culture and cultural diversity are two of the most significant societal concerns facing the world today. Cultural diversity is an essential element of cultures with a diverse population since it fosters positive intercultural communication. Lin and Jackson (2019a) assert that cultural diversity is a divisive idea that refers to people living side by side in a society defined by various factors, including nationalities, races, disabilities, ethnicities, beliefs, languages, and sex, to name a few. The phenomenon of cultural diversity is vital not only for human interaction but also for businesses and international trade. Companies, in particular, are starting to use anthropologists’ services due to the value of observation in natural settings and the focus on cultural diversity (Kottak, 2011, p. 95). Kottak’s position explains that people must improve their communication abilities since doing so expands their chances for the expansion of global trade and commerce, especially in the modern world.

By gaining a better understanding of global marketplaces, the strategy toward acknowledging inter-culturalism helps firms maximise the benefits of knowledge of many cultural traditions. This was amply supported by Landry (2008), who asserted that it had been consistently found throughout time that culturally varied groups outperformed homogeneous groupings. Additionally, the link between variety and successful economic results implies that people of all backgrounds can coexist and cooperate (Dietz, 2007). This finally demonstrates how business owners, foreign investors, and international entrepreneurs are examples of the positive effects of cultural diversity. According to Leeson’s (2005) explanation, a varied community can only flourish if it can successfully reap trade benefits. Good institutions have a crucial role in minimising social distance in an economy, making this possible.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a multifaceted concept, and how it is defined primarily relies on the research questions addressed (Verheul et al., 2001). Typically, entrepreneurship or self-employment entails starting a new firm or purchasing an existing one. Entrepreneurial tendencies vary widely among persons. According to Aldrich and Waldinger (1990), the traditional definition of entrepreneurship is the creative combination of resources to produce something of value. Hébert and Link (1982) further explained that an entrepreneur is someone who specialises in accepting responsibility for and making judgments about the placement, form, and usage of goods, resources, and institutions. This term leans more toward an economic perspective. The entrepreneur is described as a person who establishes new enterprises, introduces novel items to the market, or develops novel production techniques in an economics textbook (Stiglitz et al., 2000). Several studies have investigated the relationship between being a minority or immigrant and entrepreneurial behaviour. Over time, possible roles for ethnic entrepreneurs have changed, reflecting both shifting group opportunities and more profound changes in regional, national, and international economic institutions (Kloosterman and Rath, 2001; Aldrich and Waldinger, 1990).

Furthermore, early studies also emphasised the possibility of “middleman” status that may exist “between the local majority and minority communities”, showing ambitious minorities as being capable of spotting potential market opportunities as well as translating between social groups (Bonacich, 1973). Recent studies have concentrated on the function of transnational communities and international migrants in globalisation (Honig, Drori, and Carmichael, 2010). Each viewpoint contends that the presence of migrants or minorities is positively correlated with establishing businesses, demonstrating proactive entrepreneurial behaviour linked to discovering and exploiting new companies or market opportunities. Alternatively, people may be forced to launch new firms due to being excluded from economic prospects, particularly within organisations or the labour market. (Kloosterman and Rath 2001; Zhou and Tseng, 2001).

Cultural Capital Vis-à-vis Entrepreneurship

Research on entrepreneurship has primarily concentrated on the cognitive process that enables someone to recognise a particular entrepreneurial opportunity and decide to act on that opportunity. According to Rauch and Hulsink (2015), the term “entrepreneur” refers to people who work on starting new enterprises rather than those who concentrate on maintaining the going concern of existing businesses. Specifically, in circumstances where entrepreneurial activity reflects a subset of human behaviour within a larger category of behaviour, Companys and McMullen (2007) claim that an entrepreneurial opportunity can be seen as an opportunity to engage in entrepreneurial activity actively.

Baumol (1990) explains that people can either use their entrepreneurial skills to create wealth in the private sector by starting new businesses or in the public sector by engaging in lobbying, legal action, and wealth redistribution. In the first instance, their activities benefit society and generate income. In the second instance, their efforts may be ineffective because they are using limited resources to implement zero-sum transfers, which may reduce the size of the total economic pie. Regarding how it modifies the associated rates of return, or profit rates, of various alternative occupations, policy primarily influences the direction in which a country’s entrepreneurial efforts are directed (Sobel et al., 2010).

