Diversity in Entrepreneurship: Ethnic and Female Roles in Urban Economic Life

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of ethnic female entrepreneurship in urban economie life. The focus of the research is on the attitudes and behaviour of Turkish female entrepreneurs in Amsterdam. The main question we pose is: Are ethnic jèmale entrepreneurs special ethnic entrepreneurs or special female entrepreneurs? This paper provides an answer to this question on the basis of field surveys. The results of the case study research on Turkish female entrepreneurs in Amsterdam show that the "ethnic fernale projìle" is a "special female profile" and that Turkish female entrepreneurs are "special female entrepreneurs", particuiarly in terms of their personal and business characteristics, and their driving forces and motivations. They appear to combine their ethnic opportunities with their personal characteristics (and other opportunities) in the urban market, and to perform successfully. This is also due to the fact that they have become service providers for not only their own ethnic groups, but also for other groups in the city. , PNOSSTBLEM '3 I Introduc:ionMetropo!iian areas in many countries have increasingly turned into pluriform and muiticultural societies. Ethnic entrepreneurship and, increasingly, female entrepreneurship have become poptilar concepts in modem multi-cultural society. In a modem "multi-color" city ethnic anti female entrepreneurship tend to become an indigeneous and significant part of the local economy. Ethnic entrepreneurs and female entrepreneurs can be identifïed as having untapped job-creating potential; while they reflect different cultures and open-ended capacities for creating economie growth in cities, they are also special in urban economie life because of their growing numbers and their contributions to economie diversity.There are many similarities between these two groups in terms of their opportunities, business features, management styles, networks and associations, and the niches they have obtained in cities. Both of these groups tend to fínd opportunities for their creative economie roles in big cities and metropoles and to have different management styles and different approaches to urban economie life, which reflect their cultural diversity. They also face common barriers and problems when setting up and running businesses. There are, however, distinct differences betwekn them in terms of problems and needs, management styles andnetworks. Yet a number of problems and issues that they face are common to both groups regardless of their gender or ethnicity. Moreover, ethnic and female entrepreneurs tend to suffer fiom some diffïculties more intensively than smal1 businesses in genera1 do. The most important commonality between ?hese two groups is that they are "minorities" in urban economie life. While ethnic groups are "minorities" since they are non-natives, females are another kind of "minority", often participating less in urban economie life in the face of a male-dominared business world. However, each of the groups is itself heterogeneous...

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