cultural resources and ethnic entrepreneurship: a case study of the portuguese real estate industry...

CARLOS TEIXEIRA Department of Geography, Scarborough Campus, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada M1 C 1 A4 (e-mail: [email protected])

CULTURAL RESOURCES AND ETHNIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A CASE STUDY OF THE PORTUGUESE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY IN TORONTO

The Portuguese community in Toronto is to a large degree a self-sufficient one. Over the last four decades, they have constructed a thriving, complex community, setting up organizations, businesses and communication-in formation services in their own language. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Portuguese real estate industry in Toronto. The study will be focused on community resources such as networks of kinship/friendship and community ties, and how these resources contribute to the formation, maintenance, and success of Portuguese-owned real estate businesses. Data were obtained primarily from a questionnaire survey that was administered to Portuguese brokers (owners of real estate agencies) who were members of the Toronto Real Estate Board.

Data collected from the questionnaire survey indicate that Portuguese real estate brokers rely to a large degree on their own community (‘ethnic‘) resources - Portu- guese friends, the media, and relatives - in starting and/ or operating their current businesses. Within this context, Portuguese friends occupy a central role as an important source in providing business contacts. Real estate agencies owned by Portuguese brokers are community oriented. Portuguese customers, business location within/near to the community, and a good reputation with Portuguese clients and the Community were noted by Portuguese brokers as the major factors contributing to the economic success of their businesses.

Although relatively little research has been conducted

in Canada on ethnic entrepreneurship, we can speculate that the main characteristic of the Portuguese real estate business -a heavy reliance on %ommunity resources’ in serving a geographically segregated co-ethnic market - is common among Southern Mediterranean immigrant groups in Canada. Further comparative studies in this area would enhance our understanding of the complexi- ties of ethnic entrepreneurship.

Key words: Portuguese, ethnic entrepreneurship, real estate industry, community resources

La communaute portugaise de Toronto est, en grande partie, auto-sufisante. Pendant les quatre dernieres d6- cennies, les Portugais ont construit une communaute complexe et prospere, demarrant des organisations, des entreprises et des services de communication et d‘information dans leur propre langue. Le but de ce travail est d’examiner I’industrie immobiliere portugaise d Toronto. L’etude sera plutdt concentree sur les ressources communautaires telles qu’un reseau de parent6 / amitie‘ et des liens communautaires, et le proced6 par lequel ces ressources contribuent a la formation, au maintien et au succ& de I’industrie immobiliere des Portugais. Les donnees ont 6t4 obtenues surtout d partir d‘un questionnaire / enquGte distribue‘ aux courtiers portugais (proprietaires d’agences immobilieres), membres du Conseil lmmobilier de Toronto.

Les donnges recueillies grsce d I’enquGte indiquent que les courtiers immobiliers portugais dgpendent large-

The Canadian Geographer / Le Ceographe canadien 42, no 3 (1998) 267-81 0 / 1998 Canadian Association of Geographers / L‘Association canadienne des geographes

268 Carlos Teixeira

ment des ressources (C ethniques ))) de leur propre corn- munaut6- des amis portugais, des m6diasf et des proches - pour d6marrer et/ou diriger leurs entreprises. Dans ce contexte, les amis portugais occupent un r6le central en fournissant des contacts d’affaires. Les agences immobi- lisres portugaises sont orient6es vers la communaut6 portugaise. Les clients portugais, le local de I’entreprise, au sein de la communautb ou pr& d’elle, et une bonne r&putation, ont 6t6 identifids par les courtiers portugais comme les facteurs les plus importants, contribuant au succes 6conomique de leurs entreprises.

En d6pit du fait que relativement peu de recherches ont 6t6 menees au Canada au sujet des entreprises ethniques, nous pouvons supposer que la caract6ristique principale de I‘entreprise irnrnobili6re portugaise - une grande d6pendance des (( ressources communautaires )), en servant un march6 co-ethnique g6ographiquement isole‘ - est commune chez les immigrants de la Medit6rann6e du Sud, au Canada. Notre compr6hen- sion de la complexit6 des entreprises ethniques serait am6lior6e par d‘autres 6tudes comparatives sur ce sujet.

Mots-cl6s: Portugais, entreprise ethnique, industrie de I’immobilier, ressources communautaires

Canada is a country of immigrants, and the Toronto CMA

has become, in the last few decades, the most important ‘port of entry’ for immigrants arriving in this country (Bourne 1995; Murdie 1996). It is widely recognized that the economic contribution of immigrants has always been a driving force of Canadian immigration policy and that the success of immigrant settlement is affected criti- cally by economic integration. Canada‘s ethnocultural groups represent a significant national economic asset, and while there i s evidence that many Canadian companies are not taking full advantage of the opportunities these groups offer in terms of access to the new global marketplace, their enormous potential is undeniable (Richmond 1994; Taylor 1995).

There is an emerging consensus among scholars that ethnic entrepreneurship i s a critical element in the current restructuring of Western economies (Waldinger, Aldrich and Ward 1990; Light, Bhachu and Karageorgis 1993; Portes 1995; Taylor 1995; Chin, Yoon and Smith 1996; Barrett, Jones and McEvoy 1996). There is also a growing awareness of the important role ethnic entrepreneurship can play in structuring and development at the community level (Aldrich and Ward 1990; Buttler 1991 ; Jones and McEvoy 1992; Juteau, Daviau-Guy and Moallen 1992; Li 1993; Hiebert 1993; Nash 1994; Razin

and Langlois 1996a). Many of these studies focus on the question of why certain ethnic and immigrant groups concentrate in entrpreneurship and what factors facilitate the phenomenon.

However, this research has in general: (1) generated little consensus about the determinants and implications of ethnic enterprise, (2) attempted to account for the underrepresentation of visible minorities in ethnic entrepreneurship without giving appropriate attention to the importance of racial discrimination, and (3) remained, for the most part, exploratory (Waldinger, Aldrich and Ward 1990; Butler 1991 ; Hodge and Feagin 1995; Light and Rosenstein 1995a, 199513; Najib 1995; Razin and Langlois 199613; Barrett, Jones and McEvoy 1996). In addition, the existing research is lacking in comparative studies that would allow a more detailed evaluation of the patterns of ethnic enterprise both between groups and between countries (Auster and Aldrich 1984; Marger and Hoffman 1992; Barrett, Jones and McEvoy 1996; Razin and Langlois 1996a).

More comparative studies would help to answer a question frequently raised by scholars working with ethnic entrepreneurship: ’Why do some ethnic and immigrant groups do better in business than others?’ Waldinger and Aldrich (1 990) employ such a comparative method in examining self-employment among three minorities in the United States - Afro-Americans, Asians (Koreans and Chinese) and Hispanics (Cubans) - and in discuss- ing reasons for differences between these groups. They conclude that ‘no single characteristic’ determines dif- fering levels of entrepreneurship, but that their three case studies reveal a ’complex interaction between the two dimensions ... opportunity structures and group characteristics’ (Waldinger and Aldrich 1990). These ‘two dimensions’ are components of the ‘interactive Model of Ethnic Business Development’ (Waldinger, Aldrich and Ward 1990), a theoretical model representing a synthe- sis of the three main approaches to the study of ethnic entrepreneurial success: (1 ) ’group characteristics,’ or predisposing factors and resource mobilization that immigrants bring to their businesses; (2) ‘opportunity structures’, including market conditions and access to ownership; and (3) ‘ethnic strategies’, which emphasizes the study of the interaction between ‘group characteristics’ and ‘opportunity structures’. It should be noted, however, that this model, while undeniably useful, has been criticized by other scholars for its theoretical distance from the harsher, empirical realities of the immigrant experience (Bonacich 1993). For example, the concept of the structural constraint of discrimination - a type of blocked mobility whereby the impediment to success in

The Canadian Geographer / Le Ceographe canadien 42, no 3 ( 1 998)

Cultural Resources and Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Portuguese Real Estate in Toronto 269

the labour market serves as a ’predisposing factor’ to business activity - does not adequately convey the in- sidious complexity of racism in contemporary society (Henry 1993; Hodge and Feagin 1995; Barrett, Jones and McEvoy 1996).

