Ethnic entrepreneurial and marketing systems: Implications for the global economy

The role of immigrant ethnic entrepreneurs in the small business milieu of the developed world has been studied within sociology for the past three de cades. This article attempts to generate interest in the study of ethnic en trepreneurs within marketing and international business, especially noting the distinct business and marketing systemic features of ethnic entrepreneu rial networks. Using prior literature and the findings from a qualitative s tudy, the authors build some elements of a theory of ethnic business system s and demonstrate aspects on which such systems differ from other business firms and networks, especially in the United States. The authors argue that ethnic enterprises make tremendous contributions to local and internationa l economies while bridging small business, globalization, and the nation-st ate in interesting ways.