“Beyond Ethnic Economy”: Religiosity, Social Entrepreneurship, and Solidarity Formation of Indonesian Migrants in Taiwan

Rudolf Yuniarto

doi:10.7454/mssh.v20i1.3482

Abstract

Indonesian migrants in Taiwan have been dominated by low skilled workers who are labelled uneducated sojourners, consumptive, the misplacement of future orientation, and a minority group struggling to survive. Several individuals concern about the migrant condition, and they are so-called migrant social entrepreneurs. Through social-religious activities and interrelations with the migrant worker community, the Indonesian entrepreneurs have created solidarity for migrant workers’ to generate living conditions that are more favourable and improve their livelihoods. Three important factors shape this condition: the marginal position of second-class migrant workers-immigrants, the virtuous value of religion, and social apprehension. Thorough analysing the religious experiences of entrepreneurs and social-religious activities, this paper shows the positive effects of the relationship between business activities and religious value application, which establish the immigrant self-identity, solidarity, leadership, and collective work formation of the Indonesian migrant community in Taiwan. The primary data is based on the observation of participants’ daily business activities and in-depth interviews with Indonesian entrepreneurs from June to December 2014. The ethnographic research method is applied as a means to explore the effect that migrant-entrepreneur social relations have on the mode of entrepreneurship practices.

Highlights

There are three interesting phenomena attracting the attention of Indonesian migrant workers, entrepreneurship, and the religiosity as situated in recent migration condition in Taiwan; the first phenomenon is the poor condition of migrant workers due to working restrictive and oppressive government policies
This study has demonstrates the salience of the interrelation between social entrepreneurship practices and Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan in religiosity and solidarity framework
The study does suggest a complex and significant interaction between migrant identity, solidarity, leadership, and collective working as they relate to religious orientation and self-employment that has not been much investigated, especially, in the literature of Indonesian migrant entrepreneurship and socio-cultural activities

Summary

Introduction

There are three interesting phenomena attracting the attention of Indonesian migrant workers, entrepreneurship, and the religiosity as situated in recent migration condition in Taiwan; the first phenomenon is the poor condition of migrant workers due to working restrictive (e.g. no holidays) and oppressive government policies There is one argument why entrepreneurs’ actors become the focus in this study, that is, beyond their daily business operation, the pattern of entrepreneurial intention and social relation with migrant customers is marked by solidarity and humanity. This paper aims to examine a set of interrelated religious value applications and migrant entrepreneurship to advocate for a greater devotion to spiritual pursuits and humanity rather than to economic gains, and this is what it is called as ‘beyond ethnic economy’ activity. It aims to describe the intersection of entrepreneurs’ social activity and the migrant environment, such as migrants’ marginal positions in Taiwan. As for theoretical and academic contributions, the study of religious, migrant, and entrepreneurs’ activities may provide a valuable window for a sociocultural perspective analysis in the current Indonesian migrant situation in Taiwan

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