Examining the Impact of Four Key Cultural Dimensions on Ethnic Restaurants in Victoria in Australia

This study examines the impact (if any) of four key cultural dimensions on ethnic restaurants in regional Victoria, Australia. Based on a modified model developed by Nguyen and King [Nguyen, T., & King, B. (2002). Migrant communities and tourism consumption – the case of the Vietnamese in Australia. In C.M. Hall (Ed.), Tourism and migration. New relationships between production and consumption (pp. 221–256). The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers], this article explores the impacts of religion, co-ethnic ties, marriage and family support on the entrepreneurial behaviour of restaurants. These four cultural dimensions have been identified as influencing factors (Nguyen & King, 2002), but to what extent? It suggests that co-ethnic ties, marriage and family support are important to the daily operations of an ethnic restaurant, and potentially, long-term financial success. This is theoretically important in understanding how ethnic minority restaurants may differ regarding entrepreneurial business decisions compared to similar Western businesses. Utilising family and co-ethnic ties, labour resources offers a competitive advantage in four ways; reduced labour cost, efficiencies in communication, predictable behaviour and restaurant promotional opportunities. Religion, the fourth key cultural dimension put forward in Nguyen and King's (2002) model did not strongly influence entrepreneurial behaviour; however, it still may have relevance outside business behaviour.