Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of Religion and Ethnicity in Business Networking

博士论文研究：宗教和种族在商业网络中的作用

• 批准号: 0902354
• 负责人: Isaac Martin
• 金额: $ 1万
• 依托单位: University of California-San Diego
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-05-01 至 2010-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0902354&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Role; Religion

SES-0902354Isaac MartinKathleen MarkerUniversity of California San DiegoWhat role does religion play in the ethnic economy? According to research on ethnic economies, ethnic solidarity can facilitate entrepreneurship by helping business owners cut costs and expedite the search for goods, services, and employees. Many researchers of ethnic economies have overlooked the role of religion in business and assumed that ethnic solidarity is the most significant determinant of beneficial network ties. Meanwhile it is likely that religion also plays an influential role in the ethnic economy. Religious texts include discussions of business ethics, and religious institutions facilitate solidarity through worship services, group meetings, and social events. Research also suggests that some religious tenets correlate with entrepreneurial success. With this study, the co-investigator will place religion at center stage in the research of ethnic economies by answering the following questions: How does religion influence ethnic entrepreneurship? How does religious identity shape network formation in the immigrant economy? When immigrants have crosscutting religious and ethnic ties, what types of networks are they drawn to? For example, do Iraqi Muslims tend to develop networks with other Muslims regardless of country of origin, or with other Iraqis regardless of religion? The investigator will conduct 120 interviews with Iraqi, Palestinian, and Lebanese entrepreneurs of Muslim and Christian faiths, who own businesses in Metropolitan Detroit. Semi-structured interviews will be used to collect data on each business owner?s network members and on the role of religion and ethnicity in the life of the business owner. This research has the potential to reform theories of ethnic economies by demonstrating the important role of religion in network formation. Religious diversity and the saliency of religion are increasing, which makes these findings on the influence of religion in business valuable to future studies both in the U.S. and abroad. Finally, this research is significant not only because it focuses on Arab Americans, an underrepresented group, but also because it highlights the rich ethnic and religious diversity within a group that is commonly presented as monolithic.

艾萨克马丁凯瑟琳马克加州大学圣地亚哥分校宗教在民族经济中扮演什么角色？根据对少数民族经济的研究，民族团结可以帮助企业主降低成本，加快寻找商品、服务和雇员的速度，从而促进创业。许多民族经济研究人员忽视了宗教在商业中的作用，并假设民族团结是有益网络关系的最重要决定因素。同时，宗教也可能在民族经济中发挥着重要作用。宗教文本包括对商业道德的讨论，宗教机构通过礼拜服务、小组会议和社会活动促进团结。研究还表明，一些宗教信条与创业成功有关。在本研究中，合作者将通过回答以下问题，将宗教置于民族经济研究的中心位置：宗教如何影响民族企业家精神？移民经济中的宗教认同如何影响网络的形成？当移民有跨领域的宗教和种族联系时，他们会被什么类型的网络所吸引？例如，伊拉克穆斯林是否倾向于与其他穆斯林建立联系，而不考虑来自哪个国家，或者与其他伊拉克人建立联系，而不考虑宗教信仰？调查人员将与信奉穆斯林和基督教的伊拉克、巴勒斯坦和黎巴嫩企业家进行120次面谈，这些企业家在底特律大都会拥有企业。半结构化访谈将用于收集每个企业主的数据。以及宗教和种族在企业主生活中的作用。本研究通过展示宗教在网络形成中的重要作用，具有改革民族经济理论的潜力。宗教的多样性和宗教的显著性正在增加，这使得这些关于宗教对商业影响的研究结果对未来在美国和国外的研究都有价值。最后，这项研究意义重大，不仅因为它关注的是阿拉伯裔美国人，这是一个代表性不足的群体，还因为它强调了一个通常被视为单一群体的群体中丰富的种族和宗教多样性。