The Role of Economic Factors and Guanxi Networks in the Success of Chinese Shops in Johannesburg, South Africa

Willemse, Lodene

doi:10.1007/s12132-013-9202-4

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Another aspect of taking advantage of ethnic resources in business is capitalising ethnic bonds and intra-group loyalty. Th e studies of Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs frequently emphasise the signifi cance of ethnic networks based on solidarity and cooperation (guanxi) which enable successful conduction of business activities (Li, Moreira 2009;Obłój, Zhang 2011;Willemse 2014;Chester 2016). Th e phenomenon, originating from an old Confucian concept, is also studied in reference to Chinese entrepreneurs in their native country (Lee, Anderson 2007).…”

Section: Using Ethnic Cultural and Ethnic Social Capital In Businessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experience of migrant self-employment as „economisation of ethnicity”. Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs in Poland

Andrejuk

Oleksiyenko

2018

SMPP

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Th e article presents the concept of "economisation of ethnicity" understood as a strategy of taking advantage of cultural resources of ethnic groups in conducting business activities. On the example of the Chinese and Indian communities it explores diff erent ways and patterns of using ethnic cultural and ethnic social capital for the development of own enterprises. Such strategies involve for example: attracting ethnic customers, employing ethnic workers, off ering ethnic goods. However, "economisation of ethnicity" means using ethnicity in a non-alienating manner. It includes also eff orts of integration with the host society, for example good knowledge of Polish language and culture. Th e article is based on the offi cial statistical data and results of the qualitative research conducted in years 2014-2017 within the grant project fi nanced by the National Science Centre.

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Section: Using Ethnic Cultural and Ethnic Social Capital In Businessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experience of migrant self-employment as „economisation of ethnicity”. Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs in Poland

Andrejuk

Oleksiyenko

2018

SMPP

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“…Meanwhile in Kuala Lumpur, the call for ‘No Chinatown, please!’ speaks to fears that Chinatown symbolizes the further minoritization of the Chinese in a Malay-dominated landscape (Loo, 2012). Linder’s (2019) study of the emergence of Chinatown in Kathmandu demonstrates the simultaneous embodiment and contestation of geopolitical narratives of China’s ascendance on the world stage, a theme echoed in Tu Huynh’s (2018) and Willemse’s (2014) separate papers on new spaces of encounter – labelled as Chinatowns – that accompany increasing Chinese capital penetration and migrant presence in Africa. Expanding the scope of comparison would also accord with the book’s argument for ‘a multiplication of referential points of Chinatown’s narration beyond the singular [West]’ (p. 13).…”

Section: Commentary 1: Liberating Chinatown From Its Own Othernessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Book review symposium

2020

Progress in Human Geography

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“…Many are resold in Chinese-owned wholesale malls in major cities and border towns across South Africa (Dittgen 2015, 2017). This is a major market with over 20 such malls in Johannesburg alone and others opening in cities and towns across the country (Harrison et al, 2012: 919; Willemse, 2014). The malls are typically secure complexes hosting multiple entrepreneurs each managing their own small shop front.…”

Section: An Emerging Entrepôt Amidst Johannesburg’s Urban Transformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

An enclave entrepôt: The informal migration industry and Johannesburg’s socio-spatial transformation

Zack

Landau

2021

Urban Studies

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The spatial concentration of production in cities attracts international and domestic labour in ways that change the character and scale of urban space. Drawing on two decades of research on migration and informal trading in Johannesburg, South Africa, this article argues that the global trade in Chinese ‘fast fashion’ interacts with South Africa’s immigration policy, transportation networks, informal trade and established migration infrastructures to transform the city’s Park Station neighbourhood into an enclave entrepôt. Operated and supported by a network of informal logistics services that keep the enclave within but apart from the city, it is exquisitely tailored to cross-border shoppers. At the social and legal margins but at the city’s geographic core, it enables fluidity in an otherwise hostile space; it is at once highly visible and invisibilising. Formed in the shadows of formal institutions and law enforcement, this entrepôt is migrant-driven and serves the needs of people often seeking to remain invisible from the South African state and citizenry. As such, its services are adapted from the infrastructures that service legal and irregular migration in the subcontinent. Unlike ethnic enclaves or neighbourhoods that work as arrival zones, it provides the means to move ‘through’ rather than ‘into’ the city. The entrepôt is a form of migrant space-claiming by vulnerable and mobile people wishing to be in but not of the city. It acts as portal into, through and beyond national territory.

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The Role of Economic Factors and Guanxi Networks in the Success of Chinese Shops in Johannesburg, South Africa

Cited by 9 publications

References 21 publications

Experience of migrant self-employment as „economisation of ethnicity”. Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs in Poland

Experience of migrant self-employment as „economisation of ethnicity”. Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs in Poland

Book review symposium

An enclave entrepôt: The informal migration industry and Johannesburg’s socio-spatial transformation

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