Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004) 307–320 An investigation of Chinese immigrant consumer behaviour in Toronto, Canada Lu Wang* Department of Geography, Ross Building, York University, Toronto, Ont., Canada M3J 1P3 Abstract Immigrant consumer behaviour is a topic of burgeoning interest to academics, planners, and marketers because of the importance of consumption in an urban economy, the growing ethnic diversity in metropolitan areas, and the rise of urban and suburban ethnic business activities. This paper examines middle-class Chinese immigrants’ preferences between the mainstream economy and the Chinese ethnic economy that comprises businesses owned and operated by Chinese immigrants. In situations where Chinese businesses and mainstream businesses carry a similar product mix and offer competing services, the consumption pattern of Chinese immigrants reflects a preference between the two economies. The study reveals a dynamic picture of Chinese immigrants’ consumer behaviour, with preferences ranging from a high concentration of patronage for Chinese travel agencies to a mix of visits to both Chinese and mainstream supermarkets. Logistic regression models reveal that ethnic identification is the most important factor in the choice of shopping venues although individual characteristics, the spatial structure of supply, and store attributes also play a role. The study yields important theoretical, planning, and managerial implications. r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Immigrant consumer behaviour; Ethnic economy; Logistic regression; Ethnic identity 1. Introduction Immigrant consumer behaviour is an important research area in a number of fields including marketing, geography, and ethnic studies. While the distinct consumption patterns within an ethnic minority group have always been noticed, it has not until recently received significant attention from either academics or market practitioners. The catalyst for the increasing interest in immigrant consumption is the fast changing ethnic landscape in many metropolitan areas due to accelerated international migration. The size, geogra- phical concentration, and purchasing power of many ethnic populations offer both opportunities and chal- lenges to market practitioners. In academia, recent studies have examined the distinct characteristics and consumption patterns of ethnic minority populations, of which a large proportion are immigrants. Much atten- tion has been focused on the relationship between ethnicity, ethnic identity, and consumption (Donthu and Cherian, 1992, 1994; Venkatesh, 1995; Hui et al., 1998; Rossiter and Chan, 1998; Laroche et al., 1998; Chung and Fischer, 1999), and the impact of acculturation and assimilation on consumption practices (Webster, 1994; Lee and Tse, 1994; D’Rozario and Choudhury, 2000; Eastlich and Lotz, 2000; Laroche and Tomiuk, 2001). Researchers also need to recognize the influence of growing urban ethnic economies on immigrant con- sumer behaviour. Ethnic economies, predominantly studied by sociologists, refer to sets of businesses and enterprises owned and operated by ethnic minority groups that often consist of immigrants (Bonacich and Modell, 1980; Light et al., 1994). Ethnic business activities dramatically shape the urban commercial landscape as well as the availability of goods and services within the commercial system. Developing within the ethnic population, ethnic businesses generally maintain strong cultural and economic ties to their ethnic community, and the demand from co-ethnic immigrants is regarded as the driving force behind the development and success of ethnic businesses (Li, 1993, 1998; Light and Gold, 2000). Recent studies suggest that Toronto hosts one of the largest Chinese ethnic economies in North America (Preston et al., 2003). The conventional view of Chinese ethnic businesses is ARTICLE IN PRESS *Fax: +1-416-736-5988. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Wang). 0969-6989/$ - see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2003.10.003
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004) 307–320
ARTICLE IN PRESS
*Fax: +1-416
E-mail addre
0969-6989/$ - see
doi:10.1016/j.jre
An investigation of Chinese immigrant consumer behaviour inToronto, Canada
Lu Wang*
Department of Geography, Ross Building, York University, Toronto, Ont., Canada M3J 1P3
Abstract
Immigrant consumer behaviour is a topic of burgeoning interest to academics, planners, and marketers because of the importance
of consumption in an urban economy, the growing ethnic diversity in metropolitan areas, and the rise of urban and suburban ethnic
business activities. This paper examines middle-class Chinese immigrants’ preferences between the mainstream economy and
the Chinese ethnic economy that comprises businesses owned and operated by Chinese immigrants. In situations where
Chinese businesses and mainstream businesses carry a similar product mix and offer competing services, the consumption pattern of
Chinese immigrants reflects a preference between the two economies. The study reveals a dynamic picture of Chinese immigrants’
consumer behaviour, with preferences ranging from a high concentration of patronage for Chinese travel agencies to a mix of visits
to both Chinese and mainstream supermarkets. Logistic regression models reveal that ethnic identification is the most important
factor in the choice of shopping venues although individual characteristics, the spatial structure of supply, and store attributes also
play a role. The study yields important theoretical, planning, and managerial implications.
Immigrant consumer behaviour is an importantresearch area in a number of fields including marketing,geography, and ethnic studies. While the distinctconsumption patterns within an ethnic minority grouphave always been noticed, it has not until recentlyreceived significant attention from either academics ormarket practitioners. The catalyst for the increasinginterest in immigrant consumption is the fast changingethnic landscape in many metropolitan areas due toaccelerated international migration. The size, geogra-phical concentration, and purchasing power of manyethnic populations offer both opportunities and chal-lenges to market practitioners. In academia, recentstudies have examined the distinct characteristics andconsumption patterns of ethnic minority populations, ofwhich a large proportion are immigrants. Much atten-tion has been focused on the relationship betweenethnicity, ethnic identity, and consumption (Donthu andCherian, 1992, 1994; Venkatesh, 1995; Hui et al., 1998;
front matter r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
tconser.2003.10.003
Rossiter and Chan, 1998; Laroche et al., 1998; Chungand Fischer, 1999), and the impact of acculturation andassimilation on consumption practices (Webster, 1994;Lee and Tse, 1994; D’Rozario and Choudhury, 2000;Eastlich and Lotz, 2000; Laroche and Tomiuk, 2001).Researchers also need to recognize the influence of
growing urban ethnic economies on immigrant con-sumer behaviour. Ethnic economies, predominantlystudied by sociologists, refer to sets of businesses andenterprises owned and operated by ethnic minoritygroups that often consist of immigrants (Bonacich andModell, 1980; Light et al., 1994). Ethnic businessactivities dramatically shape the urban commerciallandscape as well as the availability of goods andservices within the commercial system. Developingwithin the ethnic population, ethnic businesses generallymaintain strong cultural and economic ties to theirethnic community, and the demand from co-ethnicimmigrants is regarded as the driving force behind thedevelopment and success of ethnic businesses (Li, 1993,1998; Light and Gold, 2000). Recent studies suggest thatToronto hosts one of the largest Chinese ethniceconomies in North America (Preston et al., 2003).The conventional view of Chinese ethnic businesses is
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1 ‘‘Ethnic minority’’ is a relative term to the ‘‘ethnic majority’’ who
are dominant in a society in terms of population size, ‘‘wealth and
power’’ (Yetman and Norman, 1991, p. 11), and cultural influence.