From a Canadian perspective, scholarly research on ethnic and immigrant groups in Canada has focused largely on the process of ethnic assimilation and adjust- ment to Canadian life or on the historical development of community organization and immigrant institutions in the new society (Breton 1964; Breton et al. 1990). In contrast, relatively few attempts have been made to study the development of ethnic business among immigrant groups or to examine the position of certain ethnic groups, particularly visible minorities, as entrepreneurs within particular sectors of the Canadian economy. Also, their experiences have not been utilized in the construction of theoretical models, in part, because most of the research in this field has been done in the USA (Light 1972; Bonacich and Modell 1980; Waldinger 1986; Min 1990; Buttler 1991 ; Zhou 1992; Light and Rosenstein 1995a; Portes 1995), and in Europe (Auster and Aldrich 1984; Ma Mung and Guillon 1986; Najib 1995; Barrett, Jones and McEvoy 1996).

What literature exists on ethnic entrepreneurship in Canada (e.g., Olson 1991 ; Chan 1992; Jones and McEvoy 1992; Juteau, Daviau-Guay and Moallem 1992; Marger and Hoffman 1992; Hiebert 1993; Li 1993; Helly and Ledoyen 1994; Nash 1994; Taylor 1995; Ma and Fong 1996; Razin and Langlois 1996a, 1996b; Juteau and Pare 1997), suggests that not all immigrant groups have attained the same degree of involvement and success in small business. Given the high propensity of certain immigrant groups to be self-employed in the major Ca- nadian CMAS (on average, more likely than the average native-born Canadian - see Nash 1987, 1994; Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada 1993; Gardner 1994; Razin and Langlois 1994, 1996a, 1996b), together with the tendency of visible minorities to be under- represented in Canada’s business population (Henry 1993), understanding the role played by ethnicity and race in Canadian small business is essential to any broader study of immigrant interaction with, and / or integration into, Canadian society.

A critical element of an ethnic community’s small business group is its ethnic real estate industry. Real estate agents and brokers accelerate, decelerate, and prevent neighbourhood change, often acting as facilitators and mediators in the home buyer’s relocation process. Intentionally or unintentionally, agents often limit access to information and choice of locations.

Thus, they are important actors with the ’power’ to strongly influence neighbourhood formation and the preservation of ethnic communities. Ultimately, they contribute to the perpetuation of residential segregation in North American cities (Barresi 1968; Bordessa 1978; Zonn 1980; Palm 1985; Turner and Wienk 1993; Teixeira 1996). In Toronto, the movement of ethnic groups such as Jews, Italians, and Portuguese from Toronto’s immigrant reception area along the city’s northwest immigrant corridor has led several authors (e.g., Simmons 1972; Richmond 1974; Bordessa 1978; Teixeira 1993) to speculate on the role and impact of the real estate industry in encouraging and channelling the residential movement of these groups.

Many real estate firms in Canada are small businesses and are community and ethnically oriented with respect to their clients (home buyers and home sellers). From this perspective, they are often viewed as spatial ’monopolists’ and cultural ‘gatekeepers’, and their impact upon the stratification of the Canadian housing market is potentially important (Richmond 1974; Teixeira 1995). Given the high propensity of certain groups, such as Italians and Portuguese, for home ownership and residential clustering (e.g., Ray 1994; Balakrishnan and Hou 1995; Teixeira 1996), understanding how the ethnic real estate industry works, and how brokers and agents interrelate with clients, i s an important step in clarifying and understanding residential choice and the spatial distribution of groups such as the Portuguese, particularly in their movement from Toronto’s immigrant reception area to other parts of the city / suburbs. Only when the links between the ethnic real estate industry and the community in which it operates becomes clear can we expect to better understand the social geography of the city, as well as the place (’niche’) the industry and its brokers/agents occupy in shaping the social structure of the city.

The Canadian literature dealing with the role of the ethnic real estate broker / agent and the real estate business is scant (Teixeira and Murdie 1997). To date, there has not been a comprehensive Canadian study that has attempted to examine the role of the ethnic real estate industry in the context of Canadian ethnic entrepreneurship. The purpose of this study is to add to the empirical base of knowledge of ethnic entrepreneurship in Canada by examining the behaviour, strategies, and barriers faced by owners of Portuguese real estate companies in Toronto, and to evaluate how ethnicity im- pacts upon entrepreneurship. Attention will be focused on the utilization of group resources (e.g., family, friends, and community support ties), and how these resources

The Canadian Geographer / Le Ceographe canadien 42, no 3 (1 998)

270 Carlos Teixeira

contribute to the formation, maintenance, and success of Portuguese-owned real estate businesses. The main thesis of the paper is that Portuguese brokers in Toronto are closely involved in networks of kinship / friendship and community ties, which are instrumental in establishing and running their business.

The Portuguese in Toronto

Of the approximately 21 1 000 Portuguese (mother tongue) in Canada, some 95 465 reside in the Greater Toronto Area (1 991 Census). This group accounts for 2.3 percent of the population (mother tongue) of the Greater Toronto Area (CTA) and is the third-largest non-English group in the CTA, after the Chinese and Italians. Almost half (47.1 percent) of these Portuguese are concentrated in the City of Toronto (44 960).’ Most of the Portuguese communities in Canada began to take shape at the end of the 1950s when the ‘pioneers’ of Portuguese immigration settled in the cores of major Canadian cities, such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The major period of immigration, by means of family reunification and sponsorship, was in the late 1960s and early 197Os, with a brief upturn in the 1980s (Teixeira 1996).

The initial settlement of the Portuguese in Toronto took place in the centre of the city: Kensington Market and Alexandra Park (see ‘initial area of settlement’ in Figure 1). These are working-class neighbourhoods, the traditional ‘port of entry’ for immigrant groups, such as Jews, Ukrainians, Poles, Hungarians, and Italians (Murdie 1969). It was in the Kensington area (on Nassau Street) that the first Portuguese-owned business (a restaurant) opened its doors; it was also here that the first Portu- guese cultural organization in Toronto was formed (‘The First Portuguese Canadian Club’) in the mid-1 950s. From the end of the 1950s to the early 197Os, Kensington market was revitalized with an infusion of Portuguese businesses. As well, Portuguese immigrant home buyers ‘rejuvenated’ housing in this old working-class neighbourhood: ‘The houses in Kensington are painted in a panoply of bright Mediterranean hues. The small flower and vegetable gardens in front are carefully tended and sometimes adorned with religious statuary. Tradition- ally, residence here has been transitional with the Portu- guese being the most recent in a series of successive waves of immigrants’ (Brettell 1977, 171).

In 1991, the Portuguese were among the most segregated groups in Metro Toronto, having the second- highest segregation indices (0.6280) after the Jews (0.7843) (Dakan 1998). By 1991, most Portuguese in Toronto lived in a relatively tight cluster (shown as the

area of Portuguese residential concentration in Figure 1 ). In 1991, there were about 39 000 Portuguese (mother tongue) in this area, accounting for approximately 86 percent of the total of all Portuguese living in the City of Toronto, and 41 percent of the Portuguese (mother tongue) in the CTA. Within the area of Portuguese residential concentration there is a ’core’ (‘Little Portugal‘) comprising most of the community’s social, cultural, and religious institutions, as well as the two most important Portuguese commercial strips - Dundas and College (‘core’ of the Portuguese settlement in Figure 1).