Good quality institutions help to determine an economy’s production potential by lowering transaction costs and enabling people to profit from the exchange (Boettke and Coyne, 2003). As a result, we should observe high levels of viable entrepreneurship as well as high levels of growth in regions with good institutions (Boettke and Coyne, 2006). Similarly, since people only opt to become entrepreneurs if they sense a positive return rate, a higher level of entrepreneurial productivity produced by good institutions implies that more people can become entrepreneurs (Minniti and Bygrave, 1999). In addition to increasing entrepreneurship productivity, research shows that only institutions generally boost productivity across the board for all production elements. For instance, Gwartney et al. (2006) discovered that institutional quality increases a nation’s capital investment’s marginal output. The researcher wants to make the case that the productivity of cultural capital may be explained using a similar approach.

Cultural diversity is a positive social contribution that contributes differently to economic growth depending on the institutional quality. Cultural capital is a productive force directed toward more new entrepreneurial ventures under solid institutions. In contrast, cultural capital is a wasteful factor when institutions are weak because it can fuel violent conflict outside the political, legal, or market system, in addition to increased rates of political and legal looting (Sobel et al., 2010). Therefore, like Baumol (1990), the researcher’s first justification for why he anticipates the proliferation and growth of cultural diversity are linked to higher rates of entrepreneurship throughout the UK is that a society’s cultural capital becomes a productive force when its institutions are strong. Sobel et al. (2010) further opine that better institutions turn cultural diversity into a beneficial, wealth-creating force inside a society, which is why they lead to more productive entrepreneurial activity.

Theoretical Framework

In the framework of cultural capital, it is beneficial to introduce Kirzner and Schumpeter’s entrepreneurial theories. According to Schumpeter (1934, 1942), an entrepreneur is someone who finds novel ways to combine resources that weren’t previously available. An undervalued statistical formula determines the number of novel combinations that can be made from a given set of elements (or inputs). The critical insight in this situation is that exponentially more novel combinations may be made anytime the number of combinable underlying inputs is raised. Based on the researcher’s postulation, a society with more diverse immigrants tends to have a greater variety of underlying knowledge, ideas, and experiences, mainly if immigrants come with different cultural capital. This ultimately generates a greater variety of ideas for potential new entrepreneurial endeavours. According to Kirzner (1973, 1997), entrepreneurship is the process by which people identify profit-generating (or arbitrage) opportunities that have gone overlooked and take advantage of them. Holcombe (1998) tries to reconcile the Schumpeterian and Kirznerian viewpoints by arguing that a Schumpeterian innovation generates many new profit opportunities that can take advantage of by Kirznerian entrepreneurs. Even internal movements of individuals inside the UK present opportunities to purchase goods in one location and resale them at a profit in another site using the two sets of local knowledge the individual possesses. This results in two different lines of reasoning that can be followed. First of all, simply allowing people to immigrate from one country to another creates opportunities for them to purchase or manufacture goods in the new country and subsequently export and sell there for a profit and vice versa. Cultural diversity increases awareness of cross-country arbitrage opportunities.

The second line of reasoning focuses more intently on the value of local knowledge to society. The real issue that every civilization faces, as demonstrated by Hayek (1945), is how to utilise best the local knowledge that is accessible. Immigration and, by extension, cultural diversity contribute to an increase in innovative and diverse local cultural knowledge that may be applied to the labour, natural resources, and capital that already exists in a geographical region. A society’s capacity for production increases with access to a greater diversity of heterogeneous local knowledge under a system of good institutions. Furthermore, the Knowledge Spill-over Theory of Entrepreneurship provides a fundamental foundation for understanding this phenomenon. As a crucial contributor to the discourse of entrepreneurship, the theory postulates that information is essential to the creation of new ideas and that, in particular, the varied backgrounds and experiences of many participants become extremely important in assessing these new ideas (Acs and Sanders, 2008). This theory is based on the early work of Schumpeter (1934), who saw the entrepreneur’s value in pursuing opportunities but needed to pay more attention to where those opportunities originated. Subsequently, Romer (1986) acknowledged the significance of technology and knowledge spill-overs and modelled it. Romer’s insight gave the early Schumpeter’s work a fresh perspective. The perspective raised two questions: Where do opportunities first originate from? And secondly, how are they found and taken advantage of?

The Knowledge Spill-over Theory of Entrepreneurship is relevant to this study. It suggests that knowledge spill-overs are passed through entrepreneurial ventures when prospective entrepreneurs examine previously identified but underutilised knowledge in a particular setting. Given that fresh ideas are viewed differently and elicit diverse responses, the theory also strongly supports the idea that species diversity may significantly impact increasing entrepreneurs’ activities. Lending credence to this, Kirzner (1973) posits that entrepreneurial activity involves more than just taking advantage of chances; it also involves utilising novel concepts established businesses still need to adopt.