According to Porter (1965), the Anglophones and Francophones in
Canada would be the majority groups or ‘‘charter groups’’. Since
immigrants are often of an ethnic minority background, ‘‘immigrant
consumer behaviour’’ and ‘‘ethnic minority consumer behaviour’’ are
used interchangeably in this paper.
L. Wang / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004) 307–320308
that they are small-scale shops located in Chinatownoffering a limited variety of low- and middle-ordergoods and personal services that are often ethnic-specific. The perception of these typical enclave busi-nesses is, however, challenged by the rapid developmentand diversification of suburban Chinese businesses inToronto. Some mega Chinese supermarkets, for exam-ple, carry the full range of products of mainstreamsupermarkets. In 2003, there were 64 Chinese shoppingcentres in Toronto, 62 outside the city core, with sizesranging from 15 store units and 9500 square feet to 200units and 285,000 square feet (Wang, 1999, 2003). Theseshopping centres, as well as numerous other Chinesestores, provide Chinese immigrants with a wide range ofconsumer merchandise and services including: grocery,dining, electronics, furniture, banking services, medicalservices, game arcades, and theatres. To many newChinese immigrants unacquainted with the cultural andeconomic environment in Canadian society, thesebusinesses are familiar settings in which their co-ethnicgroup members are engaged in many business activities,and in which their daily shopping can be done infamiliar ways.Given this new market, mainstream Canadian busi-
nesses increasingly employ ‘‘ethnic marketing’’ strategies(Nwankwo and Lindridge, 1998, p. 200) to attractChinese immigrants by offering services in Chinese andintegrating Chinese cultural products into their mer-chandise mix. After all, the Chinese are today the largestimmigrant market in Toronto. Since 1996, Chinese hasbeen the leading mother tongue in Toronto other thanEnglish and French, followed by Italian and Portuguese(Statistics Canada, 2002). In 2001, the Chinese group,with a population size of 435,685, a population share of8%, and a growing economic profile in Canada, havebecome an extremely attractive market to both Chineseand mainstream marketers.In this context, the Chinese businesses and main-
stream businesses that carry a similar product line andoffer substitutable services represent two competingforces at work to supply the Chinese immigrants. Thedecision to purchase a good or service made by animmigrant reflects, from this perspective, a preferencebetween his/her own ethnic economy and the widermainstream economy. Although one could argue thatthe boundary between Chinese businesses and main-stream businesses is not always sharp, the economycomprising Chinese stores represents a more nichedmarket that primarily caters to Chinese, whereas theeconomy consisting of non-ethnic-specific businesses hasa more open market which serves the larger society.This paper describes and explains the preferences of
first-generation middle-class Chinese immigrants in theCity of Toronto between the mainstream economy andthe Chinese ethnic economy by examining issues ofidentity of an ethic group as well as socio-economic
variables and store characteristics. Many Chineseimmigrants who came to Toronto during the last 25years were of middle-class background, and settled insuburban areas instead of the Chinatown in the city core(Lo and Wang, 1997). Compared to the earlier arrivals,these middle-class Chinese immigrants have greatermobility to choose between the Chinese and the main-stream businesses than the Chinese living in traditionalethnic enclaves who have less education, less income,less proficiency in the official language, and pooreraccessibility to the newer suburban Chinese businessdevelopments.Beginning with a review of relevant literature in the
area of immigrant consumer behaviour, the sectionsfollowing the literature review introduce researchhypotheses that are then examined by empirical datafrom a consumer survey. Data are analysed usingstatistical approaches and, in particular, logistic regres-sions that reveal the relative impact of ethnic identity onconsumer preference vis-"a-vis those of individual char-acteristics, accessibility to opportunities, and storeattributes. In the concluding section there will be adiscussion of the implications of this research andavenues for future research.
2. Literature review
Recent work on ethnic minority consumer behaviour1
is heavily grounded in theories in sociology, psychologyand cultural anthropology (Costa and Bamossy, 1995),and is centred on how ethnicity drives consumption.Although the debate among academics on the nature ofethnicity continues, two distinct views on ethnicity haveaffected the research on immigrant consumer behaviour.The first treats ethnicity as primordial, while the secondregards ethnicity as constructed (Jenkins, 1996; Yang,2000). Under the primordial view ethnicity is seen as astatic demographic classification based on last name,common origin, race, language, or religion (Staymanand Deshpande, 1989; Webster, 1994). Cross-culturalapproaches comparing various ethnic groups’ consump-tion patterns implicitly and explicitly allude to theprimordial view of ethnicity. Consumers are classified asHispanic, Mexican-American, or Black based on lan-guage, origin or race, and those who belong to the sameethnic group are expected to display the same marketbehaviour. For example, ‘‘ycompared to whites, both
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blacks and Hispanics were more influenced byymediayfor purchasing social clothes’’ (Kim and Kang,2001, p. 46). However, to speak of the Hispanic or anyother culture monolithically ‘‘obscures the importantdifferences that may exist within each of thesesexternally-assigned groups’’ (Chung and Fischer, 1999,p. 482) and, in particular, the differences in members’attachment to the ethnic group.Another research strand in immigrant consumer
behaviour reflects the constructionist view on ethnicityand emphasizes the role of ethnic identity (Staymanand Deshpande, 1989; Donthu and Cherian, 1994;Webster, 1994; Laroche et al., 1998; Gren, 1999).This research views ethnicity as constructed, dynamicas well as situational, and suggests that variousconsumption patterns may result from individuallydifferentiated ethnic allegiances to the group. Forexample, strongly identified African-Americans gener-ally show favourable attitudes toward advertisingthat feature co-ethnic people in positions of dominance(Gren, 1999). Much effort has been devoted to themeasurement of ethnic identity. Some measures relyon the subjective self-assessment of ethnic identity(Hirschman, 1981; Deshpande et al., 1986). Someincorporate multiple facets of ethnicity, often includinglanguage use, social interaction, and religious belief(Donthu and Cherian, 1994; Laroche et al., 1998).The multiple-facet measure corresponds to the concep-tualization of ethnicity being multidimensional (Chris-tian et al., 1976; Phinney, 1992, 2000, 2003; Isajiw,1999), and emphasizes the variable nature of ethnicidentity which is constantly changing with socialenvironment, interpersonal situations, and other struc-tural conditions.Although the focus on internal ethnic characteristic
provides a useful analytical framework on immigrantconsumer behaviour, the role of the external commercialenvironment, which often contains ethnic economies,also needs to be considered. As mentioned earlier, aculturally diverse business environment that consists ofimmigrant-owned and operated businesses may influ-ence the immigrants’ choices between mainstreamretailers and co-ethnic retailers. The sociological litera-ture on ethnic economies largely focuses on thecharacteristics, variations and development of ethnicenterprises, and ignores immigrants’ behaviour asconsumers. In marketing science, Douthu and Cherian(1994) are among the few who examine the preference ofHispanics for Hispanic service providers. The studyhowever only focuses on the stated preference in aninterview scenario. It does not address how the currentstructure and characteristics of the Hispanic servicebusiness sector influence the actual behaviour ofHispanic consumers. Hence, a link is missing betweenthe literature on immigrant consumer behaviour and theliterature on ethnic economy.
