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The salience of ethnic identity in entrepreneurship: an ethnic strategies of business action framework

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  • Marlene Orozco

    (Stanford Sociology Department)

Abstract

Ethnicity not only shapes pathways to entry into entrepreneurship but also plays an important role in the organizing structure of the business. Previous research on ethnic entrepreneurs has focused on niche markets, their coethnic labor supply, and the spatial concentration of businesses (i.e., enclaves), overlooking the role that ethnicity plays in business strategies more broadly. I draw on 65 in-depth interviews and participant observations to examine how business owners make sense of their ethnoracial identity in the context of their business orientation and market reach. I propose an ethnic strategies of business action typology of the ways in which an ethnic identity is strategically invoked in the pursuit of profit. I find that ethnic strategies can yield benefits as a business strategy but choosing when and how to leverage an ethnic identity is largely reserved for entrepreneurs who have obtained higher education, the later generations, and those operating in professional industries. These strategies are intricately situated within the context of intersectionality and the larger social structure. Nevertheless, this expanded view of an ethnic economy accounts for socioeconomic diversity and a growing minority middle class largely unaccounted for in previous theorization. Understanding the diverse orientation of ethnic business owners provides empirical leverage to the affirming ethnic strategies in the repertoire of the minority culture of mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Marlene Orozco, 2022. "The salience of ethnic identity in entrepreneurship: an ethnic strategies of business action framework," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 243-268, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:59:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11187-021-00532-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-021-00532-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marlene Orozco, 2020. "Reconceptualizing the Enclave: Measuring Success Among Latino‐Owned Businesses," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1374-1396, July.
    2. Ross Levine & Yona Rubinstein, 2017. "Smart and Illicit: Who Becomes an Entrepreneur and Do They Earn More?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(2), pages 963-1018.
    3. Alejandro Portes & Steven Shafer, 2006. "Revisiting the Enclave Hypothesis: Miami Twenty-Five Years Later," Working Papers 333, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Migration and Development..
    4. Shinnar, Rachel S. & Aguilera, Michael B. & Lyons, Thomas S., 2011. "Co-ethnic markets: Financial penalty or opportunity?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 646-658.
    5. George J. Borjas, 1986. "The Self-Employment Experience of Immigrants," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 21(4), pages 485-506.
    6. repec:pri:cmgdev:wp0610 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Lois M. Shelton & Maria Minniti, 2018. "Enhancing product market access: Minority entrepreneurship, status leveraging, and preferential procurement programs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 481-498, March.
    8. Lofstrom, Magnus & Bates, Timothy & Parker, Simon C., 2014. "Why are some people more likely to become small-businesses owners than others: Entrepreneurship entry and industry-specific barriers," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 232-251.
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    Cited by:

    1. Swab, R. Gabrielle & Wolfe, Marcus, 2023. "Game on! Age, race, and performance in the board game industry," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    2. Karina Santellano & Jody Agius Vallejo, 2024. "Feminist ethnoracial entrepreneurship among Latina elite and middle‐class entrepreneurs," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1166-1181, July.

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