Advancing the theoretical framework, the theories presented by Lavoie and Chamlee-Wright (2000), Harper (2003), and Storr (2008) represent the researcher’s final network of logic. According to Storr (2008), the market can be seen as a social framework that fosters competition and exchange. He asserts, however, that the market’s significance extends beyond this and functions as a “social space” where non-economic and economic exchanges occur. To “establish and nurture communities, foster identity, and solidify brotherly and familial bonds,” the market’s sociality, according to him, “humanises” society. He adds that this perspective on the market serving as a forum for social discourse offers an alternative to the notion that the market and community are two entirely different things (Storr, 2008). This idea also highlights an intriguing feature of trade that goes beyond economic competition and exchange: a means of establishing further economic ties. Accordingly, a society with a diverse population is an ideal setting for developing intercultural connections beyond the confines of commercial competitiveness. In this regard, culturally diverse culture is the most effective breeding ground for exchanging ideas and practices in business and general social interactions.

The researcher further solidifies the study’s theory by demonstrating how successfully culture and entrepreneurial endeavours interact, as indicated by Harper (2003) and Lavoie and Chamlee-Wright (2000). According to Harper (2003), every culture has unique traits that affect people’s entrepreneurial decisions and actions. These distinctive cultural characteristics can be related to the “comparative advantage” concept in trade. Similarly, each culture thrives when it focuses on entrepreneurial activities based on its distinctive traditions, perspectives, and varied capabilities. As a result, each culture can encourage various economic development patterns. Therefore, distinct entrepreneurial manifestations unique to each culture emerge when different cultures mix and cohabit. Thus, this triggers a dynamic development process and develops economic growth trajectories that are distinct from and beyond the nation’s native growth pattern. Using the words of Freeman (2000), the study would emphasise that “comparative advantage is a story of diversity; of rewards that result from differentiating from one’s neighbour, not from copying him.”

Empirically, numerous research investigations have been conducted by academics and researchers in the process of determining the potential relationship between these events. Many studies have specifically looked at the connection between business and diversity on an organisational level. For instance, Ozgen et al. (2011) found favourable correlations between the proportion of diverse employees and innovation in various Dutch companies.

Furthermore, Maré and Fabling (2011) observed some encouraging connections between enterprises in New Zealand, but they did not identify any systematic linkages between the qualities of labour and innovation. Additionally, specific research in management literature has looked at diversity and market orientation. Hart (2010), in a study conducted in 165 Swiss companies, found that a mix of nationalities on management teams is related to more robust profitability and a higher penetration rate into overseas markets. The contributions made by migrant diasporas in Silicon Valley were extensively covered in Saxenian (2006) and Saxenian and Sabel (2008). Similarly, Audretsch et al. (2006) and Audretsch and Keilbach (2007) discovered that new business start-ups are invariably higher in knowledge-rich locations than in less-knowledge-rich ones. The results of their research suggest that if given a certain level of knowledge investment, economic agents have to recognise and seize entrepreneurial opportunities (Audretsch et al., 2006; Audretsch and Keilbach, 2007). There is still a void in the research regarding whether the promotion of foreign entrepreneurs in the UK food industry is associated with cultural diversity, despite the quantity of empirical data on the topic. By providing data-supported conclusions regarding how cultural diversity affects foreign business owners in the UK food industry, this study seeks to provide literature and empirical evidence to reduce this gap in the literature.

Chapter 3: Methodology

Introduction

This chapter describes the research approach that was used. In light of this, the areas of the study and the justifications for each selection and decision are discussed. Specifically, this chapter explains the procedures adopted, such as research approach, research design, the study population, sample size and sampling procedures, method of data collection, population, and method of data analysis.

Research Approach

Practically, there are three (3) methods associated with the research approach of a research study and these, according to Arbnor and Bjerke (2009), are known as deductive, inductive, and abductive methods. While the deductive technique is primarily associated with collecting quantitative data, the inductive approach stresses collecting qualitative data (Saunders et al., 2009). For this research study, the inductive method was adopted, and it refers to the model of interpretative research that entails acquiring data and formulating a hypothesis as a result of data analysis (Saunders et al., 2009). Drawing from the identification of the inductive method, this research study will adopt the qualitative research approach to better understand how entrepreneurs view the importance of cultural diversity in the growth and promotion of their businesses. Qualitative research is defined by Denzin and Lincoln (2018) as having the traits of a multi-method approach with an interpretative perspective on its subject. To understand a phenomenon based on how people subjectively interpret it, qualitative researchers focus on researching it in its natural setting.

