Ethnicity, Identity and Marketing: A Critical Review

Ethnicity and identify are important marketing concepts in multi-cultural societies but they have received little attention in Britain. This paper examines reasons for this lack of interest prior to assessing key issues in the debate including: various ways of conceptualising ethnicity, identity and acculturation; understanding the complexities of undertaking market research with ethnic minorities; the appropriate use of various promotional strategies; and whether or not products and services need to be developed or adapted for the ethnic minority market. Within the paper it is argued that the concepts of ethnicity and identity are poorly developed within the marketing literature, both in terms of theory and practice. Directions for future research are proposed.