Barriers to entrepreneurship in low-income households in the UK: A scoping review

Business ownership is often seen as a means for social mobility; however, low-income households are traditionally underrepresented in entrepreneurship. This scoping review was conducted to explore what is known about the barriers to engaging in entrepreneurial activity for low-income households within the UK. Forty-six studies were identified and selected based on eligibility criteria and subsequent screening of abstract texts to determine their relevance. The literature search focused on research papers and review articles, within the UK, published from 2000 onwards. Our scoping review found that low-income households experience barriers to four types of entrepreneurial capital which are critical for starting and developing an enterprise: human, social, financial and institutional. This puts them at a disadvantage when pursuing entrepreneurial aspirations, and may perpetuate deprivation rather than help solve it. Efforts to accumulate these four forms of capital are embedded within the spatial context, in that some contexts provide better access to resources than others. This review contributes to the literature, by bringing together fragmented empirical and theoretical insights into a holistic framework, which explains the interdependencies between the types of entrepreneurial capital for low-income households.