Similarly, a qualitative approach, with its contextual richness and subjectivity, was chosen for this study due to its suitability and compatibility with the primary objective of the research study. As Kothari (2004) asserted, a qualitative approach is based on a researcher’s observation and impressions, in which he provides his individualised evaluation of attitudes, opinions, and behaviours. The interpretivist (Secker et al., 1995) and constructivist (Guba and Lincoln, 1994) paradigms form the basis of the qualitative paradigm. Qualitative research that is sound and good has several advantages. It is adaptable, laser-focused, and intended to be completed quickly because readers can easily relate to the findings after seeing or hearing them. However, there are drawbacks and limitations to the qualitative research approach. It is common to need to be more aware of the potential of qualitative research. Researchers frequently presume projectable results because they love data-rich results. This supposition is untrue. Projectability is not achievable because the analysis involves a sample size and is subjective. Silverman (2004) also stated that there have historically been significant critiques of the methodological robustness of qualitative research, especially concerning its reliability, validity, and generalizability. Despite these concerns, qualitative research prioritises elaborating on meaning and is less concerned with the generalizability and fact that are the main goals of quantitative analysis.

Research Design

Bryman and Bell (2011) refer to research design as the framework used primarily for data collection and analysis. Discovering a solution to the research questions is part of the research design (Cooper and Schindler, 2013). It provides a detailed blueprint for conducting the study and ties all the many components and stages of a research project together (Shukla, 2010). Different research designs include descriptive, exploratory, experimental, and explanatory (Akhtar, 2016). This study uses the explanatory research design as the study’s framework. Illustrative research design is the initial phase of the study, and its goal is to gain a fresh understanding of a phenomenon. It primarily employs qualitative data collection methods (Akhtar, 2016).

Method of Data Collection

Practically, every research study uses data while conducting research, and the data collection method must be appropriately chosen. There are two categories of data: primary and secondary. The information obtained exclusively for study and for the first time is known as preliminary data. Whereas secondary data refers to information that has already been gathered and examined (Kothari, 2004).

The semi-structured interviews were employed for the primary data to elicit responses from the chosen respondents. These interviews were conducted either through face-to-face interviews or WhatsApp. More specifically, the semi-structured interview adopted the open-ended question format because, according to Reja et al. (2003), this approach allows respondents to express their opinions without being influenced by the researcher. The semi-structured interview format was chosen as the main method of gathering the primary data for the study. This is because it enables respondents to share their opinions unhindered (Hutchinson and Skodal-Wilson, 1992) and encouraged the researcher to go into more detail about the findings or, if they are elusive, to investigate them more thoroughly. On the other hand, secondary data are typically gathered for various reasons and can be used as background information (Malhotra and Birks, 2007). The study consulted secondary sources for the secondary data, including journals, a government website, internet sources, academic books, reports that have been published on cultural diversity and entrepreneurship in the UK, peer-reviewed journals, and online resources, among others.

Interview

As previously stated, this study adopted qualitative research, employing a semi-structured interview with open-ended questions (King and Horrocks, 2010). An interview is a two-person dialogue with a specific objective. The subject of the discussion usually referred to as the respondent, replies to many questions posed by the interviewer regarding a research question or an objective (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2012). With the open-ended questions, this research adopted the semi-structured in-depth interviews, which typically allow the interviewees or respondents to communicate their thoughts and opinions more naturally and in-depth. As Noel (2009) rightly points out, semi-structured in-depth interviews promote improved communication between the interviewer and the respondent. Respondents are allowed to speak their minds and offer new points of view if they deem them relevant during semi-structured interviews because the researcher typically needs to follow the order of the questions (Bryman and Bell, 2011).

The researcher may acquire attitudes, behaviours, sentiments, and feelings through face-to-face methodology in the interviews that they typically cannot through surveys, and this can help to identify opportunities (Quinlan, 2011). Based on the preceding and specifically the focus of this study which is cultural diversity and entrepreneurship, the methodology approach chosen is the most appropriate for obtaining the results that the survey is seeking.

Population of Study

A population is usually made up of all the objects in a study. Concerning this research study, the entire fast-food restaurant providers/owners in Huddersfield represent the selected population for this study. They are getting the accurate number of restaurants in Huddersfield from the Gov. UK website has been quite tricky, as there is no readily available data for this endeavour. However, there is a list of restaurants in Huddersfield on “tripadvisor”, showing approximately 64 restaurants in Huddersfield (Tripadvisor, n.d.).