In recent years, two areas of new Portuguese settlement have emerged: (1) expansion to the northwest, from the core, along the traditional ’immigrant corridor’ (running from Bathurst and King streets in Toronto, north to Eglinton Avenue in the city of York), where Portu- guese are replacing Italians; and (2) expansion into the western suburbs, especially the City of Mississauga (Fig- ure 2). Both of these new settlement areas are the result of Portuguese families moving from the downtown core of Toronto. The residential mobility of the community reflects not only Portuguese immigrants’ aspirations to live in better conditions, but it may also be seen as the result of successful marketing campaigns (’home ownership and housing as a steady / secure economic investment in Canada’) launched by Portuguese realtors. These advertising and marketing strategies (e.g., targeting an ethnic clientele) by Portuguese agents have been re- warded by increased listings and more potential buyers (Teixeira 1993; 1995).

Despite the residential mobility of the community, there are no signs of Portuguese businesses gravitating towards the suburban communities. Movers regularly return to the ’core’ of the community to go to church, to shop in the Portuguese ethnic businesses, and to partici- pate in cultural events. Thus, even if we verify a continu- ous and gradual movement out of the ’core’ of the Portuguese community in Toronto, this movement has not yet noticeably affected the vitality of the group’s ethnic institutions, commercial establishments and community services.

Methodolgy

Data for the study were collected in two phases. First, information was obtained through informal interviews with 27 ‘key‘ informants of the Portuguese community in the Greater Toronto Area. They included community leaders, Portuguese entrepreneurs, jounal ists, lawyers, a bank manager, past and present presidents of the ‘Federa- tion of Portuguese Canadian Business and Professionals’,

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 42, no 3 (1998)


- I-

Rogers I Rd.

0 Portuguese real estate brokersflims (N=24)’

0 0 5 1 km

0 05mi -

Portuguese residential concentration

Core of the Portuguese community

a Initial area of settlement

‘Three brokers owned more than one firm. F i n locations are approximate.

Figure 1 Distribution of Portuguese real estate brokers and firms in the Greater Toronto Area, 1994

and real estate agents working for Portuguese and non- Portuguese-owned companies. The informants selected were well-placed individuals in the community and were therefore able not only to report on their own experiences as members of the community, but also to comment on the growth and challenges faced by Portuguese entrepreneurs in the Greater Toronto Area. The major goal of these interviews was to obtain in-depth information dealing with the structure and evolution of Portuguese entrepreneurship in the Greater Toronto Area since the arrival of the Portuguese pioneers in the early 1950s.

This exploratory approach provided an ’insider’s’ perspective regarding the structure and evolution of Portu- guese entrepreneurship in the Greater Toronto Area. Unstructured (guided) in-depth interviews were used to obtain information from these ‘key‘ informants. Supple- mentary information concerning the evolution of the Portuguese real estate industry in Toronto since the early 1960s was collected via the Portuguese written media (e.g., Correio Portugu&s (1963- ); 0 Jornal PortuguB (1 968-1 975); and the Sol PortuguWPortuguese Sun (1984- )) were also consulted.

The next stage of data collection was a survey that was administered to all the Portuguese brokers - owners of real estate agencies who were members of the Toronto Real Estate Board (Figure 1). The study area was the Greater Toronto Area (CTA). A total of 24 firms owned by Portuguese brokers were initially identified through the Portuguese telephone directories (Guia Cornercial Portugu& - 1994 and the Blue Pages - Lista Telefdnica Portuguesa, 1994, which list almost all Portuguese businesses in the Greater Toronto Area, and the 1994 Mem- bership Roster of the Toronto Real Estate Board. Of this number, 23 brokers agreed to be interviewed.2

The survey administered to Portuguese brokers was the main source of data for this study. The interviews with key informants and Portuguese brokers took place simultaneously from April to August 1994. With the exception of one interview, all were conducted in person at the broker’s office or at a place of their choice, usually a Portuguese restaurant or caf6.

The questionnaire was designed to collect information in the following four broad categories of questions: (1 ) respondent’s background; (2) business establishment

The Canadian Geographer / Le Ceographe canadien 42, no 3 (1998)

272 Carlos Teixeira

rtuguese mother tongue a percentage of total

rn 210%

Source: Statistics Canada, 1971

1991

Source: Statistics Canada, 1991

Figure 2 Portuguese population by mother tongue in Metropolitan Toronto and Mississauga, 1971 and 1991



- history and employment; (3) community resources in starting and operating current business; and (4) business activities / practices and the market. The questionnaire had a total of 35 questions (open-ended and closed- ended) and interviews lasted an average of 50 minutes.

Survey Results

B U S I N E S S FORMATION

The literature explaining the entrance of immigrants into small business emphasizes, among other factors, the limited opportunity structure (blocked opportunities in the labour market) faced by immigrants who seek mobility within the mainstream labour force. Thus, self-employment has been seen as a kind of ’survival strategy’, since ‘blocked mobility’ has been recognized as a pow- erful spur to business activity (Waldinger, Aldrich and Ward 1990; Marger and Hoffman 1992; Barrett, Jones and McEvoy 1996). Entrance into small business is s t i l l seen today by first-generation Portuguese immigrants as a means of achieving economic mobility in this country. Portuguese real estate brokers in Toronto are seen by members of the Portuguese community as ’knowledge- able’ key figures within the community, whose brokerage activities place them in a position of respect as ‘successful’ immigrant / ethnic entrepreneurs.

The Portuguese real estate industry developed mainly during the 1970s and 1980s. More than half of the Portuguese brokers interviewed (56.6 percent) established their own businesses in the period 1970-1 979, a time of steady increase in the Portuguese immigration to Toronto. Almost half (47.8 percent) of the Portuguese brokers interviewed stated that among the most important reasons (some brokers gave more than one reason) for starting their own business was the desire to be independent (‘be your own boss’). Other respondents cited having already been business-oriented and / or having had members of the family involved in business, whether in Portugal or in Canada (family tradition, 34.8 percent). Another 34.8 percent of the respondents mentioned ‘economic independence’ as the most important reason for starting their own businesses. Overall, being an entrepreneur (’owner of own business’) in Canada seemed to be a priority for this group of respondents as the fulfilment of a ’dream’ in Canada, as well as a means of achieving economic mobility through enterprise. Find- ings suggest that Portuguese brokers were not ’pushed‘ (forced) into self-employment by negative job market circumstances (e.g., experience of discrimination and / or disadvantage in the mainstream labour market) prior to opening their businesses. Therefore, it may be con-

cluded that most of the reasons for their going into business were of a ’pull’ nature.

Results indicate that, in general, Portuguese brokers did not encounter major barriers when establishing their current business. In comparison with other types of small business, this type of business requires comparatively little financing or capital to start. Only 5 brokers out of 23 (21.7 percent) declared having encountered problems such as (1) difficulties getting financing, (2) discrimination because too young (age), (3) cultural barriers (their being a member of an immigrant / ethnic group), and (4) language problems. Overall, the issue of ‘ethnicity’ did not seem to be a major barrier in starting their businesses, and discrimination by the host society (e.g., financial institutions, clients, and other colleagues involved in real estate) was not cited as a major barrier for Portuguese brokers in establishing themselves in this competitive field.

