ABSTRACT
From the perspective of ‘break-out strategies’, an exclusive focus on a limited market can pose a serious threat to the future of many ethnic minority firms. These firms normally start with a focus on clients from their own ethnic group, with traditional products, services and communication channels. They are often established in areas where many fellow countrymen live. After a while, ethnic entrepreneurs may seek to expand their market domain by offering products and services for a broader group of clients, outside their own ethnic group. Some succeed in this goal and thus bring their firms into the next development stage. Some are unsuccessful in this strategy and are left to the commercial constraints of selling to their own group. A number of entrepreneurs deliberately choose to stay in this market niche.