Sample Size and Sampling Method

Etikan et al. (2016) explain that a sample is a subset of a population or the entire universe. Given that it is impossible to survey the whole Huddersfield population, the sample size for this research study was made up of ten (10) equally distributed fast-food restaurant outlets. Furthermore, it is anticipated that the size chosen would accurately represent all fast-food outlets in Huddersfield. When researching a specific cultural topic with experts in that field, the non-probability Convenience sampling method is most appropriate (Tongco, 2007). Considering the study’s phenomenological nature, the purposive sampling method (Robinson, 2014) is frequently used for similar research. As earlier stated, “Tripadvisor” listed 64 restaurants in Huddersfield and from this list, 10 restaurants were selected and sampled using the Convenience sampling method. As a nonprobability sampling, Convenience sampling is adopted where elements of a certain population who satisfy practical requirements, including proximity, accessibility, availability, and the willingness to participate, are included primarily for achieving the study’s objective (Dörnyei, 2007). The researcher obtained the necessary consent from the participants before the interview. This is important because it presents ethical issues whenever a researcher asks respondents for information, whether persons or organisations. The study also protected the anonymity of the respondents by using pseudonyms in place of their real names.

Method of Data Analysis

With respect to analysing the interviews conducted with the selected participants, the researcher intends to analyse the data using the thematic analysis method. Thematic analysis is an efficient method used to understand a group of events, experiences, ideas, or behaviours included in a data set (Braun and Clarke 2012). They further claimed that this method helped to explain the data and strategically organise them fully. To avoid technological issues during the interpretation, all the data gathered from the interviews were thoroughly and meticulously documented into a recording tape. Additionally, carefully selected secondary data was screened and applied to the analysis where appropriate (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008).

Ethical Considerations

To conduct this survey correctly and with the utmost respect for the interviewees, ethical considerations were taken seriously in this dissertation. All the participants knew that the interview would be recorded, and their consent was obtained before conducting the interviews (Bloomberg and Volpe, 2008). To demonstrate that the information from the interviews was treated with respect, the researcher promised that written copies of the dissertation was held to them. They were also be informed that anonymity and confidentiality would be maintained. Moreover, the interviews were also take place wherever the interviewee wishes and feels most at ease, such as at their home, in a cafeteria, or at the interviewer’s location.

Chapter 4: Findings

The analysis of the transcription led to three major themes.

The Role of Cultural Diversity in Entrepreneurial Realisation and Recognition in the Marketplace

Respondents reported that cultural diversity has positive role in entrepreneurial realisation and recognition in the marketplace by promoting community development and encourage evaluation of individual companies. The illustrative examples appeared below:

P2: “I have been employing people from different cultural backgrounds to encourage community development that leads to entrepreneurial realisation and recognition of existing opportunities in the marketplace.”

P4: “Cultural diversity encourages evaluation of individual companies. When people from different cultural background work in an organisation…I have seen the company’s productivity and performance increasing in the marketplace because of positive attitudes of employees towards the organisation.”

Furthermore, P6, P8, and P10 suggested that the role of cultural diversity in entrepreneurial realisation and recognition is to embrace equal market opportunities.

P6: “Cultural diversity is very useful in entrepreneurial realisation and recognition ….

For me, cultural diversity allows employers to hire all people in the workplace regardless of their backgrounds, such as culture, religion, or race.”

P8: “I think that a culturally diverse workplace prohibits employers from hiring employees from all social backgrounds regardless of their origin, ethnicity, or race.”

P10: “In a marketplace, cultural diversity permits investors to recognise existing opportunities in different marketplaces.”

The Impact of Cultural Diversity on International Entrepreneurship Promotion

Some participants highlighted the impact of cultural diversity on global entrepreneurship in promotion in different ways.

P3: “Global businesses can overcome cultural differences in international businesses to create space for the cultural requirements.”

P4: “I believe that diverse cultural perspectives can inspire creativity and drive innovation. As a result, I think cultural diversity has been shown to breed creativity and drive innovation to help solve problems and meet customer needs in new and exciting ways.”

P1: “… Hiring of a skilled and diverse team allows a company to improve its productivity and expand to other countries.”

P5: “I believe that having a vast network is a key importance of cultural diversity in promoting international entrepreneurship. International network is important to me because it captures the diversity all over the work due to diverse hiring process.”

Some responded added that the impact of cultural diversity on the promotion of international entrepreneurship was to increase sales, attract talented employees, and enable investors to acquire and understand the knowledge of the local market to adopt effective promotional strategies.

P7: “Expanding abroad is very beneficial to a business. It can improve sales, attract talented people, and offer a better infrastructure. The cultural exchange can result from this expansion.”

P10: “Cross-cultural understanding leads to local market knowledge that permit company to produce quality goods and services and adopt effective marketing strategies to increase sales. For instance, high quality and culturally products can increase sales, to raise profits and productivity of the company.”