Government policies can either encourage or hinder entrance into small business. In contrast to some countries in Europe (eg, Germany and The Netherlands), where ethnic entrepreneurs face highly structured sets of barriers to operations (Boissevain et at. 1990; Waldinger et al. 1990), Canada seems to offer a more favourable business environment for ethnic ownership. Federal and provincial government policies and assistance programs for ethnic entrepreneurs, including the promotion of business immigration for investment purposes during recent years, are some of the strategies used by Canadian governments to encourage ethnic groups to enter into the small-business sector (Nash 1987, 1995; Marger and Hoffman 1992; Richmond 1994).

However, this does not mean that ethnic groups in Canada face no barriers upon opening a business. Re- cent studies by Henry (1 993), Richmond (1994), and Ma and Fong (1996) show that racism is prevalent in our society and affects most visible minority entrepreneurs. Henry (1993) observes that entrepreneurs of colour in Toronto - for example, immigrants from the Caribbean - have difficulty in obtaining credit from established financial / lending institutions such as banks, and concludes that racism is a major barrier to black entrepreneurs and to their business success.

The ethnic real estate agent’s cultural ‘expertise’ in dealing with a specific ‘clientele’, whose housing search behaviour and needs may differ considerably from those of the general population, places ethnic agents in a privileged situation compared to agents who are not members of the group. The expansion, in recent years, of the Portuguese group along the ’immigrant corridor’ paralleled the steady growth of Portuguese-owned real

The Canadian Geographer / Le Ceographe canadien 42, no 3 (1 998)

274 Carlos Teixeira

estate agencies. The spatial distribution of the Portu- guese-owned real estate firms in 1994 (Figure 1) indicates that the majority of these firms (1 7 out of 24) were located in the area of ’Portuguese residential concentration’ in the City of Toronto. Indeed, proximity to the Portuguese community was the most important reason cited by Portuguese brokers in selecting a location for their businesses (78.3 percent). Approximately 30 percent also cited the residential mobility of the community - from the core, and along the ’immigrant corridor’ - while another 30.4 percent indicated being ‘a community-oriented agency’ as the reason for locating their businesses where they did.

Given that Portuguese home buyers tend to patronize agents from the same ethnic background, and preferably those working for a Portuguese-owned company (Teixeira, 1993), it is no surprise that Portuguese brokers tend to locate their agencies with their potential clients’ residential areas in mind. As Portuguese brokers who located within the ‘core’ (Dundas Street / College Street) observed:

The Portuguese community is my farm area, it i s where the clients are ... we are a Portuguese-oriented agency.

Proximity to the Portuguese community is an important factor ... it was decisive in my decision to choose this area.

For those brokers who located along the ’immigrant corridor’ (Bloor Street, St. Clair Avenue, Dufferin Street), they noted that they simply followed the community:

The movement of the Portuguese was from Augusta Avenue to Ossington, later on to Lansdowne and along the immigrant corridor ... I decided to follow the residential mobility of the Portuguese community.

It is an expansion area for the Portuguese community ... I wanted to do business in an accessible area for Portuguese, not an expensive area, I wanted a cheap area . . . an area that Portuguese could afford, houses with potential for renovation, resell later on and buy better housing in a better neighbourhood ... Portu- guese and Italians have done that ...

Results from this study seem to concur with those from Hiebert (1 993, 251) as to the importance of the relationship between ethnic residential segregation and entrepreneurial behaviour: ‘The symbiotic relationship between ethnic residential segregation and entrepreneurial behaviour is underscored in several recent studies of trader-minority groups, where residential proximity is seen to encourage the emergence of specialized ethnic

Table 1 Portuguese Real Estate Firms by Size

Portuguese brokers* N = 2 3

Firms size N Percentage

‘One-person operation’ (1 ) 2 8.7

’Large-diversified type of firm’ (4) 8 34.8

’Family type of firm’ (2) 7 30.4 ‘Small-medium type of firm’ (3) 6 26.1

NOTES:

‘Three Portuguese brokers owned more than one firm. 1 One-person-operation type of firm. The broker owns the firm and i s

the only person involved in brokerage operation (buying / selling real estate in the company).

(excluding the broker / owner).

firm (excluding broker / owner).

15 salespersons. Some of these firms are franchises, with some brokers owning more than one firm.

2 ‘Family’ type of firm. Between 2 and 5 salespersons work for the firm

3 ’Small-medium’ type of firm. From 6 to 15 salespersons work for the

4 ’Large-diversified’ type of firm. This type of company has more than

SOURCE: Questionnaire survey

services, access to co-ethnic labor, and interfirm link- ages with the group.’

We can speculate that this characteristic of the Portu- guese real estate business to concentrate upon a geographically segregated co-ethnic market i s also common to other Southern European/Mediterranean ethnic groups (e.g., Italians, and to a lesser degree, Greeks) in Toronto, but distinct from immigrant entrepreneurs in Europe and the U.S.A., who tend to initially settle in segregated enclaves and then, eventually, expand their boundaries to nonethnic areas and markets (Aldrich, Zimmer and McEvoy 1989; Barrett, Jones and McEvoy 1996). The question as to whether or not Portuguese brokers would have been -or, in future, will be - able to survive outside the boundaries of the Portuguese community in Toronto remains unanswered.

An indicator of real estate business size i s the number of agents each broker employs. Table 1 indicates that the majority (65.2 percent) of the Portuguese-owned agencies are small with respect to the number of salespersons. They range from small, individual (8.7 percent) and family-oriented (30.4 percent) to medium-sized firms (26.1 percent). Given that family and co-ethnic labour have traditionally played a crucial role in the operation of small businesses (Boissevan et al. 1990; Waldinger, Aldrich and Ward 1990; Barrett, Jones and McEvoy, 1996), it was found that the majority of those brokers located in the area of ’Portuguese residential concentration’ in Toronto (Figure 7 ) employ real estate agents of



Table 2 Methods Used to Recruit Employees

Portuguese brokers* N = 2 3

Methods used N Percentage

Relatives / Portuguese friends Nan-Portuguese friends Reputation - Broker Portuguese media Broker’s search Nan-Portuguese media Nan-Portuguese organizations Other

73.9 30.4 26.1 21.7 21.7 13.0 8.7 8.7


the same ethnic background. Seventeen of 23 Portu- guese brokers declared that 75.0 percent or more of their agents were Portuguese. Small firms (‘one person’ and ’family type’ / 1 to 5 employees) rely almost exclusively on salespersons from the same ethnic background. For 9 (39.1 percent) of those firms, 90.0 percent or more of their salespersons are Portuguese. Findings indicate that the smaller the size of the firm, the greater the reliance on Portuguese real estate salespersons. However, with respect to the participation of members of the extended family on this type of business, results show that they play a minor role. Only 4.8 percent of the brokers interviewed indicated having members of their extended family (including wives and / or sons-daughters) working for them. These results do not support the view that family members play an important role in the operation of small ethnic business, or at least of this type of business.

With respect to the methods used to recruit employees, whether Portuguese or not, brokers rely extensively on informal channels, particularly relatives and Portu- guese friends (73.9 percent) (Table 2). Reliance on ethnic networks of contact (kin or friendship) promotes recruitment of ’ethnic’ salespersons from the same region and / or island of Portugal. Brokers also rely heavily on ‘ethnic’ sources of information -the Portuguese media (82.6 percent) and Portuguese telephone directories (73.9 percent) - to advertise their businesses (Table 3). Thus, Portuguese brokers’ hiring and advertisement seems to be determined largely by an ‘ethnic’ information network.

