Bringing Strategy Back: Ethnic minority entrepreneurs’ construction of legitimacy by ‘fitting in’ and ‘standing out’ in the creative industries.

Abstract

Drawing on De Clercq and Voronov (2009) we investigate the narrative use of ethnic minority identity for constructing legitimacy through ‘fitting in’ and ‘standing out’. By doing so we aim at bridging a individual and organizational level of inquiry to understand how ethnic minority entrepreneurs’ identities can be used as an asset for business achievement. Based on data collected through 26 in-depth interviews with ethnic entrepreneurs in the creative industries, we identify four types of use of the ethnic minority background: the ‘ethnic’ creative strategy, the ‘hybrid’ creative strategy, the ‘heroic creative strategy, and the ‘neutral’ creative strategy. The study contributes to the stream of literature approaching ethnic minority entrepreneurs as agents, by highlighting the heterogeneous ways in which ethnic minority identity and background can be deployed for business strategies.