The Relationship between Cultural Diversity and the Promotion of Entrepreneurship

There is a casual relationship between cultural diversity and promotion of international entrepreneurship. Some of the respondents reported that the relationship between cultural diversity and the promotion of entrepreneurship lead to creativity and innovation, and understanding of the needs of the different marketplaces. The illustrative examples from P2, P5, and P8 are provided below:

P2: “I believe that cultural perspective can promote creativity and drive innovation. Local marketplace knowledge and insight make and company more competitive and profitable.”

P5: “… promotion of international entrepreneurship is only possible through cultural diversity because entrepreneurs who want to expand to foreign markets understand have needs of the marketplace.”

P8: “Cultural diversity enables companies to understand the knowledge of the local market. For example, when businesses understand the needs of the target market, they are capable of selling products and services that are demanded in the market.”

In addition, the relationship between cultural diversity and the promotion of entrepreneurship results to inclusivity in the recruitment of employees and the understanding of the traditions of people in the new markets. This relationship also increase of employment opportunities for locals when investors start businesses in the new marketplaces.

P7: “… Without cultural diversity, entrepreneurs cannot promote their businesses in the local market. Thus, cultural diversity in a workplace enables business owners to understand traditions, customs, and beliefs host countries before they globalisation”

P4: “Companies need to make diversity and inclusion a priority when hiring new employees.”

P6: “Cultural diversity ensures that business owners with different cultural backgrounds feel included and safe to work in diverse marketplace that promote their entrepreneurship skills and knowledge.”

P10: “Cultural diversity ensures that people of different cultures can start their ventures in diverse business environment. These people then hire people from all cultural backgrounds regardless of their places of origin or nationality.”

Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusion, Recommendations, and Limitations

The chapter comprises of four sections: discussion, conclusion, recommendations, and limitations. Discussion section reflects on the key findings in Chapter 4 in accordance with the study’s objectives. Conclusion restates the research’s main question and objectives, summarises the key points, and offers final impressions on the central idea. The last two sections are recommendations and limitations, which give suggestions and weaknesses of the study.

Discussion

In this sub-section, the objectives of the study are discussed based on the findings in the Chapter 5.

The Role of Cultural Diversity in Entrepreneurial Realisation and Recognition in the Marketplace

The study showed that cultural diversity played key roles in entrepreneurial realisation and recognition in the market. Torres and Augusto (2018) point out that entrepreneurial realisation results from an imbalance between the potentiality of new products and services in a marketplace and its realisation. As a result, the entrepreneurial realisation is the creation of an underutilised opportunity where none previously existed by one person or group of people (Galanakis & Giourka, 2017; Torres & Augusto, 2018). On the other hand, Khin and Lim (2018) define the entrepreneurial recognition as the steps necessary to create a market need, interest, or want through a combination of resources to deliver higher value.

The research indicates that the role of cultural diversity in entrepreneurial realisation and recognition is to encourage business owners to promote community development and it encourages evaluation of individual companies. Budryte (2017) points out that employers encourage community development by promoting cultural diversity in the workplace. According to Cezarino et al. (2022), entrepreneurs have the role of bringing people together and fostering goodwill among stakeholders, such as customers and suppliers who share similar goals and interests in the marketplace. For example, employers can organise the funding for charities in their marketplaces where they operate to promote cultural diversity (Ledwith, 2020). For this reason, cultural diversity allows investors to recognise entrepreneurial opportunities in their marketplaces by contributing to communities’ social and economic well-being. The contribution leads to positive changes, such as fewer slums, improved living standards, better sanitation, more skilled workforce, and better infrastructure. In general, cultural diversity encourages entrepreneurial realisation and recognition by promoting community stability and improving quality of life in the marketplace to improve investors’ profitability.

Moreover, the study establishes that the role of cultural diversity in entrepreneurial realisation and recognition is to encourage investors to eliminate workplace discrimination and identify existing opportunities in the foreign marketplaces. Kamales and Knorr (2019) mention that a place of work that is culturally diverse encourage entrepreneurs to recruit and hire people from different backgrounds without discrimination. Tamunomiebi and John-Eke (2020) note that diverse workplace allows employers to learn different ideas about their markets, which boost their productivity as well as those of their employees. The cultural diversity also encourages entrepreneurs to find investment opportunities in the foreign marketplaces. In foreign markets, by interacting with different people from various cultures, employers can identify investment opportunities. For example, investors can identify the need of real estate in a given market; thus, prompting them to invest in the real estate industry (Ngoc et al., 2020). In particular, the role of cultural diversity is to increase knowledge of business owners to lessen workplace discrimination and identify investment opportunities in their markets in the process of entrepreneurial realization and recognition.

