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Beyond Geopolitics: Immigrant Entrepreneurs’ Digital Bridges Facilitate Trade Breakthrough

Year: 2025

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: This commentary investigates how Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs (xinyimin) in the Netherlands leverage specific digital practices to navigate geopolitical challenges and manage trade. Drawing on interviews and ethnographic engagement, we propose the concept of “digital bridges,” a form of digital guanxi resilience rooted in complex co-ethnic social relational networks. Our findings reveal that entrepreneurial strategies are dynamically balanced across three symbiotic relationship types: Jiaoyi (transactional/familial), Jiaowang (communal/reputation-based), and Jiaoqing (emotionally-grounded partnerships). This framework highlights how entrepreneurs make selective digital choices, particularly in their cautious adoption of communication technologies, to protect their cultural identity and build social capital. Ultimately, these digital bridges ensure continuous social adaptation and empower entrepreneurs to build economic resilience. We argue for a governance system that supports this selective digital engagement, balancing technological adoption with cultural preservation for sustained transnational entrepreneurship.

Source: EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Authors: Zhang, Jiefan, Chib, Arul; id_orcid 0000-0002-3833-8889, Chen, Vivian Hsueh Hua; id_orcid 0000-0003-3818-4784

Language: English

Topic: Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: green

Funders: Tencent, National University of Singapore, Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, National Key Research and Development Program of China

OpenAlex ID: W7126812948

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