31 Ethnicity, gender and entrepreneurship: Turkish ...

< Turkish entrepreneurs in Germany

489

Germany

31 Ethnicity, gender and entrepreneurship: Turkish entrepreneurs in Germany Robert Pütz, Verena Schreiber and Isabell Welpe

Berlin

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150000 2500000 125000 2000000 100000 1500000 75000

Introduction

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This study examines the situation of Turkish entrepreneurs in Germany by analysing the characteristics of their businesses. At the macro-analyticallevel the infiuence of legal frame_ work conditions on the dynamic of Turkish business set-ups in Germany is supported whereas the significance of the job market and 'niche markets' as strong explanatory factor~ is questioned. Furthermore, the significance of networks constructed by the entrepreneurs the role of gender, the construction of nationally designated boundaries and the 'strategi~ transculturalism' perspective are introduced, analysed and discussed. The latter is based on using the term 'culture' in a meaningful and symbol-oriented way and has the capability to escape the pitfalls of essentialistic concepts of culture. The suitability of the concept is empirically proved by interviews with entrepreneurs of Turkish origin in Berlin. In 1961, Germany became an important destination for migration from Turkey. In 2007, approximately 1.95 million Turkish nationals live here, and of these more than a third were born in Germany. To this figure approximately 450000 Germans with a Turkish-German migration background can be added. The employment structure of the migrants and their descendants has changed in the course of time. Particularly since the 1990s, increasing numbers of people of Turkish origin have become self-employed and have built entrepreneuriallivelihoods. After a review of Turkish immigration to Germany, four questions are examined in the contribution of Berlin, the city with the most inhabitants without a German passport: • • •

•

1

What dynamic do business start-ups by migrants from Turkey and/or their descendants have, and which macroanalytical statements can be forwarded to explain thern? How can the relationship of gen der, ethnicity and entrepreneurship be understood through theoretic concepts? What role does 'ethnicity' play in the entrepreneur's action; that is, how are boundaries besides symbols, such as the nationally designated origin, established and what function do these demarcations have in respect of, for example, the accumulation of social capital? How is gen der reproduced and made context-dependent in the entrepreneurial action by women with a migratory background? Migration from Turkey to Germany

The chronology of the migration to Berlin largely resembles the development throughout Germany and can be differentiated into three phases (see Figure 31.1). In the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1950s, the jobs in some industries could not be filled. As a result, commerce and industry, with the federal government's support, began 488

50000 500000 25000

1960

1965

1970

1990

1975

1995

2000

---------T-u~rk~i~sh----~a~cc=u=m:u~la~te~d~ citizens Berlin Germany

naturalizations

-

. tisches Landesamt Berlin (2002). Schwarz (1998), Statistisches Bundesamt, SatIs

Turkish citizens in Germany and Berlin, 1960-2003

. .es with the so-called 'recruit agreements . employees from forelgn countn. 1961 Through this, the countries of nw'erl)erabJl=1

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st generation (came to Germany as adults before 1973)

7%

55

31%

47%

4%

16% 33%

second generation (before 1973) (came to Germany as children before 1973)

27%

39

49%

19%

13%

67%

18% 41%

second generation (after 1973) 29% (came to Gennany as children* after 1973)

34

43%

15%

7%

0.9

71%

21% 46%

16%

25

38%

5%

3%

0%

4.4

7%

14% 29%

2%

45

68%

0% 100%

14%

2.4

52%

20% 38%

other migrants (came to Gennany as adults after 1973)

19%

39

25%

29%

14%

all entrepreneurs

16%

37

38%

21%

13%

3.0

35%

28% 36%

3.4

21%

22% 39%

10%

2.0

66%

17%

0.9

33%

Nates:

educational migrants (came to Germany to study)

(l)

;:::l

28%

* Businesses in which family members form more than 50% of the workforce (one-man businesses are exc1uded from the analysis); ** entrepreneurs who already owned other businesses. Source:

~n un~ockmg

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gastronomy

493

Pütz (2004).

Figure 31.3

Businesses run by entrepreneurs 0/ Turkish origin in Berlin: sectoral composition and business characteristics

Note: Source:

* Until1981, under 18 years; since 1981, under 16 years. Pütz (2004).