The Impact of Cultural Diversity on International Entrepreneurship Promotion in the United Kingdom

This survey established that the impacts of diverse culture to promote global entrepreneurship in the UK. The effects of the cultural diversity on the promotion of entrepreneurship include hiring of a skilled and diverse team to access a bigger network, increased productivity, and easier expansion of business. Acs et al. (2017) postulated that one of the major benefits of the cultural diversity to promote the international entrepreneurship was to allow companies to employ diverse team to access the bigger network. The more diverse workers were in the workplace (Beugelsdijk et al., 2017), there more access to multiple and different networks in the food industry in the United Kingdom. By employing a diverse workforce, employers can build trust and understanding between team members to facilitate communication.

Another effect of cultural diversity on the promotion of international entrepreneurship was for easier expansion in the global marketplace. Paerl and Barnard (2020) explained that the expanding the business to the global marketplace was easier for diverse team. However, the expansion of businesses can be difficult due to many obstacles that occur during the process, such as culture shock, assessing risks, and different customs and laws (Paerl & Barnard, 2020). Park (2020) revealed that a diverse workplace can help employers to overcome, such as obstacles and appear trustworthy. The benefits of the global expansion include increase of sales, attract talent people, provide a better infrastructure, and exchange of culture (Park, 2020; Paerl & Barnard, 2020).

The last impact of cultural diversity on international entrepreneurship promotion in the United Kingdom led to increased productivity. Drewnowski (2020) pointed out that employers can make their companies more competitive by providing lower pricing and a variety of products. Existing company rethinks their strategies, increase the quality of the products, lower expenditures, and become more efficient (Jones et al., 2019; Maulik, 2017). The competitiveness encourages companies and people to seek new solutions to improve services to provide value for the money of customers (Maulik, 2017). In particular, entrepreneurship has helped established firms in the food industry to boost their productivity and performance.

The Relationship between Cultural Diversity and the Promotion of Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry

The study found a link between cultural diversity and the promotion of entrepreneurship in the food market. Prior studies showed that elements of cultural diversity, such as religions, language, and gender (Diller, 2018; Seering et al., 2019). Diller (2018) postulated that the relationship between religion and the entrepreneurship. In the post-conflict, religious and language differences were significant, although they led to conflict, such as the Northern Caucasus and Tajikistan. An empirical investigation conducted by () showed that there was a relationship between religious diversity and entrepreneurship in the transition region.

The cultural diversity promotes entrepreneurship by allowing entrepreneurs to understand different cultures when interacting with different stakeholders in the food industry. Williams et al. (2020) explain that when foreign entrepreneurs enter new marketplaces, they need to implement effective strategies to interact with the locals to promote businesses. For example, they can focus on thinking about belief systems, values, and norms in the foreign countries when interacting with host partners and employees (Williams et al., 2020). Yun et al. (2020) explain that cultural diversity allows entrepreneurs to focus on local integration to promote entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurs need to understand the fundamental of the local business practices and behaviour of consumers to exploit the new markets (Yun et al., 2020). This statement implies that cultural diversity enables entrepreneurs to start their businesses by adopting a localised approach to gain insight into how to operate in the new market.

Lastly, there is a relationship between cultural diversity and the promotion of entrepreneurship exist in the form of people from different cultures starting business in businesses environment with different cultures and employing people of different cultures. Abreu et al. (2019) postulate that ensuring that people with different cultural backgrounds feel allowed to venture anywhere around the globe is a strategy to promote entrepreneurship. Similarly, these entrepreneurs need to employ workers from different background to overcome cultural barriers that affect operations of business (Abreu et al., 2019; Hussain et al., 2020; Woodcock et al., 2019). According to Chang et al. (2019), diversity training is a useful approach in helping workers become more aware of any unconscious biases and other barriers get in the way of fully embracing inclusion and diversity. The creation of an environment that boosts teamwork, motivates positive inter-departmental attitudes, and creates new opportunities, which are significant towards maintaining and creating a healthy work environment (Hussain et al., 2020). International entrepreneurs need to adapt diversity hiring and training to account for various cultures and social contexts of employers and employees.

