LEVERAGING ETHNIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP, CULTURE AND FAMILY DYNAMICS TO ENHANCE GOOD GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE IMMIGRANT FAMILY BUSINESS

Immigrant family businesses are one of the most unique, complex and dynamic systems in our modern-day society. The blending of two inherently different realms — the performance-based world of business and the emotion-based domain of the immigrant family — creates a system potentially fraught with confusion and conflict. Applying traditional, limited and exclusively Western views of entrepreneurship to immigrant family business creation, growth and sustainability is to ignore or discount the core cultural/ethical values and ethnic contexts in which these firms operate. The objective of this conceptual paper is to identify and explore the three variables of enterprise, ethnicity and family dynamics that influence corporate governance to ensure the survival, growth and sustainability of immigrant family businesses. Conclusions and recommendations for future research are discussed.