Intentions transformation of Arab ethnic minority entrepreneurs in Israel: a literature review

Entrepreneurship is considered a key growth engine in developed countries. It is widely accepted in entrepreneurial scholarly literature that entrepreneurial intentions are the best predictor of the entrepreneurial behaviour. Study and research on entrepreneurial intentions of ethnic and/or immigrant communities has a long history and it is a well-developed strand of entrepreneurship research. Yet there is scant research concerning Arab ethnic minority entrepreneurs in Israel. More specifically, there is paucity in research that examines and establishes the entrepreneurial intentions of the Arab entrepreneur at the agent level. Further, there is lack of research both globally and locally to the extent to which global factors affect entrepreneurial intentions.
This review focuses primarily on literature on entrepreneurial intentions of the Arab minority entrepreneurs. It reviews scholarly works related to development of the ethnic Arab minority economy in Israel and the transformation of entrepreneurial intentions of the Arab minority entrepreneurs considering the globalization trends of the past few decades. A comparison is also conducted with writings on other ethnic minority entrepreneurs in UK and US. Our review highlights that contrary to classic entrepreneurs, new generation Arab ethnic minority entrepreneurs in Israel, while limited in number, are going through disruptive transition and transformation due to globalization effects. In view of scant research on this theme so far, more research on antecedents and consequences of Arab ethnic minority entrepreneurship in Israel is needed.