Geography plays an important role in immigrantconsumer behaviour because of the inherent spatialnature of consumer shopping activity. Geographicconcentration and spatial propinquity to ethnic popula-tions are important conditions in the formation andearly development of ethnic economies (Kaplan, 1998).In some recent ethnic economies, businesses show morediverse locational patterns such as a trend towardssuburbanization (Lo and Wang, 2004). Hence, differentaccessibility to mainstream businesses and ethnicbusinesses is likely to affect immigrants’ store choice.Among the very few geographical studies on ethnicminority consumers, Murdie (1965) and Fotheringhamand Trew (1993) investigate the shopping trips ofMennonites in Canada and those of Black consumersin US. However, they do not consider the role of ethnicidentity or the spatial variations in ethnic businesslocation, which are important in the understanding ofimmigrants’ consumption experiences in the currentmulticultural metropolitan areas.
3. Hypotheses
Combining the three lines of literature concerningconsumption and ethnicity, ethnic economies andconsumer spatial behaviour offers a new conceptualframework to describe and analyse immigrant consumerbehaviour in the context of a dual commercial system.Under the dual commercial environment, immigrantconsumer behaviour manifests as a set of choicesbetween ethnic businesses and mainstream businesses.The choices are influenced by ethnic identity, socio-economic status, accessibility to businesses in botheconomies, and store characteristics.The conceptual framework is tested by examining the
consumer preferences of middle-class Chinese immi-grants in Toronto between Chinese businesses andmainstream businesses. Chinese businesses refer to thoseowned and operated by Chinese (e.g., Chinese electronicstores in a Chinese plaza). Mainstream businesses arethose whose employees and customers are not associatedwith a particular ethnic minority group (e.g., theelectronics chain Future Shop). Toronto is host to oneof the largest Chinese ethnic economies outside Asia.The thriving of Chinese businesses within this compe-titive commercial environment is best explained by theconsistent support and patronage from co-ethnics. Thisis especially true when small businesses in Toronto arefacing increasing competitions from American big boxretailers (e.g., Wal-Mart) and the rapid growth ofCanadian big boxes (Jones and Doucet, 2000). Thus, itis hypothesized that:H1. Chinese immigrants demonstrate a considerable
preference for Chinese businesses relative to mainstreambusinesses.
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Stayman and Deshpande (1981), Laroche et al.(1998), and Chung and Fischer (1999) suggest a positiverelationship between ethnicity and preference for ethnic-specific items (e.g., Chinese soya milk and Italianspaghetti source). Compared to consumption items, Iargue that consumption spaces—such as stores andmalls—convey a more sophisticated cultural message toan immigrant. The built environment of ethnic shoppingplaces is highly manipulated and contested social andeconomic space and is often perceived by immigrants inrelation to their cultural ambience, architectural style,indoor d!ecor, background music, display of goods,service language and product variety. Thus, the focus onstore choice rather than the choice of specific goods isconsidered more appropriate to assess how ethnicityplays out when ethnic consumption spaces are juxta-posed with mainstream consumption spaces. This leadsto H2:H2. The stronger a consumer’s ethnic identification,
the greater the preference for co-ethnic retailers andservice providers.Only a few studies have considered the possible
impact of socio-economic factors on ethnic minorityconsumer behaviour. Length of residence, education,and age ‘‘tend to be significant more than otherdemographics’’ in impacting the consumption of ethnicproducts for Hong Kong Chinese immigrants inToronto (Chung and Fischer, 1999, p. 494). However,the coupon use of Hispanics in the US is impacted by‘‘cultural factors’’ such as ethnic identification, and not‘‘economic factors’’ such income, education, and age(Donthu and Cherian, 1992, p. 509). Thus, there is noconclusive evidence on the role of demographic vari-ables on immigrant consumer behaviour. The conjec-tures, as summarized in H3, are that immigrants with alonger length of residency in the host society andthose who are younger are more likely to integrateinto the mainstream culture and lifestyle, while thosewith a higher education background are more likelyto visit mainstream businesses as they are more likelyto be proficient in the majority language. As well,those with a higher income have more resources tospend and tend to patronize more expensive mainstreamshopping places.H3. Socio-economic status as represented by length of
residency in the host society, income, age, and educationhave an impact on immigrant consumer preference.I also hypothesize that immigrants with a better
accessibility to Chinese supermarkets are more likely tovisit the Chinese supermarkets more often. This issimply an extension of the geographical construct thataccessibility is particularly important in the shopping oflow-order goods such as groceries.H4. The better the accessibility of an immigrant to
ethnic shopping opportunities, the higher the consump-tion in the ethnic economy.
Numerous past studies have shown the importance ofstore attributes in consumer decision-making (Golledgeand Stimmson, 1997; Miron and Lo, 1997; Harp et al.,2000; Sirohi et al., 1998; Baker et al., 2002). In general,consumers like to go to nice places that offer a lowerprice, a wider product variety, a cleaner environment,and better services. Although these studies do not dealwith culturally distinct consumer groups, I speculate inH5 that store attributes may be a valid concern forimmigrants. In particular, immigrants may compare thecharacteristics of ethnic stores and mainstream stores intheir decision-making processes.H5. The better the image an immigrant has of ethnic
businesses compared to mainstream businesses, thehigher the consumption in the ethnic economy.As a culturally unique market segment, immigrants
differ from the majority population most significantly intheir identification and allegiance to their ethnic groupthan in their demographics and their image of, andaccessibility to, shopping places. I can logically con-jecture that the difference between immigrant consumerbehaviour and mainstream consumer behaviour, whichis the greater preference the immigrants have for theirown ethnic economy if H1 holds, can be attributed moreto ethnicity factors than to other factors. Thus, H6 isformulated as:H6. Among all the potential factors identified in this
study, ethnic identification is the most important one inthe choice between the ethnic economy and the main-stream economy.
