ABSTRACT
To better understand when and how to implement an ethnic marketing strategy, this chapter deals with the dynamics of ethnicity. The concept of acculturation is used to explore how acculturation patterns can impact on a person’s ethnic identity and on her/his co-ethnic group. It is shown that the forces that help to shape alternative acculturation strategies influence the choice by either an individual or group towards a particular acculturation path.
Knowing how individual acculturation affects the consumer behaviour of each generation of consumers from the same ethnic group and whether the individual acculturation paths of consumers from different ethnic backgrounds are likely to differ indicate whether groups may converge, perhaps enabling pan ethnic groups for marketing purposes.
Groups that retain a strong and salient identity over time are likely to offer more opportunities for ethnic entrepreneurship and can convert into incubators for ethnic minority businesses, positively influencing ethnic networks as well as the acculturation process of individuals and groups.