Figure 31.4

Entrepreneurs 0/ Turkish origin in BerUn: generation and personal characteristics

494

Turkish entrepreneurs in Germany

Handbook of research on ethnic minority entrepreneurship

Explanatory factor: 'legal framework conditions' The legal framework has a considerable influence on the self-employment of fore'1gn nationals in Germany. Since legally embodied norms limit the freedom of action of th 'h o~ wIt out a German passport, they thus also restrict an entrepreneur's possible strategi s The economic freedom thus only applies to Germans and citizens from EU countri: , Peo~le of oth~f nationalities ~re subject to the regulations of the laws pertaining t~ forelgners, WhlCh means that, m the first pI ace, the freedom of entrepreneurial aci' _ ities depends ~n their res~dence status. At the .end of the 1960s, when the first migra~~s opened up their own busmesses, these regulatIOns were decidedly restrictive. Almost all o~ the Turks living in Germany were subject to the ban on self-employment. The first pIOneer entrepreneurs therefore had to establish their businesses illegally with German figureheads. . At the end of the 1980s, the legal situation of the majority of people of Turkish descent Improved. Consequently, the number of those not subject to legal restrictions pertaining to foreigners wanting to start up businesses, increased too. On the one hand, the access to self-employment was eased; for example, the 1991law pertaining to foreigners granted all foreigners with a right to residence the right to earn an independent living (Dienelt, 2001). On th~ other han~, more people acquired an indefinite residence permit. In 2001, they ~ompnsed approxl~ately 56.per cent of the Turkish nationals resident in Germany. This Improved legal posItIon considerably promoted enterprise set-ups' positive dynamic in the 1990s. .On the other hand, one must point out that a third of the Turks residing in Germany stIll possess a residence permit according to which self-employment is either forbidden or is prohibited by the local departments pertaining to foreigners. Only in the past few years has an increasing economical and political interest in small businesses led to individual applications for the rem oval of the ban on independent self-employment jobs being more often considered positively. In addition, various career fields are regulated by specific legal regulations. These especially affect older people who did not pass through the German educational system. A master craftsman title is, for instance, aprerequisite for the independent practice of most trades. Educational qualifications acquired in Turkey are mostly not recognized, but formal educational aspects playa minor role in Turkey anyway. There, work-related skills are rather learnt informally through collaboration in a corresponding business. Such experiences, however, are not institutionally acknowledged in Germany. Consequently, numerous immigrants' biographical resources become devalued as a result of their migration. Because of this, the sectoral structure of their enterprises was also influenced in the end, because the only option was to start up in an industry for which there were no preconditions, such as clothing alteration and shoe repair businesses. Explanatory factor: 'job marker' Besides the conditions imposed by the legal framework, the job market is, from a macroanalytical perspective, a decisive structural moment, which influences the decision to become self-employed. As Bögenhold and Staber (1990) proved, the unemployment level has significant influence on the self-employment percentage: the higher the unemployment, the higher the proportion of self-employment. Likewise, the increase and decrease in self-employment in most industrial nations move contra-cyclically to the growth of the

495

Rate of unemployment 40%

Total population •

F oreign population

30%

20%

10%

2005

1990 Germany

Source:

2005

1990 Berlin

Statistisches Bundesamt; Statistisches Landesamt, Berlin.

Figure 31.5

Unemployment in Germany and Berlin

economy. Enterprise set-ups thus more frequently follow an 'economics of need' than an 'economics of self-actualization'. A glance at Germany and Berlin's labour market data clarifies that this general macro-economical trend is also applicable to the people of Turkish descent in Germany (see Figure 31.5): Foreign, and especially Turkish, nationals are affected to an aboveaverage degree by job market upheavals. Since the 1974 oil crisis, their unemployment has always been higher than that of Germans. Since most Turks were employed as unskilled labourers in 'crisis industries' such as the coal and steel industry, they were the first ones to be affected by rationalizations. And also the re cent crisis on the job market, which was unusually intensely experienced in Berlin with the disappearance of industry as a result of the reunification of Germany, affected the Turkish people more than all the others. Apart from dismissals, a main reason for this is that people of Turkish origin have little chance to find (new) jobs. This is primarily due to their low work-related skills and especially their poor language skills. Children of Turkish immigrants who have grown up in Germany frequently only first come into contact with the German language at school and there (as a result of the high degree of segregation) are often taught in classes with a