The majority of Portuguese brokers (95.6 percent) cited Portuguese salespersons as being ‘very important’ or ’important’ in the running of their business. Among the major advantages cited of having Portuguese as employees are the following: knowledge of the language

Table 3 Methods Used to Advertise Current Business

Portuguese brokers’ N = 2 3

Sources N Percentage

Portuguese media 19 82.6

Nan-Portuguese media 15 65.2 Yellow pages 12 52.2 Community festivals / organizations 3 13.0 Flyers / direct mailing 2 8.7 Other 3 13.0

Portuguese telephone directories 17 73.9


(Portuguese) (82.6 percent); familiarity with Portuguese home-buyers‘ housing needs and preferences (60.9 percent); and the ’trust’ they gain from Portuguese clients by being of the same ethnic background (52.2 percent). This regional orientation with respect to employees is reflected in the regions of origin of clients, with some firms attracting more mainlanders than islanders and vice versa. The tendency seems to be for Portuguese to patronize brokers and salespersons they know from their village / city or region / island of Portugal.

Portuguese brokers opt for a highly personalized, customer-specific service strategy. Customer relations, and satisfaction with services provided, become a priority in the Portuguese community where ‘trust’ (‘confianqa’) and ’good reputation’ are important considerations. This differentiates Portuguese, and other brokers catering to recent immigrant groups, from brokers who service a more general clientele. While admittedly ’trust’ is per- ceived as a desirable quality for business success in the Canadian real estate industry as a whole, it is of particular importance for businesses servicing a comparatively small, intimately connected community such as that of the Portuguese in Toronto. One broker noted, with regard to the importance of trust and respect in his customer relations, that:

Success is not only measured by the number of houses that you sell ... you have to provide an honest service to your client if you want to keep him / her as a friend and as a future potential client ... Some Portuguese clients ask for too much from us ... because we are Portuguese, we know them ... but we have a saying in Portugal antes mau ano que mau vizinho [it’s much better to

have a bad year than a bad neighbour] ... I mean, I would prefer to lose money, than to lose a good client ... a satisfied client brings another client ... Reputation is very important for our businesses.


276 Carlos Teixeira

The relationship of mutual support / respect and trust between brokers and clients i s not unique to Portuguese entrepreneurs and real estate business. There is already evidence suggesting that ‘business on trust’ (relations of trust, credit, and mutual help) is common among ethnic groups and in other sectors of the economy (e.g., the garment trade) (Werbner 1984). At this stage, all that can be said i s that in the real estate business, Portuguese brokers and agents are in an excellent position (as ’insid- ers’ of the group) to attain the necessary confidence, and ultimately the respect and the business, of a Portuguese client. This i s essential, given that, for Portuguese home buyers, housing and home ownership represent a sym- bolic security for the immigrant and his family in the New World (Lavigne 1987; Teixeira 1996). As noted by Werbner (1984, 169): “‘Ethnicity” needs to be seen as a backdrop for the establishment of reputations and the formation of close friendships, often lasting many years. These friendships sustain . . . small businesses through mutual help, loans or credit.’

Community Resources, Business Practices, and the Market

The nature of the Portuguese immigration to Canada (sponsorship/ ’chain migration’), the main goal of which was to reconstitute their extended families in their new country, was such that Portuguese immigrants relied extensively on networks of kin and friends to find housing and jobs, as well as in the selection of the city / neighbourhood of settlement upon arrival (Anderson and Higgs 1976; Teixeira 1996). This begs the question of how important are ‘ethnic’ community channels for information and support for Portuguese brokers in establishing and running their businesses. This section will examine the community resources available to Portu- guese brokers, which enable them to act as facilitators in the establishment and operation of their current businesses. We hypothesize that Portuguese brokers in To- ronto are closely involved in dense social networks - kinship / friendship and community ties - which are instrumental in the operation of their businesses.

Respondents were presented with a list of possible sources of information which they may or may not have used in starting and operating their current business. All sources used by brokers were recorded. Results show that Portuguese brokers obtain information and / or advice about how to start and operate their businesses from a wide variety of sources. These range from market sources, such as the media and organizations, to more specialized community-oriented sources, such as friends

Table 4 Information Sources Used to Start / Operate Current Business

Percentage of brokers using source’ N = 2 3

Information sources N Percentage

‘Ethnic‘ sources Portuguese friends Portuguese media Relatives Portuguese organizations

Sources used:

“on-ethnic‘ sources Nan-Portuguese friends Nan-Portuguese media Non-Portuguese organizations Other

Sources used:

21 14 12 6

53

12 12

7 3

34

91.3 60.9 52.2 26.1

(60.9)

52.2 52.2 30.4 13.0

(39.1)

NOTE:

1 Percentages do not sum to 100% because brokers frequently used

SOURCE: Questionnaire survey more than one information source.

and relatives. Table 4 reveals that Portuguese real estate brokers rely to a large degree upon their own community (’ethnic’) resources - Portuguese friends (91.3 percent); the Portuguese media (60.9 percent); and relatives (52.2 percent) - in starting and / or operating their current businesses. Table 5 shows that Portuguese friends were, by far, the most important information source (65.2 percent). This important, informal, ethnic resource network that exists in the Portuguese community may ex- plain the growth and success of this particular type of business in the context of Toronto’s ethnic housing submarkets. These findings lend support to the main thesis that Portuguese brokers’ involvement in the networks of kinship / friendship and community ties are integral to their business success.

Ethnic sources of information, and particularly Portu- guese friends, play an important role in providing business contacts, referrals, and recommending employees / agents to Portuguese brokers (Table 6). Regarding the importance of Portuguese friends as major sources of information and advice, brokers observed:

It i s a good way to start business ... friends let people know that I was involved in business ... contacts ... Social functions were also important to meet friends and future clients.

You get a ’captive’ market, the Portuguese market ... We get this through our Portuguese friends.

The Canadian Geographer / Le GCographe canadien 42, no 3 (1 998)


Table 5 Most Important Information Source Used to Start / Operate Current Business

Table 6 Degree of Importance of ’Ethnic’ Sources in the Following Aspects Related to the Establishment / Operation of Current Business

Portuguese brokers N = 2 3

Portuguese brokers’ N= 19

Information sources N Percentage N Percentage

’Ethnic’ sources Portuguese friends 15 65.2 Portuguese media 3 13.0 Nan-Portuguese organizations 2 8.7 Nan-Portuguese friends 1 4.3 Portuguese organizations 1 4.3 Other 1 4.3


The heavy reliance of Portuguese brokers on community (‘ethnic’) resources echoes earlier research in Eu- rope and in the U.S.A. (Boissevain et al. 1990; Waldinger and Aldrich 1990; Light, Bhachu and Karageorgis 1993; Barrett, Jones, and McEvoy 1996). Results from previous studies show that, although different groups are studied (Gypsies, Koreans, Chinese, North Africans, Pakistanis, Turks, and Surinamese) in different countries (U.S.A., France, Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands), all ‘ethnic groups utilize rather similar strategies [and sociocul- tural resources] in their attempts to carve out economic niches in Western industrial societies’ (Boissevain et al. 1990, 155).

One indicator of the degree of community involvement is the brokers’ participation / membership in ’ethnic’ organizations. Of the brokers interviewed, 20 out of 23 (87.0 percent) declared being ’somewhat’ or ’highly’ involved in the social-cultural life of the community, with 73.9 percent noting that this involvement, and the resulting ‘ethnic networking’, was helpful to their businesses. These results are not surprising, given that the Portuguese continue to exhibit a high degree of group cohesiveness, culture identification, language retention, and residential segregation (Teixeira 1993). The majority of Portuguese brokers interviewed (78.2 percent) declared that more than 50 percent of their clients were from a Portuguese ethnic background.

