Abstract

Inter-country migration has led to the formation and development of ethnic communities in all the countries across globe. These communities are sizeable and represent a prospective and unexplored market segment. In today's dynamic and ever-increasing markets, ethnic marketing promises new dimension for recognition and revenue-generation. This paper sets out to measure ethnic identification variables in the Malaysian context. Seven most widely accepted constructs of ethnic identity - language, friendship networks, religious affiliation, participation in clubs and organizations, endogamy, food preference and traditional celebrations - were translated into nine constructs. Data was collected and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis on three ethnic groups - Malay, Chinese and Iban - in Malaysia. The findings indicate that 'my language' and 'my friends' can measure ethnic identification strength, with a caveat for religion for Malays.