Doing Business in Minority Markets: Black and Korean Entrepreneurs in Chicago’s Ethnic Beauty Aids Industry

This book examines black and Korean entrepreneurship in Chicago’s ethnic beauty aids industry. In the case of each entrepreneurial group, business activities are heavily influenced by the economic conditions found on the South Side of Chicago. For instance both groups provide goods and services to black consumers, both groups modify their business practices in response to the depressed incomes and disinvestment in the communities where they are located, and both groups mobilize resources based on ethnicity and social class in order to overcome the economic constraints found in the market setting where their businesses operate. This book is unique for two reasons. First it examines the context of black and Korean entrepreneurship from an historical and sociological perspective. Through this approach, continuity and change in entrepreneurial behaviour is identified. Second, it examined black and Korean entrepreneurship within the context of a single industry, the ethnic beauty aids industry. This approach allows for a thorough analysis of networks and organizational interactions between black and Korean entrepreneours at all levels of this industry, manufacturing, distribution and retailing. The findings in this book add to existing research on entrepreneurship in minority communities, and offer a reformulation of theories concerning middleman minority groups, black entrepreneurship, and economic under development.