Investigating the impact of social movements on African American-owned business success

Despite boasting a tradition of enterprise, the collective narrative of African-American entrepreneurship is one of marginal success, mainly because African-American entrepreneurs experience an array of barriers that limits resiliency and increases susceptibility to shocks. Challenging this narrative are cases of entrepreneurial achievement that seem to coincide with periods of social change in the United States. This study explores the effects of social movements on the trajectory of entrepreneurial firms by delving into the business histories of six African-American beauty industry entrepreneurs active during the First Great Migration, Civil Rights, and Black Lives Matter eras. Through an abductive, qualitative, archival data based study, I examine how changes in social, economic, and market conditions during social change periods affected entrepreneurs' opportunity perception and business choices. Findings suggest that entrepreneurial opportunities and decision-making evolve as social action cycles progress. Research results expand the opportunity perception and realization literature and increase the knowledge base on conditions that affect the success of black-owned businesses. Study findings could serve as the foundation for a research-informed decision-making matrix that employs prior knowledge of patterns to predict and respond to uncertainty. The matrix could function as a roadmap that helps entrepreneurs and their allies read market directionality, informs strategic planning, and aids in the defter navigation of analogous circumstances