Thai Immigrant Service-based Entrepreneurship in the UK: Mixed Embeddedness, Superdiversity, and Combined Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Capital
This paper examines Thai immigrant entrepreneurship in the UK, drawing on 17 inter-views with Thai migrants in Brighton, East Sussex. It explores how Thai immigrants from different socioeconomic backgrounds and migration pathways mobilize ethnic and non-ethnic forms of capital in their entrepreneuri...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Society for South-East Asian Studies
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Advances in Southeast Asian Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/view/6776 |
| _version_ | 1797955729617846272 |
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| author | Sirijit Sunanta |
| author_facet | Sirijit Sunanta |
| author_sort | Sirijit Sunanta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper examines Thai immigrant entrepreneurship in the UK, drawing on 17 inter-views with Thai migrants in Brighton, East Sussex. It explores how Thai immigrants from different socioeconomic backgrounds and migration pathways mobilize ethnic and non-ethnic forms of capital in their entrepreneurial activities. Thai immigrants constitute a relatively new, small, but internally diverse migrant population in the UK, with female marriage migrants dominating the Thai migrant population in the past two decades. The findings of this study reveal that Thai migrants tend to own small-scale businesses or provide personal services in three sectors: cleaning and care work, beauty and massage, and food and catering. In their interaction with opportunity structures in the UK, Thai restaurant and massage entrepreneurs mobilize the exotic notion of “Thai-ness” to add value to their services catering to local British customers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:38:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d1e140c40e4a4801ad958399dcea33d0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2791-531X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:38:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Society for South-East Asian Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Southeast Asian Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-d1e140c40e4a4801ad958399dcea33d02023-01-11T15:07:57ZengSociety for South-East Asian StudiesAdvances in Southeast Asian Studies2791-531X2022-12-01152213230https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0078Thai Immigrant Service-based Entrepreneurship in the UK: Mixed Embeddedness, Superdiversity, and Combined Ethnic and Non-Ethnic CapitalSirijit Sunanta0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3447-4648Mahidol UniversityThis paper examines Thai immigrant entrepreneurship in the UK, drawing on 17 inter-views with Thai migrants in Brighton, East Sussex. It explores how Thai immigrants from different socioeconomic backgrounds and migration pathways mobilize ethnic and non-ethnic forms of capital in their entrepreneurial activities. Thai immigrants constitute a relatively new, small, but internally diverse migrant population in the UK, with female marriage migrants dominating the Thai migrant population in the past two decades. The findings of this study reveal that Thai migrants tend to own small-scale businesses or provide personal services in three sectors: cleaning and care work, beauty and massage, and food and catering. In their interaction with opportunity structures in the UK, Thai restaurant and massage entrepreneurs mobilize the exotic notion of “Thai-ness” to add value to their services catering to local British customers.https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/view/6776forms of capitalimmigrant entrepreneurshipmixed embeddednessservice-based entrepreneurshipthai migrants |
| spellingShingle | Sirijit Sunanta Thai Immigrant Service-based Entrepreneurship in the UK: Mixed Embeddedness, Superdiversity, and Combined Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Capital Advances in Southeast Asian Studies forms of capital immigrant entrepreneurship mixed embeddedness service-based entrepreneurship thai migrants |
| title | Thai Immigrant Service-based Entrepreneurship in the UK: Mixed Embeddedness, Superdiversity, and Combined Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Capital |
| title_full | Thai Immigrant Service-based Entrepreneurship in the UK: Mixed Embeddedness, Superdiversity, and Combined Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Capital |
| title_fullStr | Thai Immigrant Service-based Entrepreneurship in the UK: Mixed Embeddedness, Superdiversity, and Combined Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Capital |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thai Immigrant Service-based Entrepreneurship in the UK: Mixed Embeddedness, Superdiversity, and Combined Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Capital |
| title_short | Thai Immigrant Service-based Entrepreneurship in the UK: Mixed Embeddedness, Superdiversity, and Combined Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Capital |
| title_sort | thai immigrant service based entrepreneurship in the uk mixed embeddedness superdiversity and combined ethnic and non ethnic capital |
| topic | forms of capital immigrant entrepreneurship mixed embeddedness service-based entrepreneurship thai migrants |
| url | https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/view/6776 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sirijitsunanta thaiimmigrantservicebasedentrepreneurshipintheukmixedembeddednesssuperdiversityandcombinedethnicandnonethniccapital |