The dependence of Portuguese home buyers upon co- ethnic real estate agents and brokers reflects a combina- tion of factors, including language barriers and unfamili- arity with the functioning and technicalities of the Canadian housing market. Therefore, Portuguese brokers become major intermediaries in the Portuguese home buyers’ search process (Teixeira and Murdie 1997). In acknowledging this, brokers cite their important role in advising on housing purchase (91.3 percent), finding

Recommending clients 18 94.7 Recommending employees 11 57.9 Providing information about

Providing information about the

Providing information about

business site 10 52.6

market / business 10 52.6

government assistance 7 36.8 Providing capital 1 5.3

NOTE:

1 Percentage of brokers who indicate ‘ethnic’ sources being ‘very important‘ or ’important’ in the establishment / operation of current business


Table 7 Degree of Jmportance of Portuguese Brokers /Agents in the Search Process

Portuguese brokers’ N = 2 3

N Percentage

Search phase

Finding the city 9 39.1 Finding area / neighbourhood 16 69.6

Advising on housing prices / quality 17 73.9

Finding house 17 73.9

Purchase process Advising on purchase 21 91.3 Finding mortgage lender 18 78.3 Finding a lawyer 7 30.4

NOTE:

1 Percentage of brokers who indicate Portuguese agents / brokers being ‘very important’ in the indicated aspects of the search and purchase process.


a mortgage lender (78.3 percent), advising on housing prices and quality (73.9 percent), and finding a house for their clients (73.9 percent) (Table 7). A majority of Portu- guese brokers (52.1 percent) consider that they play an important role in the formation of Portuguese neighbourhoods - an indication that this is an important factor in the marketing strategies of many Portuguese brokers and agents - although some interviewed (39.1 percent) were not sure about their role and impact in the residential structuring process. Thus, it may be said that ’Portuguese agents and firms seem to function not only as inforrna-

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 42, no 3 (1 998)

278 Carlos Teixeira

tion brokers but also as “ethnic filters” in the relocation process’ (Teixeira 1995, 181). The most important expla- nation for Portuguese resegregation in certain areas of the City of Toronto and its suburbs may therefore be found in the ‘cultural’ forces shaping the community from within, rather than with the ‘economic’ or ‘dis- criminatory’ forces in the housing market.

With regard to brokers’ self-evaluation of their real estate business success, 47.8 percent of the respondents cited being ‘very successful’, and another 52.1 percent said ‘moderately successful’. The majority of brokers (80 percent) see their reliance on the ethnic / Portuguese market as an advantage for business success. However, with regard to the future of the Portuguese real estate businesses in Toronto, respondents were more ambiva- lent. Five brokers (21.7 percent) mentioned that business is growing, eleven (47.8 percent) said that it is stable, and seven (30.4 percent) indicated that it i s worse than in the past, with no prospects for increased business in the near future. Thus, brokers appear divided on the issue of the future and survival of their businesses. Some see the market-future indicating growth:

I am optimistic about the youth ... The new generation still uses the services of Portuguese agents, referrals are still important ... We also have more and more young [born-in-Canada] Portu- guese agents entering the businesses.

For other brokers interviewed, their pessimism concerning the future of the business was inescapable:

I am pessimistic about the future of the Portuguese real estate business ... Few Portuguese immigrants are arriving in Toronto, and life i s getting much tougher for Portuguese to own housing.

In this context, it is of note that only two brokers (8.7 percent) mentioned that they intend to pass their business on to their children or to members of their family on retirement. Eleven (47.8 percent) said ‘no’, and another ten (43.5 percent) simply replied ‘don’t know’. As one broker said:

The market conditions I encountered when I started my business were unique - the community was growing and Portuguese were coming from Portugal ... These conditions that I encountered when I started are not there today ... I think it will not be a good opportunity for my children ... Also, children are different from their parents, they have their own ’world’, they are Canadians, they are integrated into the Canadian market.

These responses, considered as a whole, reflect the

ambivalence of Portuguese ethnic entrepreneurs facing the uncertainties of a future of possible integration and I or assimilation into the larger Canadian society/ marketplace. Echoing Brettell (1 977, 178), I would argue that in the future ‘particularly with the maturation of the second and third generations and the possible slowing of immigration, ethnic entrepreneurs may have to look else- where [the nonethnic market] for the clientele needed to sustain their position.’ Overreliance on a restricted ethnic market, as has been the case with the Portuguese real estate business, may reduce the profitability and growth of this important sector of the Portuguese ‘ethnic economy’ in Toronto.

Conclusion

The main objective of this study has been to investigate the extent to which Portuguese brokers relied on group resources, and how these resources contributed to the formation, maintenance, and success of Portuguese- owned real estate businesses.

Closely paralleling the growth and development of the Portuguese community over the last four decades in Toronto has been the rise of a Portuguese real estate industry. With respect to business formation, empirical evidence from the study shows that Portuguese brokers did not face major barriers when establishing their businesses. Proximity to the Portuguese community was cited by brokers as the most important reason in their selecting a location for their businesses.

Findings indicate that the smaller the firm is in size, the greater i s the reliance on Portuguese salespersons. Knowl- edge of the language (Portuguese), familiarity with Portu- guese home buyer’s housing needs and preferences, and the co-ethnic relationships of ‘trust’ they establish with Portuguese clients, were cited by brokers as the major advantages of having Portuguese as employees.

With respect to community resources available to Portuguese brokers, results show that these brokers rely to a large degree upon their own community (’ethnic’) resources in establishing and running their current businesses. Within this context, Portuguese friends were by far the most important information source cited by brokers. Today, Portuguese real estate businesses occupy a particular ’ethnic’ niche market, in which brokers and agents rely heavily on co-ethnic customers. Therefore, the use of Portuguese brokers and agents represents one aspect of Portuguese immigrants’ coping strategies in adapting to their new environment. They also play an important role within the residential structuring process by acting as ’ethnic’ filters of housing information.



These findings support earlier research in the United States and Europe about the role and impact of community (‘ethnic’) group resources, which are instrumental in establishing and operating ethnic businesses in multicultural environments. Despite the lack of empirical and theoretical work on ethnic entrepreneurship in Canada, we can speculate that the main characteristics of the Portuguese real estate business - reliance upon ethnic channels to open and operate their businesses and to serve a geographically segregated co-ethnic market - may not be unique to the Portuguese group.

However, many of the intricacies of the Canadian ethnic real estate industry remain unclear. For example, there is evidence that some ethnic groups in Toronto (e.g., East Indians and black entrepreneurs) tend to follow a more ‘individualistic’ - less community-oriented - pattern in establishing and running their businesses (Marger 1989; Henry 1993). Comparative research needs to be done, with respect to visible and nonvisible ethnic groups, to understand why certain visible minorities tend to rely less on group resources and are not confined exclusively to their communities.

In sum, empirical evidence from the study supports the main propositions that Portuguese brokers are highly involved in co-ethnic networks of kinship, friendship, and community ties, which are instrumental in establishing and operating their businesses. Findings indicate that a high degree of social embeddedness characterizes the Portuguese real estate business. These close business 1 community / client ties are a common business practice in Portugal, and these strong bonds between brokers and their co-ethnics have been recreated in Canada. In addition to these cultural traits (group characteristics), the nature of the Portuguese immigration to Canada (‘chain migration’), its cultural and linguistic homogeneity, as well as the structure of the Portuguese community (’insti- tutionally complete’ and highly concentrated in Toronto), have predisposed these immigrants to patronage of the Portuguese real estate industry. These special circumstances have combined to facilitate the development of this type of ethnic business and, ultimately, to create successful Portuguese entrepreneurs. Thus, the experience of Portuguese brokers reveals the complex inter- play between the two dimensions - group characteristics and opportunities - as well as the ethnic strategies adopted by this group of ethnic entrepreneurs.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge the encouragement and insightful comments, regarding an earlier version of this paper, of Robert A. Murdie

and Lucia Lo from York University. Earlier versions of this paper were also presented at the CAC and AAC meetings, and benefited from the constructive comments of Alan Nash (Concordia University) and Valerie Preston (York University). This research was funded through a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Post-Doctoral Fel- lowship, which is gratefully acknowledged. The author would also like to express his appreciation to three anonymous referees for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.

