Disharmonious Chinese ethnic business: intergroup stereotypes among Chinese migrant employees in Australia

Yao-Tai Li*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This article focuses on perceptual divisions in the ethnic businesses and how PRC-Chinese and Taiwanese employees navigate and contest ethnic stereotypes within Chinese workplaces in Australia. Literature has highlighted internal ethnicity in the overseas Chinese ethnic businesses; but there has been little examination of the structural and symbolic aspects that lead Chinese migrant employees to generate specific ethnic stereotypes of other subgroups. Relying on sixteen months of fieldwork and in-depth interviews with thirty-two Chinese migrant employees, this article shows that the stereotyping of ethnic Chinese bosses as an integrated group and sub-ethnic stereotypes of PRC-Chinese or Taiwanese employers are symbiotic. Chinese ethnic workplaces in Australia are internally divided along sub-ethnic lines and refracted through employment relationship. Meanwhile, group interactions in the workplace reveal an awareness of ethnic differences and present specific ethnic stereotypes of others.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)732-750
    Number of pages19
    JournalEthnic and Racial Studies
    Volume43
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 15 Mar 2020

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Australia
    • Chinese
    • Ethnic business
    • ethnic stereotype
    • intergroup perception
    • internal ethnicity

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