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Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research
1997 Edition

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WEALTH BUILDING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: LESSONS FROM PAKISTANI/ISMAILI ENTERPRISES

^{John Sibley Butler, University of Texas at Austin}

^{Patricia Gene Greene, Rutgers University}

INTRODUCTION

Theoretical Considerations

South Asian Indians as a Topic of Research and Research Propositions
METHODS
ANALYSIS

Comparison of demographics

TABLE 1

TABLE 2

TABLE 3

Theoretical Testing for Ethnic Entrepreneurship

TABLE 4
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
REFERENCES

ABSTRACT

^{This paper uses survey data collected from a

Pakistani/Ismaili community in a Southwestern city to address two related research

questions focused on relationship between wealth building and ethnic enterprise. First,

how do the characteristics of the business owner and the firm compare to national U.S.

statistics for ethnic business owners? Second, do theories of middleman minorities and

ethnic enclaves explain the differences found? We do find significant differences between

our community data set and that of the U.S. economic census, particularly regarding the

size of the firm. We also find that established theories underlying the entrepreneurial

behaviors of immigrant communities only partially explain the characteristics uncovered.

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Last Updated 03/15/98}