“Beyond Ethnic Economy”: Religiosity, Social Entrepreneurship, and Solidarity Formation of Indonesian Migrants in Taiwan

Abstract

Indonesian migrants in Taiwan have been dominated by low skilled workers who are labelled uneducated sojourners, consumptive, the misplacement of future orientation, and a minority group struggling to survive. Several individuals concern about the migrant condition, and they are so-called migrant social entrepreneurs. Through social-religious activities and interrelations with the migrant worker community, the Indonesian entrepreneurs have created solidarity for migrant workers' to generate living conditions that are more favourable and improve their livelihoods. Three important factors shape this condition: the marginal position of second-class migrant workers-immigrants, the virtuous value of religion, and social apprehension. Thorough analysing the religious experiences of entrepreneurs and social-religious activities, this paper shows the positive effects of the relationship between business activities and religious value application, which establish the immigrant self-identity, solidarity, leadership, and collective work formation of the Indonesian migrant community in Taiwan. The primary data is based on the observation of participants' daily business activities and in-depth interviews with Indonesian entrepreneurs from June to December 2014. The ethnographic research method is applied as a means to explore the effect that migrant-entrepreneur social relations have on the mode of entrepreneurship practices. AbstrakKeberadaan migran Indonesia di Taiwan didominasi oleh pekerja pabrik dan sektor rumah tangga. Mereka adalah kelompok minoritas yang berjuang untuk bertahan hidup. Mereka diberi label sebagai kelompok yang tidak berpendidikan, konsumtif, dan tidak memiliki orientasi masa depan. Terdapat kepedulian terhadap kondisi para migran, salah satunya dari kelompok pengusaha kecil Indonesia yang berjiwa sosial. Mereka melakukan aksi kegiatan sosial-keagamaan yang terkait dengan komunitas pekerja migran. Kerjasama/hubungan antara pengusaha dengan pekerja migran ini menciptakan rasa solidaritas kelompok dan membangun rasa kebersamaan di antara mereka. Ada tiga faktor penting pembentuk kondisi ini: posisi marjinal sebagai migran, nilai agama, dan rasa keprihatinan sosial. Melalui analisis pengalaman religius dari pengusaha dan dalam kegiatan sosial-keagamaan, tulisan ini memperlihatkan efek positif antara aktivitas bisnis dan penerapan nilai agama, yang menjadi alat pembentuk identitas diri imigran, rasa solidaritas, kepemimpinan, dan penerapan kerja kolektif masyarakat migran Indonesia di Taiwan. Tulisan ini berdasarkan pengamatan dari kegiatan sehari-hari masyarakat migran dan wawancara mendalam terhadap pengusaha Indonesia pada bulan Juni hingga Desember 2014. Metode penelitian etnografi digunakan dalam penelitian untuk mengeksplorasi sejauh mana proses hubungan sosial migran-pengusaha terhadap pembentukan solidaritas komunitas migran melalui praktek kewirausahaan sosial-religius yang dijalankan.

KNOWCON 2022. Knowledge on Economics and Management: Conference Proceedings

“…Kao and Huang (2015) highlighted the role of the family in social entrepreneurship. Yuniarto (2016) showed the positive effects of the relationship between business activities and religious value application. Ip et al (2018) proposed a multiple mediation framework to examine the mediating role of entrepreneurial creativity for university students.…”

Islamic Entrepreneurship among Nonimmigrant Muslims in Small Venture Creation

“…According to Barack-Bianco & Raijman (2015), migration has become a significant feature because immigrants transform the ethnonational mosaic of societies. Nonimmigrant Muslims, while they are economic immigrants, are also diverse populations with diverse expectations (Yuniarto, 2021;Vawda, 2017). Independent of whether they relocated by choice or were involuntarily moved, nonimmigrants are linked to many physical and social environments (Harim et al, 2021;Yuniarto, 2021;Vawda, 2017).…”

“…Nonimmigrant Muslims, while they are economic immigrants, are also diverse populations with diverse expectations (Yuniarto, 2021;Vawda, 2017). Independent of whether they relocated by choice or were involuntarily moved, nonimmigrants are linked to many physical and social environments (Harim et al, 2021;Yuniarto, 2021;Vawda, 2017). The growth of nonimmigrant entrepreneurship is a multifaceted course that stresses a comprehension of several theoretical clarifications (Fee & Rahman, 2014).…”

Migrant Workers Empowerment Through Vocational Education and Community-Based Learning: A Study Case of Indonesian in Taiwan

“…The role of education in increasing returned migrant economy is also found. Yuniarto (2016a) describes vocational training by Indonesian government to promote entrepreneurship for returned migrant can develop future carrier rather than remigration. Meanwhile, the VET effectiveness in improving foreign worker labour-market outcomes could be limited when foreign workers refuse to enroll in VET or to get in contact with VET providers (Cedefop, 2011).…”