Title: Determinants of success for ethnic chambers of commerce and industry: evidence from Australia

Authors: Steve Bakalis

Addresses: School of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Business and Law, City Flinders Campus, Victoria University, P.O. Box 14428, Melbourne, Vic 8001, Australia

Abstract: This paper considers determinants of |success| for ethnic chambers of commerce and industry (ECCI) in Victoria, Australia, by exploring their role in promoting international business activity and opportunities for the development of effective partnerships with external stakeholders. The findings in this paper demonstrate that the role of ethnic business communities in international business can be enhanced by identifying standards of excellence for their operations and services. Also, we propose that determinants of success cannot simply be transplanted from one chamber to another; rather, they should be adapted to suit key variables, such as the historical and cultural background of the organisation and the human resource pool. The findings also suggest that chambers as well as external stakeholders (both in Australia and the country of origin) need to be aware of the various constraints and bottlenecks that prevent the adoption of best practice in this area.

Keywords: networking; ethnic organisations; ethnicity; chambers of commerce; industry; benchmarking; international business; trade policies; success determinants; Australia; Victoria; business promotion; effective partnerships; external stakeholders; business communities; excellence standards; key variables; historical backgrounds; cultural backgrounds; human resources; constraints ; bottlenecks; best practice; Middle East; Europe; ethnic communities; economics; business research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2011.038796

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2011 Vol.3 No.2, pp.207 - 224

Published online: 18 Apr 2015 *

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