THE EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF AN ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOOD: A LONGITUDINAL CASE STUDY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY

Abstract

Enclave development is a common theme underlying much of the current thought regarding ethnic entrepreneurism, and particularly entrepreneurial behavior among recent immigrants. Historically, ethnic enclaves are described as having certain necessary characteristics (Portes, 1998; Portes & Bach, 1985; Waldinger et al., 1990), such as co-ethnic spatial concentration or agglomeration, a co-ethnic social and support network, a co-ethnic capital market, an intra-ethnic market trading structure (e.g. Dyer & Ross, 2000), and uniqueness of co-ethnic customer preferences and personalized services (e.g. Peterson & Roquebert, 1993). Current theory suggests that aspiring immigrant entrepreneurs and existing ethnic businesses alike can take advantage of the market and social cohesiveness offered by an established enclave, ultimately reducing the various transactions costs associated with doing intra-enclave business (Knack & Keefer, 1997). As Light (1998) argues, the key connection between social capital and ethnic entrepreneurship is the efficient use of ethnic resources to support the creation and survival of businesses in the community. While some characteristics of ethnic enclaves, such as co-ethnic agglomeration and social networks, have been extensively investigated by sociologists, regional economists, population ecologists, and entrepreneurship researchers, other enclave characteristics, such as the inter and intra-enclave market trading behaviors have been recognized, but less researched (Dyer & Ross, 2000; Galbraith et al., 2003).

Citation

Galbraith, C.S., Stiles, C.H. and Benitez-Bertheau, J. (2003), "THE EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF AN ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOOD: A LONGITUDINAL CASE STUDY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY", Stiles, C.H. and Galbraith, C.S. (Ed.) Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Structure and Process (International Research in the Business Disciplines, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 95-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1074-7877(03)04005-4