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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2006

Nicholas DeMaria Harney

The purpose of this paper is to examine migrants working as inter‐cultural mediators at the interface of the formal and informal economies in southern Italy so as to question the…

1129

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine migrants working as inter‐cultural mediators at the interface of the formal and informal economies in southern Italy so as to question the conventional representation of knowledge workers.

Design/methodology/approach

Ethnographic evidence collected between September 2004 and July 2005 is presented of the knowledge work of these precarious non‐European Union migrants in Naples, Italy.

Findings

This paper displays the need to consider alternative forms of knowledge work and knowledge worker that are central to the globalizing economy. Migration and difference and their resulting social realities are seen as central features of contemporary economic change. Depicting the creative, flexible, problem‐solving aspects of intercultural mediators who work with undocumented and documented migrants in the Naples area, this paper shows how these African migrant mediators make use of their full repertoire of formally trained knowledge and more centrally their social, tacit, experiential and embodied knowledge intimately linked with their Africanness and self‐awareness of their precarious migrant status to gain the trust of other Africans. In fact, their flexibility in the face of changing circumstances and their manipulation, reading and negotiation of cultural codes depending on circumstances reveals a flexible, enterprising style suited to the challenges of the knowledge economy.

Research limitations/implications

It displays how current conceptualisations of the knowledge economy and knowledge worker in contemporary advanced economies need considerable revision to include other types of migrant normally excluded from discussions.

Originality/value

This is one of the first attempts to display the relationship between knowledge workers, immigrants and the informal economy.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2006

Nicholas Harney

This paper aims to consider the use of rumour by Bangladeshi migrant entrepreneurs in Naples, Italy to comment on informal economic practices and migrant moral hierarchies present…

1326

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to consider the use of rumour by Bangladeshi migrant entrepreneurs in Naples, Italy to comment on informal economic practices and migrant moral hierarchies present in that city.

Design/methodology/approach

It is based on ethnographic fieldwork among migrants conducted by the author in the Naples region in 2004 and 2005. Rumour has been interpreted by some scholars as a way to promote community cohesion and by others to promote the self‐interest of those circulating it.

Findings

In this paper, rumour is seen as a communicative device that offers information or news for evaluation and is a central means of distributing information in all economies. Here, migrants use the information circulating in rumours to interpret their migratory chances in Italy in general and, more specifically, entrepreneurial conditions available to those engaged in informal economic activities in the Neapolitan economy. These rumours travel beyond a circumscribed racialised group to have purchase in wider social fields. In this case, as subjective representations of economic behaviour, these rumours offer models for entrepreneurial activities to be admired, mimicked, condemned, or avoided.

Originality/value

This ethnographic material suggests that greater attention should be paid to how subjective understandings spur social action as reflected here through the use of rumours as a kind of knowledge to be assessed and interpreted to form the basis of decisions about economic behaviour among Bangladeshi migrants in Naples.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 26 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1986

Francisco L. Rivera‐Batiz

This article provides a formal framework for the analysis of the impact of international migration in the presence of remittances. The discussion differentiates between temporary…

Abstract

This article provides a formal framework for the analysis of the impact of international migration in the presence of remittances. The discussion differentiates between temporary and permanent migration and between the effects of remittances that raise investment and those that raise consumption spending in the source country. Changes in prices, income distribution and national welfare are examined.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2011

Peter Enderwick, Rosalie L. Tung and Henry F.L. Chung

This paper aims to examine the myriad linkages between cross‐border migration and international business activity through a conceptual framework of international arbitrage.

3469

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the myriad linkages between cross‐border migration and international business activity through a conceptual framework of international arbitrage.

Design/methodology/approach

While labour is internationally the least integrated of the various markets (capital, product, labour) the increasing co‐movement of both tasks and workers has created opportunities for the arbitrage and exploitation of differences between national labour markets. Because national labour markets typically display the two characteristics of separation and price discrepancy it is possible to utilise the principle of arbitrage and within this framework examine cost, intellectual, knowledge and employment arbitrage.

Findings

The discussion suggests that international business offers valuable insights into migration processes and effects which have been dominated by the research approaches of other disciplines. It is found that migrants can help reduce transaction costs for bilateral trade, contribute to nostalgic trade, encourage outsourcing and foreign direct investment through referrals and performance signalling, assist country of origin development through remittances and return migration and provide valuable knowledge to their employers in the country of residence.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is a conceptual one which offers no new empirical results but does provide a context for the interpretation of the more specialised studies that appear in this special issue. There is a need for research on this topic to be firmly grounded in the contemporary context of an increasingly integrated global economy. It also suggests a number of specific areas where further work would be useful.

Originality/value

The key contribution of the paper is in developing a comprehensive conceptual framework – that of labour market arbitrage – which enables a clearer understanding of the complex impacts of international migration on international business activity. It also distinguishes between direct and indirect effects.