Notes

The Portuguese group is typical of a relatively recent immigrant group. Most of its members living in Toronto were born in Portugal (71 .O percent), and most emigrated for economic reasons or to join members of the family who were already established in Canada. In 1991, the majority of Portuguese living in Toronto (93.0 percent) had less than nine years of education, but 89.6 percent of the Portuguese active population was employed (Statistics Canada 1991). The majority of the first generation (born in Portugal) have remained in unskilled and semi-skilled occupations. They are concentrated in lower-wage, blue-collar positions (e.g., construction, services, and manufacturing) (Teixeira 1993). Portuguese are also among the least entrepreneurial groups in Canada. Only 5.4 percent were self-employed in 1991 (Canada CMAs), and they show a similarly low propensity to become self-employed in Toronto CMA (5.2 percent) (Razin 1994). The Portuguese brokers interviewed were all born in Portugal (first generation immigrants). Over half (56.6 percent) spoke Portuguese most of the time at home. Almost half (48.0 percent) of the respondents were born in mainland Portugal; 43.5 percent were born in the Azores islands; and the remaining respondents were born in the island of Madeira (8.7 percent). Most to these respondents (62.5 percent) arrived in Canada during the period 1956-65 and can be considered ’pioneers’ of the Portuguese emigration to Canada. Almost fifty-seven percent (56.5 percent) of the respondents emigrated with their parents, and another 30.4 percent emigrated for economic reasons or for political reasons (1 3.0 percent). Finally, all brokers interviewed were bilingual with a fluent knowledge of both the Portuguese and English languages, almost a requirement for this type of business. However, none of the brokers interviewed had any exposure, before emigrating, to the real estate business, although some came from a business background (e.g., their parents had businesses in Portugal).

References

ALDRICH, H., LIMMER, c., and MCEVOY, D. 1989 ‘Continuities in the study of ecological succession: Asian businesses in three English cities’ Social Forces 67, 920-44

ANDERSON, c.M., and HICCS, D. 1976 A Future to Inherit: The Portuguese Communities of Canada (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart)

AUSTER, E. and ALDRICH, H. 1984 ’Small business vulnerability, ethnic enclaves and ethnic enterprise’ in Ethnic Communities in Business: Strategies for Economic Survival, ed R. Ward and R. Jenkins (New York: Cambridge UP) 39-54

BALAKRISHNAN, T.R., and HOU, F. 1995 The Changing Patterns of Spatial Concentration and Residential Segregation of Ethnic Groups in Cana- da’s Major Metropolitan Areas 1981-1991 (London, ON: Population Studies Centre - U of Western Ontario)

BARRESI, C.M. 1968 ‘The Role of the real estate agent in residential location’ Sociological Focus 1, 59-71

BARRETT, c., JONES, T.P., and MCEVOY, D. 1996 ‘Ethnic minority business:


280 Carlos Teixeira

Theoretical discourse in Britain and North America’ Urban Studies 33,783-809

BOISSEVAIN, I., et al. 1990 ’Ethnic entrepreneurs and ethnic strategies’ in Ethnic Entrepreneurs: lmmigrant Business in lndustrial Societies (Newbury Park: SAGE Publications) 131-56

BONACICH, E. 1993 ‘The other side of ethnic entrepreneurship: A dialogue with Waldinger, Aldrich, Ward and associates’ lnternational Migra- tion Review 27, 685-92

BONACICH, E., and MODELL, I. 1980 The Economic Basis of Ethnic Solidarity: Small Business in thelapanese American Community (Berkeley: U of California P)

BORDESSA, R. 1978 ‘Real estate salesmen and residential relocation deci- sions’ The Canadian Geographer 22, 334-39

BOURNE, L.S. 1995 Urban Growth and Population Redistribution in North America: A Diverse and Unequal Landscape (Toronto: Centre for Urban and Community Studies, University of Toronto)

BRETON, R. 1964 ‘Institutional completeness of ethnic communities and the personal relations of immigrants’ American Journal of Sociology 70,193-205

BRETON, R., et al. 1990 Ethnic ldentity and Equality: Varieties ofticperience in a Canadian City (Toronto: U of Toronto P)

BRETTELL, C.B. 1977 ‘Ethnicity and entrepreneurs: Portuguese immigrants in a Canadian city’ in Ethnic Encounters: ldenfities andContexts, ed G.L. Hicks and P.E. Leis (North Scituate, MA: Duxbury Press) 169-80

BUTLER, 1.5. 1991 Entrepreneurship and Self-Help Among Black Americans (New York: State U of New York P)

CANADA. Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada 1993 Multiculturalism Means Business 7993 (Ottawa: Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada)

CHAN, K.B. 1992 ’Ethnic resources, opportunity structure and coping strategies: Chinese business in Canda’ Revue Europeene des Migra- tions lnternationales 8, 11 7-36

CHIN, K.s., YOON, I.I., andsMlTH, 0. 1996 ’Immigrant small businessand inter- national economic linkage: A case of the Korean wig business in Los Angeles, 1968-1 977’ lnternationalMigration Review30,485-510

DAWN, w. 1998 ’Ethnic segregation and concentration in Canadian cities’ paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Boston

GARDNER, A. 1994 The Self-Employed (Ottawa: Statistics Canada and Prentice-Hall Canada)

HELLY, D., and LEDOYEN, A. 1994 lmmigres et creation d‘entreprises: Mont- real 1990 (Quebec: lnstitut Queb6cois de Recherche sur la Culture)

HENRY, F. 1993 A Survey of Black Business in Metro Toronto (Toronto: Multicultural and Race Relations Division of Metropolitan Toronto)

HIEBERT, D. 1993 ‘Jewish immigrants and the garment industry of Toronto, 1901-1931: A study of ethnic and class relations’ Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83, 243-71

HODGE, M., and FEACIN, I . R . 1995 ’African American entrepreneurship and racial discrimination’ in The Bubbling Cauldron: Race, Ethnicity, and the Urban Crisis, ed M.P. Smith and J.R. Feagin (Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P) 99-120

JONES, T.P., and MCEVOY, 0. 1992 ‘Resources ethniques et 6galit6s des chances: Les entreprises indo-pakistanaises en Crande-Bretagne et au Canada’ Revue Europkene des Migrations lnternationales 8, 107-26

IUTEAU, D., DAVIAU-GUAY, I., and MOALLEM, M. 1992 ‘L‘entrepreneurship A Montreal: Premiere esquisse’ Cahiers Quebbecois de demographie 21, 1 1 9 4 5

IUTEAU, D., and PAR^, s. 1997 ‘L’entrepreneurship a C8te-des Neiges: Le perimetre Victoria / Van Horne’ in Le quartier C6te-des-Neiges B Montreal: Les interfaces de la pluriethnicite, ed D. Meintel et al (Montreal: L’Harmattan) 129-60

LAVICNE, G. 1987 Les ethniques, et la ville (Montreal Le Preambule)

LI, P. 1993 ‘Chinese investment and business in Canada: Ethnic entrepreneurship reconsidered’ Pacific Affairs 66, 21 9-43

LIGHT, I. 1972 Ethnic Enterprise in America: Business and Welfare Among Chinese, lapanese, and Blacks (Berkeley: U of California P)

LIGHT, I., BHACHU, P., and KARACEORGIS, s. 1993 ‘Migration networks and immigrant entrepreneurship’ in lmmigration and Entrepreneurship: Culture, Capital, and Ethnic Networks, ed I Light and P. Bhachu (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers) 2 5 4 9

