Exploring whether London based Black African Businesses are more likely to Fail, Falter or Flourish

Abstract: In acknowledging the importance of break-out to the sustainability of BASMEs in London, this study sought to determine whether an escapist mindset and low levels of acculturation could impinge on an entrepreneur’s willingness to overcome embeddedness –  by reducing dependence on community linkages. Combining a synthesis of the extant literature with a modicum of empirical research, this chapter finds that majority of the respondents were not ‘escapists entrepreneurs’.  However, the escapists were more likely to operate businesses which may be failure-prone because they were more likely to neglect pre-start-up preparations, less likely to approach institutional support systems for business support and more likely to favour embeddedness. However, acculturation levels were not found to have any effect on the entrepreneurs’ attitudes towards overcoming embededness and approaching institutions for business support. This chapter has both practical and social implications outlined in the main body of the chapter.