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 August 2021

Xiping Shinnie, Thomas Domboka and Charlotte Carey

The conceptual framework of Multicultural Hybridism is adopted to reflect the emerging themes of transnationalism and superdiversity in the context of ethnic minority migrant

Abstract

The conceptual framework of Multicultural Hybridism is adopted to reflect the emerging themes of transnationalism and superdiversity in the context of ethnic minority migrant entrepreneurs breaking out of their ethnic enclaves into mainstream economy. It is constructed as an extension of Mixed Embeddedness theory (Kloosterman, 2006), given that ‘Multicultural Hybrid’ (Arrighetti, Daniela Bolzani, & Lasagni, 2014) firms display stronger resilience with a higher survival rate than enclaved businesses (Kloosterman, Rusinovic, & Yeboah, 2016). With further integration of incremental diversification typology (Lassalle & Scott, 2018), the current study adopts Multicultural Hybridism as a lens to explore the opportunity recognition capabilities of transnational, migrant entrepreneurs who are facilitated by the hybridity of opportunity recognition (Lassalle, 2018) from linking host-country and home-country cultures. The hybridity of opportunity recognition focuses on access to markets and resources between transnational ethnic and local multicultural mainstream markets. Through the theoretical lens of Multicultural Hybridism, interviews with 16 Birmingham-based Chinese migrant entrepreneurs have been analysed to shape a dynamic understanding of the multifaceted concept of breakout in a superdiverse and transnational context. The multilayered interpretation of breakout provides an enhanced understanding of the diversity of hybridism between transnational ethnic and local multicultural mainstream markets. This is seen from the perspectives of firm growth and social integration in the current locations and future spaces of transnational migrant entrepreneurs. It goes beyond the narrow imagination of breakout as an economic assimilation process, avoiding the singular conceptualisation of the host-country mainstream market as the only breakout destination for transnational ethnic entrepreneurs.

Details

Global Migration, Entrepreneurship and Society
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-097-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 November 2020

David Prah and Hagan Sibiri

As the impact of COVID-19 on businesses was impossible to predict, so is the future of migrant entrepreneurs – some of whom, before the outbreak, had to deal with immigrant status…

Abstract

Purpose

As the impact of COVID-19 on businesses was impossible to predict, so is the future of migrant entrepreneurs – some of whom, before the outbreak, had to deal with immigrant status associated challenges. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to focus on African migrant entrepreneurs in China, much less studied ethnic migrants who have always lived on the margins of Chinese society, to examine their entrepreneurial resilience under COVID-19 in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a qualitative design using a survey and semi-structured follow-up interviews as the primary data collection instrument. The questions in the questionnaire guide were adapted from the Center for Global Development survey instrument designed to gauge the resilience of SMEs under COVID-19.

Findings

Although most business operations in China are impacted, African migrant businesses were very hit due to existing social challenges coupled with their informality (i.e. operating at a low level of organization), lack of contingency plans and lack of stimulus support. COVID-19 is thus not only a force majeure that threatens the growth expectation of African owned-business but also presents a threat to their very existence in an already challenging society for Africans.

Research limitations/implications

Although the study has achieved its intended purpose, the sample was relatively small due to the low return rate of questionnaires and the difficulties in reaching out to target respondents due to the restrictive measures on movements during the data collection period.

Originality/value

This paper draws attention to the entrepreneurship-related challenges faced by ethnic migrants in China during a crisis. The social challenges of Africans living in China became a global topical issue during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. However, little is known about their entrepreneurship endeavors and the associated difficulties. This paper helps our understanding of African businesses’ resilience in China during uncertain times, such as the one created by COVID-19.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 13 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2018

SaunJuhi Verma

My research builds upon masculinity studies as well as migration and gender theory to evaluate emerging strategies of gendered labor control at work sites within temporary worker…

Abstract

My research builds upon masculinity studies as well as migration and gender theory to evaluate emerging strategies of gendered labor control at work sites within temporary worker programs. In particular, my multisite ethnography consisting of 97 interviews with US guest workers, oil industry employers, and Indian labor brokers shifts focus to the recruitment of male workers into the US oil industry. The study evaluated a multi-country recruitment chain from India to the Middle East and into the US Guest Worker Program. Findings identified a relationship between the construction of masculinities and employer strategies for labor control. The article addresses the following question: how is hegemonic masculinity used as a strategy for labor control? The study identifies the double bind of hegemonic masculinity within contingent employment relationships as a means of labor control for curbing male migrant dissent.

Details

Gendering Struggles against Informal and Precarious Work
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-368-5

Keywords

Expert briefing
Publication date: 4 August 2023

After an initially haphazard response, there is now better planning around both immediate humanitarian need and permanent settlement, underpinned by donor financial and technical…

Article
Publication date: 14 February 2019

Caitlin Blaser Mapitsa

This paper aims to explore the role of migrants in the process of place making, through case studies of migrant engagement with municipal planning in five South African…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the role of migrants in the process of place making, through case studies of migrant engagement with municipal planning in five South African municipalities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws on empirical research carried out over two years, using mixed methods research in each municipal case study. Data come from key stakeholder interviews, participant observation, focus groups and demographic data to understand the perceptions and practices of local government officials and migrants within the community.

Findings

This research demonstrated that local government officials are assuming a population that is sedentary and geographically bounded, while migration is actively shaping communities. This mobility provides an opportunity for management practices to become more inclusive and effective.

Originality/value

By examining systems of local governance through the lens of a mobile population, new possibilities emerge about the ways migrant participation can contribute to the definitions of a place.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

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