4. Methodology
The data to address the six hypotheses were collectedfrom a cross-sectional consumer survey. The question-naire used in the survey consists of two major parts; thefirst explores the participants’ choices between Chineseand mainstream providers, and the second investigatesthe participants’ socio-economic characteristics andtheir ethnic identification with the Chinese group.
4.1. Product and service selection
I selected supermarkets and travel agencies in explor-ing Chinese consumer behaviour for three reasons. First,Chinese supermarkets and Chinese travel agencies inToronto to a large extent offer competing goods andservices with their mainstream counterparts. For exam-ple, many suburban Chinese supermarkets are large insize with some taking over formerly mainstream super-market chains and locating in mainstream shoppingcentres. In addition to cultural-specific goods, they alsocarry a full range of general goods that are available inthe mainstream stores. On the other hand, manymainstream supermarkets stock Chinese products such
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as various brands of soya sauce and tofu to meet theneeds of a diverse population. Similarly, Chinese travelagencies offer a wide range of package tours, bookingservices and travel planning not only to Asia but also toother parts of the world. Second, compared to travelservices, groceries are typical low-order goods of lowvalue and high purchase frequency, and geography isexpected to be an important factor in supermarketchoice. Third, purchasing services and tangible productsinvolves different degrees of interaction between suppli-ers and buyers (Pires and Stanton, 2000). Groceryshopping has a ‘‘private’’ nature with limited personalcommunication with suppliers, whereas the interactionbetween travel agents and their clients is often moreintensive. This social interaction may influence immi-grants’ choices due to the preference for service in theirethnic language, and the difficulty of many mainstreambusinesses to understand particular cultural preferencesin providing the service.
4.2. Study area
Participants were drawn from two study areas in theCity of Toronto, formerly known as MetropolitanToronto, including six municipalities (shown in Fig. 1).The two criteria used to identify the study areas are: (1)the size of the Chinese population and (2) the abundanceof Chinese shopping opportunities the two areas pro-vide. The first study area is in Scarborough, which ischaracterized by a high concentration of both Chinesepopulation and Chinese businesses such as supermarkets
Fig. 1. Study
(shown in Fig. 1). The second study area is in NorthYork, which has a fairly heavy concentration of Chinesebut very few Chinese shopping opportunities. The largeChinese population in both study areas ensures twosubstantial immigrant markets, while contrastingChinese shopping environments in the two areas enablea comparison between the consumer behaviour ofimmigrants with different accessibilities to Chinesebusinesses. The fairly small size of the two study areasensures similar opportunity sets facing consumers in astudy area. The two study areas are located in the innersuburb of Toronto where middle-class Chinese immi-grants are concentrated. The Chinatown area in the citycore is not selected for the case study due to the lowersocio-economic status associated with the Chinesecommunity and the large proportion of VietnameseChinese in Chinatown. This research focuses on Main-land Chinese immigrants and Hong Kong Chineseimmigrants; the two largest Chinese subgroups account-ing for 34% and 42%, respectively, of the totalChinese population in Toronto in 1996, and 33% and27% in 2001.
4.3. Measures of Chinese ethnic identity
As discussed earlier, ethnic identity is often concep-tualized as multidimensional, with each dimension re-presenting a distinct feature of an ethnic group (Abondand Christian, 1979; Phinney, 1992; Kim et al., 1993;Jenkins, 1996; Hui et al., 1997; Isajiw, 1999). Two multi-dimensional measures were considered in assessing
areas.
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Chinese ethnic identity. The first combines Deshpandeet al. (1986) screening question and Donthu andCherian’s (1992) four questions into a five-item scale,which was also used by Chung and Fischer (1999) in theirassessment of the ethnic identity of Hong Kong Chinese.However, the reliability test on 12 provisional partici-pants found that the Cronbach alpha—an indicator of theinternal consistency of the items—for this measure isbelow the acceptable level, which indicates that the fivequestions do not determine the relevant dimensions ofChinese ethnic identity. The second method incorporatesthe role religion plays in the ethnicity realm (Hirschman,1981; Laroche et al., 1998). However, the Chinese are anextremely religiously diverse group, including manyhaving no religious affiliation. Thus, this method wasrejected as inappropriate.Instead, I suggest four dimensions that form the basis
for the measure of Chinese ethnic identity. Thesedimensions include (a) views on Chinese culture,traditions and customs; (b) social interaction andparticipation within Chinese settings; (c) use of Chineseat work, with family, and with friends; and (d) use ofChinese media versus mainstream media. Dimensions(a)–(c)—on tradition, social interaction and language—are regarded as elements of ethnic identity that arecommon across ethnic groups, and have been applied tomeasure the ethnic identity of a range of ethnic groupsin the US and elsewhere (Phinney, 1992). Dimension(d)—media use—is not explicitly mentioned in theliterature. However, frequent use of Chinese newspapersand Chinese TV indicates a preference for using thenative language and an interest in receiving news of thehomeland, which are frequently covered in the ethnicmedia. Moreover, the Chinese media is a major resourcefor acquiring information of Chinese businesses, as theprimary users of the advertisement section in Chinesenewspapers are the Chinese businesses. Hence, mediausage is included as an important component of Chineseethnic identity, and frequent use of Chinese mediawould not only lead to a closer affiliation to the Chinesecommunity, but also impact the marketing informationobtained.These four dimensions are then explored through 16
questions. For example: ‘‘It’s very important that mychildren can speak Chinese’’ represents a question askedto investigate the respondents’ view on Chinese tradi-tions. These questions are on a scale of 1–9, rangingfrom ‘‘Completely Agree’’ to ‘‘Completely Disagree’’, orfrom ‘‘Very often’’ to ‘‘Never’’, depending on the case.The Cronbach Alpha for the 16-item scale was anacceptable high of 0.73, indicating the scale is internallyconsistent, and each item assesses the sense of being aChinese from a different angle. A simple additiveweighting method (Donthu and Cherian, 1992; Chungand Fischer, 1999) is used to yield a total ethnicidentification score for each respondent.
