Ethnic Entrepreneurs: Immigrant Business in Industrial Societies (SAGE Series on Race and Ethnic Relations) [Paperback]

Roger Waldinger (Author), Howard Aldrich (Author), Robin Harwood Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1990 | ISBN-10: 0803937113 | ISBN-13: 978-0803937116

Everywhere immigrants settle in advanced Western societies, ethnic minority businesses flourish - whether they be Turkish tailors in Amsterdam, Moroccan grocers in Paris or Chinese restaurateurs in New York. This book examines the phenomenon of minority business development in industrial societies. Contributions challenge the conventional `wisdom' which claims that immigrants do well in business because their culture makes them entrepreneurial. Rather, they show how the development of a particular ethnic minority business is always the product of unique, historical circumstances. These include opportunities for newcomers, ethnic group characteristics, and strategies used to exploit entrepreneurial options. They also show that not all groups

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Howard E. Aldrich is Kenan Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he won the 2002 Carlyle Sitterson Award for Outstanding Teaching. He is chair of the Department of Sociology and Adjunct Professor of Management in the Kenan Flagler Business School. In 2000, the Swedish Foundation of Small Business Research named him the Entrepreneurship Researcher of the Year and the Organization and Management Division of the Academy of Management presented him with an award for a Distinguished Career of Scholarly Achievement. His book, Organizations Evolving, won the Academy of Management George Terry Award in 1998-99. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc (February 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803937113
• ISBN-13: 978-0803937116
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,576,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expanded description of Ethnic Entrepreneurs, August 26, 2006

By 

Howard E. Aldrich (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ethnic Entrepreneurs: Immigrant Business in Industrial Societies (Paperback)

This book is a reprinted edition of a book originally published in 1990 and no longer in print in its original edition.

It examines the phenomenon of minority business development in industrial societies. Everywhere immigrants settle in advanced Western societies, ethnic minority businesses flourish - whether they be Turkish tailors in Amsterdam, Moroccan grocers in Paris or Chinese restaurateurs in New York.

Contributions by seventeen of the leading business researchers in the world challenge the conventional `wisdom' which claims that immigrants do well in business because their culture makes them entrepreneurial. Rather, the authors show how the development of a particular ethnic minority business is always the product of unique, historical circumstances. These include opportunities for newcomers, ethnic group characteristics, and strategies used to exploit entrepreneurial options.

The authors also show that not all groups are equally interested in the business ownership option for advancement or equally successful at it. They explain why immigrants from diverse ethnic groups differentially attempt to go into business and why their fates differ. Using data on the success of various ethnic groups in business in the United States, the United Kingdom and France, the authors suggest policy options which might help the economic advancement of ethnic minority communities through business ownership.

The volume is a blend of quantitative, historical and case study data supporting a well-argued thesis, drawing on the literature of a variety of disciplines and approaches. It is recomended for scholars studying race relations or involved in small business research, cross-cultural reseach and other related subjects.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique comparative approach, April 27, 2010

By 

Alcuin (Reno, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethnic Entrepreneurs: Immigrant Business in Industrial Societies (Paperback)

Aldrich's review gives a good summary, but doesn't, to my mind, emphasize the unique contribution of this book which is looking at societal influences on immigrant entrepreneurship. There are oodles of studies of ethnic markets/ enclaves within societies, but this is one of the few that looks across societies. In particular, their result on the importance of red tape as a deterrent to ethnic entrepreneurship is striking and unique in the literature.