Metodología para la Detección y Diagnóstico

In his classic study of immigrant entrepreneurship, Bovenkerk (1983) distinguishes between three different models to explain migrants’ motivation for becoming entrepreneurs. Two of these models appeared significant with regard to the Chinese entrepreneurial parents (CEP82) involved in this research and will be scrutinized in the following paragraphs. The first, the cultural model or the theory of original entrepreneurial migration, postulates that immigrant entrepreneurship is not the result but the cause of the migration and that migrant entrepreneurs often have experience and knowledge in the field as they come from countries where independent entrepreneurship represents the main source of income (Lambrecht, Verhoeve, & Martens, 2002, p. 5). When we take a closer look at the twenty CEP within this research, then the following elements can be noticed: 1/ Not one CEP had worked as independent entrepreneur in the country of origin, 2/ at least six CEP’s had grown up in entrepreneurial families, 3/ seven CEP’s had worked in the business of close relatives or acquaintances prior to becoming entrepreneurs themselves. These elements all point to a significant aspect of Chinese entrepreneurship, i.e. the value of interpersonal networks. Numerous scholars have shown that within Chinese society as well as throughout the Chinese Diaspora the use of social networks or guanxi is a deeply rooted and valued business strategy (Chan & Chan, 2011; Cohen, 1997; Liu, 2008; Pang, 2003b; Rijkschroeff, 1998; Salaff et al., 2010). The most powerful and thus most frequently used network is the one based on family or kinship (Chan & Chan, 2011; Pang, 2002, 2003b; Song, 1997). Chan & Chan write: “In

Chinese societies, economic behavior has always evolved around the ‘core’ of the family. The concept of the ‘family’ is at the heart of one’s loyalty, and figures prominently in the Chinese economic life” (2011, p. 19).

The importance of family ties appeared evident in the occupational realm of the respondents in this research, albeit in varying ways. Many parents belonging to the first generation came to Europe as part of the chain migration pattern and had been induced by relatives residing in Belgium or other European countries (brothers/sisters, uncles/aunts) to assist them in their family business. Thus for many Chinese parents, the Chinese catering and retail sector constituted an easy and available gateway to work and settle down in Europe. After some years of assistance and building up professional experiences and financial means, most eventually started up their own businesses.

Anthropologist: How was it to arrive in Belgium?

Father of Amber & Mei-Lan: It was not difficult because I was lucky. My older brother already had a restaurant here and my mother also had some money, not very much, but enough for my twin brother and me to start up our own restaurant. I mean: my older brother had one so he helped me and my twin brother to start one. First, when we arrived in Belgium, we had to learn how to run a restaurant, learn how to serve and cook and do the shopping and so on. So we could keep ourselves very busy. We had no difficulties; I had no difficulties at all. So, when I look back: we were lucky, we were young and the time was ok.

Others were still children when they migrated to Belgium and are in fact the offspring of the group of Chinese just described. These parents were ingrained in the family business, as they grew up in it and were often deployed during their childhood as part of the workforce during after-school hours. Of this group of 1.5 or second-generation Chinese respondents, some – in this case exclusively fathers - had inherited their parents’ businesses. They recall that the value of professional independence and entrepreneurship was transmitted to them throughout their childhood lives. Additionally, parents referred to the role of Chinese acquaintances and fellow-villagers as significant providers of job opportunities within the immigrant business sector. Their narratives also show that in case of such non-kin relations, those who eventually left the businesses tended to maintain good relationships with former employers. In the words of these parents: “they are our friends”, “we still visit each other quite a lot”.

Shing: “My father migrated to Belgium in 1975 at the age of 20. The reason he migrated? He had many friends here who had told him it was a good country to live in. So my father came and started working in their restaurant.”

“I came to Europe in 1983, alone. I was 21 and my family had many acquaintances in Holland. […] When I arrived there they asked me: “Do you like it here?” I said I did. So I decided to stay a little longer and I started looking for a job in one of their restaurants.”

All of the above-data indicate that Chinese business management is characterised by a clear and vigorous intertwining of financial, social and labour capital. This can be referred to as a form of “ethnic capital” (Chan & Chan, 2011, p. 21) and is based on important cultural principles, including ‘enforceable trust’ and ‘bounded solidarity’ (Chan & Chan, 2011; Cohen, 1997; Liu, 2008; Pang, 2003; Salaff et al., 2010; Rijkschroeff, 1998). Thus, not only within the Chinese Diaspora but also in Chinese societies in general, economic behaviours tend to evolve around trust and risk management that extends from kin-based relations or in- group affiliations, with the latter being based on either geography or conjugality (Chan & Chan, 2011). However, can this ‘cultural model’ sufficiently explain Chinese immigrants’ blatant preference for labour within the confines of the own ethnic community? A more in- depth analysis of respondents’ narratives suggests that still other variables have played a significant role in the actual decision making process.