4.4. Recruitment of participants
Canada Phone CD-ROM 2002 lists the names, thephone numbers and the addresses of the telephonesubscribers of Bell Canada. Chinese last names are usedto identity Chinese subscribers from the CD-ROM aspotential participants. Based on the 1991 Chinese censuson last names (Yuan, 2002), as well as a discussion witha group of Chinese in Toronto, 53 most commonly usedHong Kong Chinese last names and 65 most commonlyused Mainland Chinese last names were used to extractcontact and locational information of the two largestChinese sub-groups in Toronto from the CD-ROM.Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used tolocate and select potential participants in the two studyareas and to facilitate generating a random sample.Potential subjects were first approached by telephone
to get their consent to participate, to verify theirimmigration origin and their mailing address, and toscreen out those who are not first-generation immi-grants. The calls also helped determine their preferencefor a Chinese or an English version of the questionnairethat was later mailed out. In fact, 99% of theparticipants preferred to receive a questionnaire inChinese. This approach replaces a simple telephoneinterview due to the length of the questionnaire, and itoffsets the typical low response rate of a solely mail-insurvey. A total of 317 useful questionnaires werereceived, thus providing a response rate of 16% in thetelephone screening stage and 52% in the mail-in surveystage. The sample is evenly distributed in the twostudy areas. Each area has about the same number ofHong Kong Chinese and Mainland Chinese immigrants.Compared to the Chinese population in Toronto(Table 1), the sample represents a segment with highersocio-economic status, which reflects the focus of thisstudy on the middle-class Chinese immigrants. Thesample has a similar income distribution as the Torontoaverage, but a strikingly high proportion of the sampleare highly educated.
5. Data analysis
Research hypotheses are tested using statisticalapproaches. Specifically, bivariate techniques such asone-way ANOVA and w2 test are used to examine theassociation of independent variables to the dependentvariable. Logistic regressions are applied to assess therelative importance among independent variables.
5.1. Dependent variable
Preference for Chinese retailers and service providersis the dependent variable. It is a polytomous variablecontaining three categories: strong preference, equal
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Table 1
Sample characteristics
Age 20–50
(%)
Female Average stay
in a western
country
Access
to cars
Bachelor
degree and
above (%)
Annual household income
o$30,000
(%)
$30,000–
$90,000 (%)
Above
$90,000 (%)
Sample 79 44% 9 years 92% 48 30 44 16
Chinese in
Toronto
50a NA NA NA 23 73 27
Toronto
population
47 51% NA NA 19 30 42 18
Sources: 2001 Canadian census and 1996 special tabulation for the Chinese population.a50% of the Chinese in Toronto are in the age group between 25 and 55.
Table 2
Preferences for Chinese businesses
Strong
preference
(%)
Equal
preference
(%)
Weak
preference
(%)
Supermarket 23 69 8
Travel agency 90 4 6
L. Wang / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004) 307–320 313
preference, and weak preference. Preference is derivedfrom the relative patronage index, which calculates howoften a product/service is obtained from Chineseproviders relative to how often this product/service ispurchased by the consumer. For example, a groceryshopping trip consisting of one Chinese and twomainstream supermarkets indicates that the relativepatronage at the Chinese providers is 33%. An index ofzero means all purchases are made at the mainstreamproviders, and unity means the entire consumption isfrom the Chinese providers. A relative patronage indexhigher than 50% implies a ‘‘strong preference’’ forChinese businesses; an index lower than 50% implicatesa ‘‘weak preference’’ for Chinese businesses; and a 50%index is defined as an ‘‘equal preference’’ for bothChinese and mainstream providers. In grocery shop-ping, consumer preference is inferred from respondents’past major household shopping trip (normally once aweek). In travel service consumption, the preference ismeasured on a timeline of 3 years. If an individual usedChinese travel agencies more often than mainstreamtravel agencies during the past 3 years, a strongpreference for Chinese travel agencies is revealed.
5.2. Independent variables
Independent variables include Chinese ethnic identity,length of residence in a western society, residentiallocation, socio-economic variables such as income andeducation, and perceived store attributes. Prior correla-tion analysis did not find a large degree of associationamong independent variables except that residentiallocation is significantly associated with education andage. Immigration origin is not included as an indepen-dent variable as prior analysis revealed that Hong KongChinese and Mainland Chinese behave similarly ingrocery shopping and the use of travel agencies.
5.3. Hypothesis 1
The survey reveals that the respondents in the twostudy areas demonstrated a considerable preference for
Chinese supermarkets and travel agencies over themainstream ones (Table 2). The preference is mostevident in travel service consumption. Among those whohad experience in using travel agencies in the last 3years, about 90% strongly preferred Chinese agencies,of which 86% used exclusively Chinese agencies mostlyfor booking services and travel planning. In groceryshopping, about 69% showed an equal preference forboth Chinese and mainstream supermarkets, most oftencombining one Chinese and one mainstream super-market when grocery shopping. Among all groceryshoppers, 95% actually visited at least one Chinesesupermarket in their routine shopping trip. Given thestatus of the Chinese economy in Toronto as a nicheeconomy in terms of history, number and size, Chinesesupermarkets and travel agencies captured a good shareof the Chinese immigrant market.
5.4. Hypothesis 2
As mentioned earlier, a 16-item 9-point measure wascreated to measure Chinese ethnic identity. Theoreti-cally, the scores ranges from 0 (if one scores zero inevery item) to 144 (if one chooses 9 in all the items) witha mean of 72. The actual scores from the sample varyfrom 16 to 135 with a mean of 97.5 and a median of 98.The scores incline toward the higher end of thetheoretical range, implying a strong allegiance of therespondents for the Chinese group. Fig. 2 provides acomparative portrayal of consumption preference forrespondents with different ethnic identity. Strong pre-ference for Chinese providers is associated with highethnic identity score and weak preference with low
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80
90
100
110
Strong Equal Weak
Preference for Chinese providers
Eth
nic
iden
tity
scor
eSupermarket
Travel agency
Fig. 2. Chinese ethnic identity and preference for Chinese providers.
6
10
14
Strong Equal Weak
Preference for Chinese travel providers
Yea
rs o
f sta
y
Supermarket
Travel agency
Fig. 3. Length of stay in a western society and preference for Chinese
providers.
L. Wang / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004) 307–320314
identity score. One-way ANOVA further supports H2by revealing significant relationships between ethnicidentification and preferences for Chinese supermarkets(F ¼ 7:76; po0:001) and preference for Chinese travelagencies (F ¼ 15:5; po0:001).
