Date of Award
8-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Executive Leadership
First Supervisor
Anthony Chiarlitti, EdD
Second Supervisor
Nikki Stewart, EdD
Abstract
This interpretive phenomenological study aimed to investigate the interactions between race socialization, trust, and Black entrepreneurs’ social capital mobilization. The 12 study participants conducted business in New York City and the surrounding counties. The primary sources of data collected were semi-structured interviews and researcher journal entries for validity. Four themes emerged from the interpretive analysis conducted: (a) race socialization matters, (b) trust is relationship based, (c) networks are vast but often homogeneous, and (d) competence-based mobilization.
This study found that Black entrepreneurs are influenced by messages about direct and vicarious discriminatory racial encounters. Race socialization messages served as protective instructions to prepare some of the participants for harmful interactions. The absence of such messages left many participants more susceptible to emotional trauma. However, with or without race socialization messages, most participants navigated intra- and interracial business interactions, such as networking and social capital mobilization, with caution. Recommendations for supporting Black entrepreneurs are rooted in trauma-informed practices through a sociocultural lens that reduces the influence of racism and discrimination through trust building.
Recommended Citation
Harris, LaShawnna R., "We Are Each Other’s Business: Black Entrepreneurship, Trust, and the Mobilization of Social Capital" (2023). Education Doctoral. Paper 566.
https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/education_etd/566
Please note that the Recommended Citation provides general citation information and may not be appropriate for your discipline. To receive help in creating a citation based on your discipline, please visit http://libguides.sjfc.edu/citations.