496



major~ty

of fellow pupils who likewise speak poor German. A lack of language co tency IS thus often the cause of career discrimination: in Berlin at the start of th mpe'11 . , e new ml enmum, 20 per cent of the Turkish youth left school without a quall'fi . . 8 8 ' (0ermans . . per cent), and of ten TurkIsh unemployed persons only one had comcatlOn 1 · 1 .. ( l P eted a vocat IOna trammg Aus änderbeauftragte, 2002a, 2002b). The unfavourable work-related prospects are again drastica11y intensified for th e without lon.g-term residence permits. Extension of residence permits can be denied thos 1'f t h ey cl' mm benefits such as social welfare. This . em. ~ . . combination of dl'S cnml. h government natIO~ on t e lorelgn-Iegal segmente.d job market and the threatened loss of residenee permlts often leads to many only havmg recourse to an activity in the informal seet or to · l'Ive l'h ensure t h elr 1 ood: In fact, there are only two ways to do so: either as an illegal employee, frequently wIth personal networks to employers of Turkish origin (for the . 'fi f h' . Slgm , cance 0 suc, .ethmc labour markets' . ' see especially Hillmann , 2000 , 2002) , or el se as sel~-employed usmg the name of a th1rd person who is mostly a family member in p _ seSSIOn of the required residence permit. os In view of the migrants and many of their descendants' position on the German . b ~a:ket ~nd ~h~ high unen:plo~ment percentage, it is no surprise that 'unemployment' ~~d bemg dlscn~mated agamst m professionallife' are named by many Turkish entrepreneurs as dec1slve for th~ir bus~ness start-ups. Furthermore, nearly half of the questioned ~elf-empl?yed persons m Berlm were out of work for a very long period before establishmg a busmess, to be precise, for an average of 19.4 months. . ~ large part of t~e enter~rise. set-ups can thus be characterized as a survival strategy m tImes of dra~atIc detenoratIOn of the labour market conditions. Self-employment from pure need 1S, however, no good premise for success. For the majority it is comparable. to .a permanent struggle for financial survival (see Figure 3l.6). A regular income whde l~vmg at a subsistence level frequently means the loss of a11 entrepreneurial options regardmg a course of action, such as being able to make investments or to start marketing a product. This especially affects industries such as small-scale retail trade and the res~aurant trade, in which the competition pressure increased exceptiona11y in the 1990s owmg to the numerous new set-ups. The economically poor position of the Turkish people, who form a large part of the customers, aggravates this negative trend further. 'Self-exploitation' of the entrepreneur and co11aboration without pay by family members are thus frequently the only success factors with which to retain the business. For a major part of the entrepreneurs it must thus be stated that in the end they exchanged their marginalized position on the job market for a marginalized position as entrepreneur (Pütz 2004). ' Explanatory factor regarding 'rliche lnarket' The assumption that 'niche markets' facilitate migrants' independent start-ups was already early on an explanatory factor forwarded by research under the term 'immigrant business' (for example, Waldinger, Aldrich and Ward, 1990). The crux of the argumentation states that migrants, as a result of their consumption preferences, create a specific demand in the country of adoption and self-employed persons of the same origin, who possessed 'cultural competency', are able to fill the resulting market niche. In Germany, niche market argumentations are put forward in order to comprehend the causes of the first enterprise set-ups (for example, Goldberg et al., 1999). These causes appear plausible in the face of

497

Assessment oj the jinancial situation

'It is enough for the necessary

'I have more than enough' (1%)

expenditures' (50.6%)

'I have more than enough for what I want to afford' (18.6%) 'It is not enough at all' (29.8%) Safe development

1ncreased Slightly increased Receded 34.1%

Heavily receded Source:

Pütz (2004).

Figure 31.6

Economic situation of the entrepreneurs of Turkish origin in Berlin

the restricted sectoral gearing of the businesses at the time: food retail trade, travel age~ eies (negotiation of travels to Turkey), undertakers/funeral parlours (transfers, Islamlc burials), translation agencies and the rest. . . ... From the current perspective, the value of the explanatIOn of the mche market mItIatives must be critica11y regarded. Thus the Berlin example showed that the structure of the businesses has, especia11y since the 1990s, out-differentiated itself. That, for e~ample, a fourth of a11 entrepreneurs of Turkish origin are still in the restaurant tra?e, 1S not; as niche models suggest, related to a 'cultural predisposition' to perform such Jobs. partI~u larly weIl or gladly. Rather, institutional framework conditions are reflected m WhlCh persons belonging to certain immigrant groups are en~bled ~nd oth.ers ~re not (~ee above). Furthermore, it indicates the powerful effect of d1scurSlve attnbutIOn, WhlC~ hardly anyone can eradicate. In accordance with Häußermann and Os,:ald (1997), ~hlS can be clarified through a simple example: a fern ale immigrant from V1etna~ re~atIvel~ rarely profits from her abilities to prepare good Döner (Tur~i.sh meat dis~! .. Smce, m a ?1SCOUrse that defines the labour fields ethnically, she cannot utIhze these ablhtIes econom1ca11y, she has to be 'man' and 'Turk' - only then would her ability become aresource. So-called origin-determined 'cultural resources', as niche market models partia~l~ ~orm~d themselves, consequently prove themselves primarily as .effects. of an ethmclzmg ~1sc~urse. Nevertheless, this has considerable relevance regardmg actIOn: from the actors po~nt of view, this allows enterprise set-ups to appear in specific industries as an economlcally more meaningful strategy than in others.