5.5. Hypothesis 3
As a few respondents lived in the US, UK andGermany prior to immigrating to Canada, ‘‘length ofstay in a western society’’ is used as an indicator ofexposure to the western culture. As shown in Fig. 3,those who had a longer stay in Canada and otherwestern societies demonstrate weaker preferences forChinese businesses. However, one-way ANOVA onlyproves a significant relationship in the choice of travelagents (F ¼ 8:627; po0:01), not in the choice ofsupermarkets.Respondents with a higher annual household income,
a primary indicator of socio-economic status, exhibit alesser preference for Chinese providers. For example,17% of those with a household income higher than$90,000 display a weak preference for Chinese super-markets, whereas only 5% of the lower income groupexhibit a weak preference. However, statistically, only ingrocery shopping do consumers with different house-hold incomes differ significantly in their preferences forChinese supermarkets (w2 ¼ 11:290; po0:05). In general,an association between a longer stay in a western societyor a higher income and less patronage for Chinesebusinesses exists, but is not always significant. H2 ispartially supported.
5.6. Hypothesis 4
The role accessibility plays in consumer behaviour ismost evident in shopping for low-order goods such asgroceries. Generally, the relatively high frequency ofgrocery shopping and the lower value of groceries makelong distance shopping trips uneconomical. As shown inFig. 1, respondents in the study come from two study
areas in Toronto and the locational patterns of Chinesesupermarkets and mainstream supermarkets in andaround the two areas differ dramatically. Those inScarborough enjoy better accessibility to the Chinesesupermarkets whereas North York respondents havebetter access to the mainstream supermarkets. The w2
test (w2 ¼ 8:250; po0:01) suggests a significant relation-ship between residential location, which is an indicatorof individual accessibility to supermarkets, and thepreference for Chinese stores. Scarborough respondentsdemonstrate a greater preference for Chinese super-markets than North York respondents. Thus, H4 issupported. The role of accessibility in travel serviceconsumption is not assessed as the data on thelocational pattern of Chinese and mainstream travelagencies are not available.
5.7. Hypothesis 5
The study asked whether price or service is animportant factor when selecting a Chinese travel agency;and also requested respondents to evaluate the price,variety and environment of Chinese supermarkets ascompared to mainstream supermarkets. Surprisingly,perceived store attributes are not always related with thepreference for Chinese providers. The only significantassociation is found between service variable and thepreference for Chinese travel agencies (w2 ¼ 0:498;po0:05). Those who mentioned ‘‘service’’ as animportant factor patronized Chinese travel agenciesmore often than mainstream agencies. In patronizingtravel agencies, primarily for pleasure/vacation type oftrip-planning (75% of the sample), the respondentsindicated that a better ‘‘service’’ included the availabilityof a Chinese tour guide and Chinese members in thegroup, and better package tours as well as customizedvacation itineraries that support the culturally specifictravel habits of many Chinese (e.g., the desire to see asmany places as possible instead of lying on the beach inone place). The association of perceived store price andconsumer preference is not significant, yet nonetheless
ARTICLE IN PRESSL. Wang / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004) 307–320 315
interesting. Most of the respondents indicated thatChinese travel agencies generally offer lower prices thanthe mainstream ones. However, among those whomentioned price as a factor in selecting Chineseagencies, only a small proportion exhibited a strongpreference. This contradicts the conventional belief thatconsumers are price-conscious, and that price is always aprimary consideration in choice making. Chineseimmigrants put more weight on service over price indetermining travel packages that associate with thegroup culture, demonstrating again the importance ofself-identification to the Chinese group in Chineseimmigrant consumer behaviour. In grocery shopping,the perceived supermarket characteristics are notsignificantly related to preference, indicating that super-market choice is perhaps more driven by individualcharacteristics (e.g., ethnic identity and age) than storeattributes such as price and service. Hence, hypothesis 5is only partially supported.
5.8. Hypothesis 6
It is hypothesized that Chinese ethnic identity is themost important factor in Chinese immigrants’ choicesbetween Chinese and mainstream businesses among allthe potential variables identified in this study. To testH6, two logistic regression models were used to assessthe probabilities of exhibiting a certain preference type,
Table 3
Stepwise logistic regression on the preference for Chinese travel agencies ðN
Step1 Step 2 Step
b b b
Intercept 3.113��� �2.245 �2.Years of stay in a western society �0.061�� �0.029 �0.Ethnic identification 0.054�� 0.
Education=less than bachelor 1.
Education=bachelor & above 0a
Age=less than 30
Age=30–39
Age=40+
Income=below $50,000
Income=$50,000–$89,999
Income=$90,000 and above
Price factor=yes
Price factor=no
Service factor=yes
Service factor=no
Model w2 3.993�� 11.141��� 14.
Degrees of freedom 1 2 3
���pp0:01; ��pp0:05; �pp0:07:aThis parameter is set to zero because it is redundant.
while controlling for a series of individual characteristicsand store attributes.
5.8.1. Modelling the preference for Chinese travel
agencies
A stepwise binary logistic regression (Table 3) is usedto model the preference for Chinese travel agencies. Dueto the extremely uneven split of the sample, the threepreference categories were collapsed into two. Mergingequal and weak preferences helps avoid zero or lowfrequency in some categories of the discrete independentvariables. In the model, years of stay in a western societywas included as the initial variable, with additionalcovariate and factors added to the main model after-wards.Among all the independent variables, ethnic identifi-
cation plays the most decisive and robust role. While instep one, the length of stay in a western society by itselfis significantly related to a strong preference, in step twothe introduction of ethnic identification alters thepicture and the length of stay loses its significance. Itis noted that years of stay and ethnic identity are notcorrelated. The domination of ethnic identification asthe most significant variable continues as other indivi-dual and store characteristics were entered one at a time.More accurately, the exponentiated coefficient expðbÞ ofethnic identity indicates that a one-unit increase in theethnic identity score significantly enhances the odds of
Coefficients of logistic regression on the preference for Chinese
supermarkets ðN ¼ 218Þ
Variable Weak vs.
strong
Equal vs.
strong
Intercept 6.347�� 5.629���
Ethnic identification �0.055��� �0.034���
Years of stay in a western society 0.017 0.008
Residential location=Scarborough �0.460 �0.741��
Residential location=North York 0a 0a
Education=less than bachelor 0.612 0.159
Education=bachelor & above 0a 0a
Age=less than 30 1.632�� �0.047Age=30–39 0.548 0.276
Age=40+ 0a 0a
Income=lower than $50,000 �1.567� �0.428Income=$50,000–$89,999 �1.495� �0.965Income=$90,000 and above 0a 0a
Evaluation of Chinese store price �0.209 �0.062
Evaluation of Chinese store variety �0.117 �0.010
Evaluation of Chinese store
environment
0.071 �0.016
Model fitting information: 2 Log Likelihood=321.65; w2 ¼ 37:98;degrees of freedom=22. Sig.=0.019.���pp0:01; ��pp0:05; �pp0:07:
aThis parameter is set to zero because it is redundant.
