Capitalizing on Opportunities during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Business Transitions among Chinese Entrepreneurs in France

Simeng Wang () and Xiabing Chen
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Simeng Wang: CERMES3 - UMR 8211 / U988 / UM 7 - CERMES3 - Centre de recherche Médecine, sciences, santé, santé mentale, société - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - INSERM - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UPCité - Université Paris Cité
Xiabing Chen: GEMASS - Groupe d'Etude des Méthodes de l'Analyse Sociologique de la Sorbonne - FMSH - Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: This chapter explores business transitions among Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in France (in five different commercial sectors: imports and exports, retail, catering, hotels, and tobacco) during the Covid-19 pandemic. After giving a historical overview of the development of ethnic Chinese businesses over the past century, the chapter examines the challenges that these entrepreneurs have faced during the pandemic, the strategies that they adopted in response to these challenges, and what enabled them to shift business patterns and commercial practices under these unprecedented circumstances. Before the pandemic, some Chinese entrepreneurs had already made the transition, in full or in part, to "integrating online and offline businesses," "hiring beyond Chinese ethnic networks," and "paying attention to the local policy directions," which helped them greatly limit the negative impacts of the pandemic. The major findings in this chapter show that the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the transition in Chinese immigrant entrepreneurship in France, from offline operations to digital business. However, the pandemic might not be the direct cause of this business transition; rather, it created unique conditions that facilitated the transition. During the pandemic, two unprecedented business opportunities opened up that some Chinese entrepreneurs have proactively pursued since April–May 2020: "fostering local production" and "seeking low-risk sectors." These might be new trends for Chinese entrepreneurs in France in the future. This chapter suggests that, from a theoretical perspective, business transitions among Chinese entrepreneurs in France need to be examined beyond the framework of pure economic rationality, taking into consideration the intersection of new dynamics in Chinese migration to living country and the cross-cultural, cross-institutional and cross-border social engagement of the entrepreneurs before, during, and after the pandemic.

Keywords: business transitions; entrepreneurs; Chinese migrants in France; Covid-19 pandemic; business patterns; commercial practices; coping strategies; digital business; economy; social engagement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-10-30
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Published in Simeng Wang. Chinese in France amid the Covid-19 Pandemic. Daily Lives, Racial Struggles and Transnational Citizenship of Migrants and Descendants, BRILL, pp.256-281, 2023, 9789004678606. ⟨10.1163/9789004678606_011⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04313001

DOI: 10.1163/9789004678606_011

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