ABSTRACT
Within the literature on South Asian entrepreneurship, one persistent theme is the seemingly particularistic nature of social ties within the Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani communities, which are believed to fuel entrepreneurial activity and encourage co-operative work relations (Werbner, 1990). Crucial to entrepreneurial success is the ‘heritage of networks’ (Gidoomal, 1997), often argued to be the hallmark of these ethnic groups (Srinivasan, 1995). Often implicitly, studies in this tradition suggest that the ‘strategies’ that South Asian entrepreneurs adopt in developing and managing their businesses are distinctive, shaped largely by the specific internal characteristics of the community (Basu, 1998; Metcalf et al., 1996).