L. Wang / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004) 307–320316
displaying a ‘‘strong preference’’ by a multiple of 1.06,or by 6.0%.The importance of ethnic identification is not only
evidenced by the significance of the coefficient, but bythe difference in model w2 statistics between differentsteps (DeMaris, 1995). Under the null hypothesis thatthe coefficients for the additional variables are all zero,the difference in model w2 statistics is itself distributed asw2 with degrees of freedom equal to the number of termsadded. In this case, the difference in model w2 betweenthe first and second step is 7.148. With 1 degrees offreedom, it is a highly significant result ðpo0:01Þ: Thedifference in model w2 between subsequent steps doesnot yield significant results.
5.8.2. Modelling the preference for Chinese supermarkets
A multinomial logistic regression (Table 4) is used tomodel the preference for Chinese supermarkets. Astepwise approach is not recommended in the multi-nomial logistic regression as multiple logits make theregression results less clear. Residential location isincluded in the model to assess the impact of accessi-bility to Chinese supermarkets on consumer preference.Store characteristics—price, variety and environment—are measured on a 9-point scale comparing Chinesesupermarkets to mainstream supermarkets. In groceryshopping the interaction between buyers and suppliers isless intensive than in travel service consumption. Thus,the service variable is replaced by the product varietyvariable and the shopping environment variable, whichare important in grocery shopping. In the model, strongpreference serves as the reference group for thecalculation of odds ratio. The model procedure pro-duces two non-redundant logits simultaneously, eachcomparing a preference type to ‘‘strong preference’’, andeach having a set of nonzero coefficients.A strong preference for Chinese supermarkets is
positively associated with stronger Chinese ethnicidentity, shorter stay in a western society, living inScarborough, older age, lower income, and higherevaluation of store attributes. Significant association isfound between preference and ethnic identity at the 0.01level, residential location and age at the 0.05 level, andincome at the 0.07 level. Ethnic identity has thestrongest effect on preference.The stronger effect of ethnic identification on
preference than that of accessibility as represented byresidential location provides implications for the analy-sis of consumer spatial behaviour. In economic geo-graphy, distance has been traditionally regarded as themost powerful explanatory variable in analysing con-sumer behaviour in shopping for low-order goods. Inthis study, however, living in Scarborough with easyaccess to Chinese supermarkets is not the primarydeterminant of preference for Chinese stores. Instead,
the sense of being a Chinese plays the most importantrole in immigrants’ destination choice.In the multinomial logistic model, the effects of
independent variables vary according to differentrelative situations. In both logits, the stronger the ethnicidentity, the more likely a Chinese immigrant will showa strong preference for Chinese supermarkets. In thecomparison between strong preference and weak pre-ference, the youngest age group (below 30) is more likelyto display a weak preference compared to people over40. The two lower income groups are more likely to havea strong preference for Chinese supermarkets. In thecomparison between equal preference and strong pre-ference, living in Scarborough significantly enhances thechance of patronizing Chinese supermarkets. The oddsratio denoted by the exponentiated coefficients [expðbÞ]provides more intuitive implication. For example, a one-unit increase in ethnic identity score enhances the oddsof having a ‘‘strong preference’’ to a ‘‘weak preference’’by 1.06 [exp(0.055)], and the odds of having a ‘‘strongpreference’’ rather than an ‘‘equal preference’’ by 1.03[exp(0.034)]. For people living in Scarborough, theirodds of having a ‘‘strong preference’’ against a ‘‘weak
ARTICLE IN PRESSL. Wang / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004) 307–320 317
preference’’ are 2.1 times [exp(0.741)] as large as theirNorth York counterparts. In general, the strongesteffect in the two logistic regressions belongs to theChinese ethnic identification, and H6 is supported.
6. Conclusions and implications
In terms of grocery shopping and travel serviceconsumption, the study demonstrates that the majorityof the respondents used exclusively Chinese travelagencies during the past 3 years and visited at leastone Chinese supermarket in their major grocery shop-ping trip, which positively supports H1 that Chineseimmigrants demonstrate a considerable preference forChinese businesses. In testing H2, H3 and H4, abivariate relationship is found between consumer pre-ference and individual characteristics. In particular, astrong preference for Chinese providers is associatedwith a longer length of residence in a western society,stronger Chinese ethnic identity, lower householdincome, and better accessibility to Chinese businesslocations. In testing H5, only the service variableexhibits a significant association with the preferencefor Chinese travel agencies, although Chinese super-markets and Chinese travel agencies in Torontogenerally offer better prices than the mainstream ones.The emphasis on the service dimension (i.e., theavailability of Chinese-speaking group members andtour guides as well as having package tours which reflectthe travel habits of many Chinese) over the economiccost in selecting travel agents indicates the importance ofself-identification to the Chinese ethnic group in Chineseimmigrant consumption. In testing H6, two logisticregression models were developed to assess the relativeimportance of independent variables. Chinese ethnicidentity appears to be the most significant predictor ofconsumer preference.The study shows that the shopping strategies of
Chinese immigrants are primarily shaped by ethnicity inaddition to socio-economic variables, the spatial struc-ture of supply, and store image. Chinese ethnic identityis a consistent and dominant factor affecting immi-grants’ choices between the two sets of providers. Thissupports earlier speculation that under circumstanceswhere the supply is widely available from both ethnicbusinesses and mainstream businesses, how an immi-grant identifies him/herself to their ethnic group has agreat impact on the choice of the economy in whichhe/she makes purchases. In the course of this research, italso became apparent that the Chinese ethnic economyis crucial in shaping the lives and experiences of Chineseimmigrants not only in their consumer role, but also intheir adjustment to and their integration within theCanadian society. The large number of Chinese im-migrants in Toronto has fostered the growth of
numerous Chinese businesses, which in turn affects theeconomic life as well as the social life of Chinese.
