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

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.