Local shopkeepers’ associations and ethnic minority entrepreneurs

This paper provides empirical evidence concerning the relationship between ethnic minority entrepreneurs and local shopkeepers’ associations in Amsterdam. Having more members means more support for the local shopkeepers’ association, which in turn may have a positive impact on the shopping area, and the surrounding neighbourhood. In this way, local shopkeepers’ associations exercise an important function of social entrepreneurship. Many Western cities faced a strong growth of ethnic minority entrepreneurship in recent years. However, ethnic entrepreneurs join these local shopkeepers’ associations less frequently compared to native entrepreneurs. To turn the tide for the decreasing support for the local shopkeepers’ associations, the reasons for (not) joining, both for ethnic minority entrepreneurs and for native entrepreneurs, were researched. After a thorough literature survey, 70 shopkeepers in Amsterdam were interviewed. The most important reasons why entrepreneurs do not join these associations are: insufficient benefits of the membership; costs of the membership too high; ignorance of the purpose of the local shopkeepers’ association in that area; and distrust of this association. For ethnic entrepreneurs, ignorance of the purpose of the local shopkeepers’ association in that area and ignorance of the purpose of these associations in general are more important reasons not to join. In order to attract more members, these reasons should be incorporated in the associations’ future policy.