Development of Ethnic Business in Europe: The Case of Turkish Immigrants

Abstract There is growing evidence of the spread of ethnic enterprises among Turkish immigrants in several European countries. Three changing historical circumstances have favored their development in the past two decades. First, massive immigration from Turkey has led to the growth of large Turkish communities in Europe. Second, industrial restructuring of the 70s and the 80s has been accompanied by rising unemployment as traditional labor-intensive industries laid off thousands of workers. These rapid transformations have deeply affected Turkish immigrant workers as they were mainly concentrated in traditional sectors. Finally, opportunities for ethnic business have become more favorable as the changing industrial structure has led to a resurgence of small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe. Many Turkish immigrants have responded to these conditions by creating their own businesses. The paper analyzes this process by focusing on the German and the Belgian cases.