Suchergebnisse

1. Introduction : a relational approach to Chinese SOE globalization -- 2. Retreat of the Chinese state : history of Chinese SOEs in West Africa -- 3. African embeddedness and vulnerable Chinese -- 4. African managers and workers : workforce localization and becoming a paternalistic employer -- 5. Chinese expats : social promotion and localization in West Africa -- 6. Competing for the "Chinese community" : Chinese managerial agency -- 7. Conclusion : second-class Chinese globalizations in West Africa.

Chinese migrant entrepreneurs in Ghana perceive themselves as vulnerable, as regularly they encounter problems and their businesses fail. The adaption experiences of Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa, especially non-traders, remain largely unstudied. By looking at the interactions of newly arrived and established Chinese migrants with institutional actors, partners, local employees and other Chinese in Ghana, this paper shows the multiple dimensions of how Chinese entrepreneurs' migration adaptation evolves, and how they create social capital to develop their businesses in Ghana. From the Chinese perspective, established entrepreneurs condemn the recent numerous "new" Chinese in Ghana as part of the root cause of problems, on account of their "poor quality and bad behaviour"; by comparison, the newly arrived Chinese attribute their challenges to deficiencies in the local people and institutions of the host country. The negative experiences of Chinese entrepreneurs in Ghana provide further evidence for, not only African, but also local Chinese agency from below, and suggest that the rising Chinese presence does not necessarily improve the social status of Chinese entrepreneurs or create a stronger, more unified Chinese community on the continent. (JCCA/GIGA)

Chinese migrant entrepreneurs in Ghana perceive themselves as vulnerable, as regularly they encounter problems and their businesses fail. The adaption experiences of Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa, especially non-traders, remain largely unstudied. By looking at the interactions of newly arrived and established Chinese migrants with institutional actors, partners, local employees and other Chinese in Ghana, this paper shows the multiple dimensions of how Chinese entrepreneurs' migration adaptation evolves, and how they create social capital to develop their businesses in Ghana. From the Chinese perspective, established entrepreneurs condemn the recent numerous 'new' Chinese in Ghana as part of the root cause of problems, on account of their 'poor quality and bad behaviour'; by comparison, the newly arrived Chinese attribute their challenges to deficiencies in the local people and institutions of the host country. The negative experiences of Chinese entrepreneurs in Ghana provide further evidence for, not only African, but also local Chinese agency from below, and suggest that the rising Chinese presence does not necessarily improve the social status of Chinese entrepreneurs or create a stronger, more unified Chinese community on the continent. Adapted from the source document.

Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have gradually localized their workforce since they began operating in Ghana in the 1980s. Examining their workforce localization patterns, the Chinese SOEs in Ghana appear to be diverse in their business practices and highly autonomous from the Chinese state. Our hypothesis on the substantial autonomy of Chinese SOE overseas subsidiaries, which is consequent to the lack of management control from the Chinese central authority since the Chinese economic reform, contrasts the dominant assumption in the China-Africa debate, in which Chinese SOEs are depicted as closely linked to the Chinese state and/or as the arms of the new Chinese policy in Africa. The workforce localization process of Chinese SOEs in Ghana is largely determined by factors like profit maximization objective, market competition and political pressure. The localization experience is similar to those of Western companies in Africa where complete workforce localization takes a long time to achieve. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

En se focalisant sur les entreprises publiques chinoises (EPC) de construction au Ghana, cet article montre que les différences observables dans les comportements économiques et les niveaux de développement de ces entreprises ne se jouent pas essentiellement dans leur rapport à l'État chinois. Les EPC qui enregistrent les meilleurs résultats en termes de développement économique et de comportement social responsable ne sont pas les plus grandes entreprises publiques en Chine, mais plutôt des EPC provinciales ou encore des groupes d'EPC moins stratégiques. Mais ce degré d'autonomie dont bénéficient les entreprises ne devient un facteur déterminant que lorsqu'il est corrélé au temps passé dans le pays d'accueil, source indispensable d'adaptation au contexte local – un fait souvent négligé dans l'analyse des relations Chine-Afrique. Les EPC au Ghana se sont progressivement transformées en entreprises locales, jouissant d'un fort degré d'indépendance sous la conduite de leurs directeurs de filiales.