When a company wants to expand internationally, one of the strategies it deploys is to open branches in a country populated by people of its own ethnic group. For example, Chinese banks have opened branches in various Chinatowns in the U.S., counting on the shared culture to attract customers. Wharton management professor Exequiel (Zeke) Hernandez studied this phenomenon in the banking industry in his paper, “ When Do Ethnic Communities Affect Foreign Location Choice? Dual Entry Strategies of Korean Banks in China ,” which was co-authored with Yong Li, a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Management, and Sunhwan Gwon, who earned his Ph.D. at the University at Buffalo School of Management. Hernandez spoke to Knowledge at Wharton about his findings. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Knowledge at Wharton : How did you get this idea to study ethnic communities and banks? It seems like a fairly unusual topic. Zeke Hernandez : It goes back to my early years in grad school.…