Ethnic markets in the American retail landscape: African markets in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Akron, Ohio

Research indicates that immigrants decide on self-entrepreneurship because of unemployment, previous job experience, and the discrimination they face in their workplace. This study explores in detail whether these reasons encouraged store operators to start their own businesses. Twenty operators of African grocery stores (generally called "African markets") Q sorted 36 statements related to ethnic businesses based on how their internalized meanings influenced them to start their stores. Q-sort methodology was used to render these reasons as action-based and not just as mental perceptions. Three factors emerged from the analysis of the general data: demand-opportunity, which had the most influence, followed by cultural-resources that emphasized the availability of resources for store creation and independence-aspiration, which emphasized the desire for self-employment. These three factors suggest that operators had their own personal reasons, based on their experiences, to start their African grocery stores.