‘Truly a European company’ : a Chinese auto maker’s strategies of Europeanisation

Research on international business presents ‘liability of foreignness’ as a key factor in a Multinational Enterprise’s (MNE’s) operations, but it has not addressed ‘foreignness’ as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. Adopting an identity work perspective, this article examines ‘foreignness’ as social construct, studying how a Chinese MNE manoeuvres the local economic and political contexts. We also shift the focus from ‘liability of foreignness’ to ‘liability of origin’, as elements associated with the home country can also implicate liability. We discuss the market entry of a private Chinese manufacturing company in Hungary and the Netherlands as a proxy for Europeanization, analysing regional and local strategies pursued by the company in organizing its business and representing its corporate identity when dealing with divergent European contexts

Toward a kinship perspective on entrepreneurship

This paper develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the role of kinship in entrepreneurship. Kinship, we argue, is a key-ingredient of the social and cultural environment of entrepreneurs, and therefore essential in understanding how and why entrepreneurship happens. Building on qualitative research conducted among Cambodian Chinese entrepreneurs in Phnom Penh, we define kinship as interpersonal ties grounded in relatedness. We distinguish different categories of kinship ties that involve different levels of relatedness and are used for different aspects of entrepreneurship, and we identify different types of reciprocity and trust as the sociocultural dynamics that buttress kinship involvement in entrepreneurship

An anthropological perspective on contextualizing entrepreneurship

This paper develops an anthropological perspective on contextualizing entrepreneurship. We argue that interconnectedness is the quintessence of such a perspective and takes the form of (1) sociocultural ties between people; (2) interrelationships between micro, meso, and macro levels; and (3) connections between the past and the present. We illustrate this perspective through our research among ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia, identifying three kinds of sociocultural ties among the ethnic Chinese (kinship, spiritual, and patron-client ties) and positioning these ties in the historical and contemporary experiences of Chinese migration, settlement, and business venturing. In doing so, we show that an anthropological perspective broadens the empirical scope (including developing countries, minority groups, and “everyday” entrepreneurship), the methodological scope (employing ethnographic methods), and the conceptual scope (considering sociocultural ties at the interpersonal level) of entrepreneurship research. The contribution lies in operationalizing and theorizing context: we operationalize context through interconnectedness – comprising our three forms as well as ethnographic methodology to examine these – and theorize interconnectedness by elaborating how entrepreneurs “do” context through enacting the sociocultural ties that “embody” this context, while considering the micro-meso-macro and past-present connections that have engendered these ties. Our anthropological perspective presents a fine-grained and holistic analytical framework for contextualizing entrepreneurship

When simplicity becomes complexity: negotiations between a Mennonite enterprising community and the Government of Belize

Purpose A central theme in the literature on entrepreneurship in remote communities – be they religious, indigenous, rural or migrant communities – is the balance between continuity and change or tradition and modernity and the role of entrepreneurship in maintaining or uprooting this balance. The purpose of this paper is to examine this dynamic in the context of Springfield, a small settlement of Old Order Mennonites in Belize, Central America. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on ethnographic research conducted in the Mennonite settlement of Springfield, Belize, between 2002 and 2019, as well as written correspondence with key stakeholders from Springfield. Findings This paper identifies three issues of contention between the Springfield Mennonites and the Belizean state: the agricultural census issue, the buying land issue and the cow tagging issue. Each of these revolves around state demands for assimilation into (digitalized) administrative systems and Mennonite resistance to these demands based on their religious-moral code. This study describes the negotiations around these issues. Originality/value The focus in most literature on entrepreneurship in remote communities is on how internal community dynamics shape the balance between continuity and change and, in extension, the space for entrepreneurship. The originality of the paper lies in shifting the focus to the relationship between the community and external stakeholders, especially the state