6.1. Theoretical implications
This study contributes to a growing body of literatureon ethnic economy, ethnicity and consumption, andconsumer spatial behaviour. Although research onethnic economy generally regards the ethnic populationas a condition under which ethnic economy emerges andgrows, limited attention has been placed on why, and towhat extent, members of an ethnic group consume in theethnic economy. As well, research on ethnic marketinghas not fully recognized the role urban ethnic businessactivities play in shaping the choice and consumptionpractices of immigrants. Research on consumer spatialbehaviour has rarely attempted to understand theinfluence of the spatial structure of ethnic businesseson immigrants’ shopping activities. The present studysuccessfully bridges the three strands of literature insociology, marketing and geography by offering aninterdisciplinary perspective to examine immigrants’choice pattern between ethnic businesses and main-stream businesses. In doing so, it also assesses howethnic identity, individual characteristics, accessibility,as well as store characteristics, have impacted immigrantconsumer behaviour. By focusing on immigrant con-sumer behaviour, the study provides valuable informa-tion on the ‘‘demand side’’ of an ethnic economy.Moreover, it has implications for understanding how anethnic economy uses immigrants as a type of ethnicresource in different business domains. By incorporatingthe ethnic economy into the picture of consumption, itcontributes to the current marketing literature that haslargely ignored the role of urban ethnic economies inimmigrant consumption decision-making. By examininghow the locational patterns of ethnic businesses andindividual accessibility to opportunities influence con-sumer preference, the study contributes a spatialperspective to research in ethnic economy and market-ing. By revealing ethnic identity as the primary factor inimmigrant grocery shopping behaviour, this studyreminds us that the notion of spatial separation as themost important variable in shopping of low-order goodsneeds to be re-examined in culturally diverse societies.Culture and ethnicity are important considerations inanalysis of consumer spatial behaviour.The research also has implications for understanding
how an urban economy functions and evolves over time.Consumer demand and consumer expenditure are majorforces in urban economic growth. In multicultural citiessuch as Toronto, where 44% of the population areforeign-born (Statistics Canada, 2002), immigrants playan important role in the development of ethniceconomies and the wider urban economy. In suchcontexts, an understanding of precisely how the
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consumer expenditures of immigrants and of the widerpopulation are split between ethnic economies andmainstream economy is still unclear as the focus of thisstudy did not involve expenditure patterns. However, itis reasonable to speculate that the greater the consump-tion in one economy, the less in the other due to thelimited resource of individuals. In circumstances whereethnic business activities are salient, the characteristicsand development of an urban economy cannot be fullyunderstood without considering the interactions anddynamics between ethnic economies and the largereconomy in meeting consumer needs and demands.
6.2. Managerial implications
Advertising managers and marketing practitionerscan benefit from the findings of this study in that theycontribute towards a broad understanding of immi-grants’ purchase behaviour in a multicultural society,and Chinese immigrant consumer behaviour in parti-cular. To mainstream businesses, an understanding ofthe role of Chinese ethnic identity in advertising andmarketing is crucial in adapting to the increasingly largeChinese immigrant market, given that, as this studysuggests, ethnic identity is the most important factor inimmigrants’ choice between ethnic and mainstreambusinesses. The measure of Chinese ethnic identityencompasses four important dimensions in this study.Marketing strategies that are attuned to emphasizingthese dimensions may result in positive consumerresponses from immigrants (for example, by usingethnic language and cultural signs in advertisements,and hiring employees from the ethnic community whohave intimate knowledge of information about co-ethnicconsumers). Mainstream businesses should also parti-cularly target immigrants who are young and middleclass, and who have been in the host society for sometime. As this study has shown, this segment has the pre-conditions to be more integrated and more inclined topatronize non-immigrant businesses. Immigrants withpoor accessibility to ethnic businesses are also primetarget groups for mainstream businesses.For Chinese and other ethnic entrepreneurs, it is
important to maintain their current co-ethnic patronsbefore these customers become ‘‘mainstream’’. Thisstudy reveals a somewhat negative evaluation of Chinesestores from the respondents. Although not significantlyrelated to consumer choice at the present, theseperceptions pose a potential problem in the long run.The problem may become acute when mainstreammarkets put greater effort to target immigrants, orwhen immigrants become more integrated to the hostsociety. Therefore, it is important for ethnic businessesto enhance their store image through such things ascleanliness and service. This is especially important ifthey are to attract other ethnic groups to diversify their
current clientele mix. This recommendation appliesparticularly to those businesses that require less intensecommunication between sellers and buyers.In general, two sets of managerial recommendations
can be made with respect to mainstream businesses andethnic ones. While the objective of these recommenda-tions is to foster business success through increasingtheir respective market shares, both recommendationsalso have implications for social integration. Byencouraging immigrants to consume in non-ethnic-specific businesses, mainstream businesses contributeto the social and economic integration of immigrants tothe host society. By serving clients outside theircommunities, and perhaps developing stronger linkageswith mainstream businesses, ethnic retailers and serviceproviders benefit from increased social and economiccohesions with the society, which may eventuallyfacilitate the economic integration and group successof the immigrant population.
6.3. Avenues for future research
This study suggests that immigrant consumptionexperiences are closely associated with a relatively largeethnic economy, and only a large immigrant populationis able to cultivate such a niche economy and can giveimmigrants the luxury of being selective between ethnicbusinesses and mainstream businesses. Hence, it isspeculated that the conceptual framework and thefindings of this study are likely generalizable to otherethnic minority groups whose members also demon-strate entrepreneurial effort. For smaller ethnic minoritygroups, or for groups that less likely set up their ownbusinesses, their consumption would likely lean to themainstream economy.Further work is called for with respect to the response
of mainstream consumers to this juxtaposition of ethnicminority merchants and mainstream businesses. Thisstudy, as well as earlier work on ethnic economy (Wang,1999; Preston et al., 2003) reveal that the commerciallandscape of certain parts of Toronto has been greatlymodified due to the increasing visibility of Chineseshopping places. Non-Chinese patrons in Chinesebusinesses still belong to the ‘‘minority’’. However, theirnumbers are increasing in some businesses such assupermarkets and electronic stores. This poses aninteresting question on the reaction of the mass marketto immigrant businesses. In what situation would anoutsider shop in an ethnic business, and what implica-tions does the clientele mix have on ethnic businessentrepreneurs? It would also be particularly interestingto explore the strategies mainstream marketers imple-ment in order to attract the substantial immigrantpopulations in multicultural cities such as Toronto, andhow ethnic identity is articulated in such marketingcampaigns.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded by Grant No. 410-2001-1093 awarded to Dr. Lucia Lo by the Social Sciencesand Humanities Research Council of Canada. Manythanks are due to my doctoral supervisor Dr. Lucia Lofor inspiring and guiding this research, and Dr. BryanH. Massam, Dr. Shuguang Wang, Shirley Chiu,Maxime Lachance, and Sandra Lopes for their con-structive comments on the earlier draft. I also thank thethree anonymous reviewers whose comments andsuggestions greatly improved the paper. I am alsograteful to the participants in this research and wishthem well in building their new lives in Canada.
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