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

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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.