Title: Migrant women entrepreneurs in the garment industry in modern China: embedding translocality and feminised Guanxi networks

Authors: Khun Eng Kuah-Pearce

Addresses: School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University, Malaysia

Abstract: This paper examines the emergence of migrant women entrepreneurs in the garment industry in Guangdong and how they negotiated business and family life in a translocal environment. This paper argues that the success of these women entrepreneurs is the result of two sets of strategies, one of their conscientious efforts in weaving different sets of social networks (guanxi); and second of their willingness to establish translocality as a way of life that enabled them to juggle successfully between entrepreneurship and familism. Being successful entrepreneurs, they are seen as 'superwomen, nu qiang ren by their peers and the general public, but they preferred the label 'women with super strength', qiang nu ren as they seek to balance their entrepreneurship and family life in a translocal environment.

Keywords: Chinese migrant women; women entrepreneurs; garment industry; apparel industry; clothing industry; entrepreneurial fever; feminised guanxi networks; translocality; China; feminisation; female entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; translocality; social networks; family life; female migrants; migration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2016.075730

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2016 Vol.16 No.3, pp.335 - 349

Received: 16 Apr 2015
Accepted: 26 May 2015
Published online: 01 Apr 2016 *

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