Conclusion

In summary, the primary objectives of the study were: to determine the impacts of cultural diversity on the promotion and growth of international entrepreneurs; to establish the role of cultural diversity in entrepreneurial realisation and recognition in the marketplace; and to ascertain the correlation between cultural diversity and the promotion of foreign entrepreneurs. The research approach adopted for the current study was the inductive method, a model of interpretative research that entails acquiring data and formulating a hypothesis due to data analysis based on qualitative research design. This qualitative research approach allowed a better understanding of how entrepreneurs view the importance of cultural diversity in the growth and promotion of their businesses in the context of the UK’s food industry. In the study, the primary data collection was collected using semi-structured interviews. The questionnaires were disseminated to ten respondents from fast-food restaurants owners in Huddersfield who were sampled from the study population. The data was analysed using thematic analysis that resulted into three major themes based on the research objectives: The themes included: the role of cultural diversity in entrepreneurial realisation and recognition in the marketplace; the impact of cultural diversity on international entrepreneurship promotion in the United Kingdom, and the casual relationship between cultural diversity and the promotion of entrepreneurship in the food industry. The findings of the study showed that cultural diversity has roles on entrepreneurial realization and recognition in the marketplace by promoting community development, encouraging an evaluation of individual companies, allowing investors to eliminate discrimination at the workplace, and identifying the existing opportunities in the foreign marketplaces. The research also established that the impacts of cultural diversity on international entrepreneurship promotion in the UK included hiring of a skilled and diverse team to access a bigger network, increased productivity, easier expansion of business in the international market, and increased productivity in the company. Finally, the research found that there is a relationship between cultural diversity and the promotion of entrepreneurship in the food industry. The relationship results in increased investment opportunities, hiring of skilled labourers, and understanding of the need of local markets for investors to implement effective market strategies to promote their products and services.

Recommendations

The recommendations for this study include:

1. In the United Kingdom, owners of restaurants should embrace cultural diversity in the workplace to eliminate hiring bias and discrimination to get various entrepreneurship ideas from people of diverse background. They need to adopt blind recruitment and outsource hiring team or panel to ensure that people from different cultures can get employed in the company and give their ideas on how to expand the business in different marketplaces.
2. Entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom’s food industry should adopt effective training that accommodates the needs of all staff members within a business organisation. They can consider cultural diversity training to train different personnel, including human resources and supervisors to encourage interaction of employees, which leads to an exchange of traditions and learning of each other customs and beliefs.

• In the future, researchers should examine how cultural diversity affects the choices and preferences of customers and its impacts on the ability of entrepreneurs to invest in the global fast-food sector.

Limitations

The researcher failed to get detailed and accurate responses from participants that answered the research questions. The researcher could not obtain detailed information because some responses were fixed, and participants had less scope to give answer that reflect their feelings on the topic under investigation. Secondly, the use of semi-structured questionnaires to collect data was time-consuming during data analysis. Charmes (2019) postulates that researchers who analyse qualitative data have to read the answers and put them into themes, which is difficult and subjective; thus, time-consuming. Lastly, there were instances where the respondents were not willing to provide the needed information. As a result, the researcher had to instilled confidence in the participants and assured them of anonymity and confidentiality of all information provided for the study.

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Appendixes

Semi-Structured Questionnaire

My name is (write your name), and I am a Master’s degree student from (name of your university). Currently, I am conducting a research to determine the impacts of cultural diversity on the development and proliferation of international entrepreneurship, particularly in the United Kingdom’s food industry. Therefore, I would like you to take a few minutes of your time to respond to the questions provided in this questionnaire based on your honest opinions.

Section A: Demographic Information 

1. What is your name and gender?
2. How old are you?
3. Where do you live?

SECTION B: TheRole of Cultural Diversity in Enabling Entrepreneurial Realisation and Recognition in the Marketplace

1. What is the importance of cultural diversity to you as an entrepreneur in the food industry?
2. How is cultural diversity enabling entrepreneurial realisation and recognition in your company?
3. How does cultural diversity support evaluation of your company to promote international expansion?
4. How is cultural diversity contributing to community development in your marketplace?
5. What opportunities does cultural diversity embrace in your marketplace?
6. Are there responsibilities of cultural diversity in promoting stakeholders relationship in a marketplace?

SECTION C: The Impact of Cultural Diversity on International Entrepreneurship Promotion in the United Kingdom.

1. How does cultural diversity impact your international entrepreneurship promotion?
2. Hoe does cultural diversity promote creativity and innovation in your process of expanding your business internationally?
3. What are the benefits of cultural diversity in understanding the local market?

SECTION D: The Causal Link between Cultural Diversity and the Promotion of Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry

1. How is cultural diversity leading to creativity and innovation during the promotion of entrepreneurship?
2. For you, what do you think is the relationship between cultural diversity and the promotion of entrepreneurship?
3. For you, does cultural diversity encourages people to start restaurants in the UK’s food industry?
4. Without cultural diversity, how can foreign investors understand the needs of the local market and recruit talents and skills in the market to operate in the new market?