LIGHT, I., and ROSENSTEIN, c. 1995a Race, Ethnicity and Entrepreneurship in Urban America (New York: Aldine De Gruyter)

- 199513 ‘Expanding the interaction theory of entrepreneurship‘ in The Economic Sociology o f Immigration: Essays on Networks, Ethnicity, andentrepreneurship, ed A. Portes (New York: Russell Sage) 166-21 2

MA, A,, and FONG, E. 1996 Racism and Chinese-Canadian Business Partici- pation (Ontario: Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recrea- tion)

MA MUNC, E., and CUILLON, M. 1986 ‘Les commercants etrangers dans I’agglomeration parisienne’ Revue Europeenne des Migrations lnternationales 2, 105-32

MARCER, M.N. 1989 ‘Business strategies among East Indian entrepreneurs in Toronto: The role of group resources and opportunity structure’ Ethnic and Racial Studies 12, 539-63

MARGER, M.N., and HOFFMAN, C.A. 1992 ‘Ethnic enterprise in Ontario: Immigrant participation in the small business sector’ lnternational Migration Review 26, 969-81

MIN, P.G. 1990 ‘Problems of Korean immigrant entrepreneurs’ lnter- nationa Migration Review 24, 436-55

MUROIE, R.A. 1969 Factorial Ecology of Metropolitan Toronto, I95 1- J 96 J : An Essay on the Social Geography of the City, research paper no 11 6 (Chicago: Department of Geography, University of Chicago)

- 1996 ‘Economic restructuring and social polarization in Toronto’ in Social Polarization in Post-lndustrial Metropolises, ed J. O’Loughlin and 1. Friedrichs (New York: Walter de Gruyter) 207-33

NAIIB, A.B. 1995 ’Immigrant business strategies: The role of ethnic resources and opportunity structures in Uppssala’ Nordisk Samhalls- geografisk Tidskrifl20, 101 -1 5

NASH, A. 1987 The Economic lmpact of the Entrepreneur Immigrant Program (Ottawa: Institute for Research on Public Policy)

- 1994 ‘Some recent developments in Canadian immigration policy‘ The Canadian Geographer, 38, 258-61

- 1995 ’Immigrants, ethnic entrepreneurship and labour markets: The case of business immigrants’ paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers, Montreal

OLSON, s. 1991 ‘Ethnic strategies in the urban economy’ Canadian Ethnic Studies 33, 39-58

PALM, R. 1985 ’Ethnic segmentation of real estate agent practice in the urban housing market’ Annals ofthe Association ofAmerican Ceogra- phers, 75, 58-60

PORTES, A. 1995 ‘Economic sociology and the sociology of immigration: A conceptual overview’ in The Economic Sociology of Immigration: Essays on Networks, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship, ed A. Portes (New York: Russell Sage) 1-41

RAY, B. 1994 ‘Immigrant settlement and housing in Metropolitan Toronto’ The Canadian Geographer 38,262-65

RAZIN, E., and LANGLOIS, A. 1996a ’Immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurs in Canadian and American metropolitan areas: A comparative perspective’ in lmmigration and Ethniciry in Canada, ed A. Laperriere, V. Lindstrom and T.P. Seiler (Montreal: Association for Canadian Stud- ies) 1 2 7 4 4

- 1996b ’Metropolitan characteristics and entrepreneurship among immigrants and ethnic groups in Canada’ lnternational Migration Re- view 30, 703-27

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 42, no 3 (1 998)

UVB Radiation Distribution in Canada during 1992 and 1993 281

RAZIN, E., and LANCLOIS, A. 1994 Metropolitan Characteristics and Entrepre- neurship among Immigrants and Ethnic Groups in Canada (Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

RICHMOND, A.H. 1974 ‘Migration, housing and urban planning in Toronto’ in Current Research in Sociology, ed M.S. Archer (Toronto: Eighth World Congress of Sociology) 185-228

- 1994 Global Apartheid: Refugees, Racism, and the New World Order (Toronto: Oxford UP)

SIMMONS, I.W. 1972 Patterns of Residential Movement in Metropolitan Toronto (Toronto: U of Toronto P)

TAYLOR, c. 1995 Dimensions o f Diversity in Canadian Business: Building a Business Case for Valuing Ethnocultural Diversity, report no 143-95 (Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada)

TEIXEIRA, c. 1993 ‘The role of “ethnic” sources of information in the relocation decision-making process: A case study of the Portuguese in Mississauga’ PHO dissertation, York University, Toronto

- 1995 ’Ethnicity, housing search, and the role of the real estate agent: A study of Portuguese and non-Portuguese real estate agents in Toronto’ The Professional Geographer 47, 176-83

- 1996 ’The suburbanization of Portuguese communitities in Toronto and Montreal: From isolation to residential integration?’ in Imrnigra- tion and Ethnicity in Canada, ed A. Laperriere, V. Lindstrom, and T.P. Seiler (Montreal: Association for Canadian Studies) 181 -201

TEIXEIRA, c., and MURDIE, R. 1997 ‘The role of ethnic real estate agents in the residential relocation process: A case study of Portuguese homebuyers in suburban Toronto’ Urban Geography 18,497-520

TURNER, M.A., and WIENK, R. 1993 ‘The residence of segregation in urban areas: Contributing causes’ in Housing Markets and Residential Mo- bility, ed G.T. Kingsley and M.A. Turner (Washington, o ~ : The Urban Institute Press) 193-21 6

WALDINCER, R. 1986 Through the Eye of the Needle: Immigrants and Enterprise in New York’s Garment Trades (New York: New York UP)

WALDINCER, R., and ALDRICH, H. 1990 ’Trends in ethnic business in the United States’ in Ethnic Entrepreneurs: Immigrant Business in Indus- trial Societies, ed R. Waldinger, H. Aldrich, and R. Ward (Newbury Park: SAGE Publications) 49-78

WALDINCER, R., ALDRICH, H., and WARD, R. 1990 ‘Opportunities, group characteristics and strategies’ in Ethnic Entrepreneurs, 13-48

WALDINGER et al. 1990 ’Conclusions and policy implications’ in Ethnic Entrepreneurs, 177-97

WERBNER, P. 1984 ’Business on trust: Pakistani entrepreneurship in the Manchester garment trade’ in Ethnic Communities in Business: Strate- gies for Economic Survival, ed R. Ward and R. Jenkins (New York: Cambridge UP) 166-88

ZHOU, M. 1992 Chinatown: The Socioeconomic Potential of an Urban Enclave (Philadelphia: Temple UP)

ZONN, L.E. 1980 ’Information flows in black residential search behavior‘ The Professional Geographer 32, 43-50

Submitted 02 / 97; Revised 08 / 97, 05 / 98; Accepted 05 / 98

H A N N A B. KRZEMINSKA Department of Geography and Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2

PETER L. JACKSON

ROBERT P. LOWE

Environmental Studies Program of University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia V2N 429

Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science and Department of Physics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2

UVB RADIATION DI CANADA DURING

STRIBUTION IN 1992 AND 1993

One of the steps leading to an assessment of the biologi- cal significance of ozone destruction is to determine the biologically effective ultraviolet radiation (UVB) distribution. The objective of this study is to describe and analyze

broadband UVB radiation at 24 locations across Canada, during the period from July 7 992 through December 1993. This is the first study of broadband UVB measure- ments involving such a large number of UVB measuring

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 42, no 3 (1998) 281-92 0 / 1998 Canadian Association of Geographers / L’Association canadienne des geographes

cultural resources and ethnic entrepreneurship: a case study of the portuguese real estate industry...

Documents