498

Handbook 0/ research on ethnic minority entrepreneurship

3 Culture and ethnicity: theoretical considerations Investigations into the topic 'immigrant' and/or 'ethnic' entrepreneurs hip were formulated over many years from an essentialist understanding of culture - and often still a today. Admittedly, attributions such as 'work harder' or 'save more' have in such expli ~et r ' Iargely dlsappeared . lormuIatlOns from the discussion since that time; however, impIicitlCl they ~till shape the basic concept of numerous lines of argumentation, as 'cultural' ;; 'ethmc resources' that foster or limit the entrepreneurs hip of certain groups. Such works form the basis of concepts suggesting that cultures existing side-by-side are ~learly demarcated h?mogene~us unit~. The idea of culture becomes conceptionally lmked to separate SOCIal collectIves, WhlCh frequently comprise placing themselves territorially ('Turkish culture', 'regional culture'). This, however, is not tenable, either as a theoretic constructio? or ~s a ~oncept. Even if the.re had been homogeneous cultures, they can no longer be IdentIfied m the age of global1zation and world-wide migration. There are no longe~ exc1usive. regionally embodied schemes of knowledge and, consequently, also no contmuous regIOnally definable socio-cultural realms (Werlen, 1997). Likewise from a socio-political point of view, reservations regarding essentialist cultural concep~ tions should be made known. Since research, which inquires after so-called characteristics, always detects difference it is in danger of also promoting exc1usion and discrimination through the constructio~ of the Other. Contemporary cultural theories understand culture as the stock of knowledge, symbolic orders, or interpretative schemes that people necessarily have at their disposal, to make objects and actions, 'world', meaningfully accessible for themselves. The world first becomes comprehensible across 'structures of signification' (Giddens, 1984) and thus they are a condition for all social practices. Such interpretative schemes which, for example, let a raised arm become a 'greeting', or a shaking of the head a 'negation', are necessarily collectively shared. It would be incorrect to deduce from this that culture as a reference relationship of symbols, is locked in itself and linked to a definable and sec1uded collective. As a result, however, there is a contradiction between the theoretical position of the non-existence of homogeneous cultures and everyday social practice in which precisely such essentialism is permanently (re)produced. Schemes of knowledge and meaning structures are in themselves always differentiated by c1assification schenles, which facilitate the c1assification of things and their comprehensibility for the actors, and reduce complexity. At the level of the actors, sense making is inseparably linked with classification. This means that, through certain symbols, such as language, origin and clothing, permanent exclusion and belonging are indicated and difference is established. Cultural boundaries are therefore continually being drawn, which symbolizes that 'on the other side' other interpretative schemes prevail which do not agree with the actor's own scheme. So-called 'cultural characteristics' are consequently discursive constructions that nevertheless have concrete effects on action and action results. This is applicable to every action. Also supposedly pure 'economic' interaction situations do not take place without referring to shared symbolic orders and cannot be conceived without reference to knowledge schemes and interpretative schemes. Only in this manner is it possible to achieve a mutually satisfactory result, such as in a business agreement between two entrepreneurs if, in the assessment of those whose agreements are being settled and depending on how


499

forthcoming they are, similarity of meaning exists. In this sense, each economic action is always also cultural action. . ' . How can the relationship of culture and entrepreneurshIp be conc~ptuahz~d wlthout stumbling into the 'essentialist' trap? ~he c?ncept of tr~nsculturahsm, WhlCh Wel.sch (1992, 1999) developed, appears fertile m thIS context. Wlth .reference to t~e glob~l~za tion debates, Welsch assurnes that, as a result of many and dIverse conne~tlOns, ternto. I homogeneous cultures can no longer be accepted. Transculturahsm therefore na , . ' I 1 TU 1 h . plies the revocation of congruence from terntory and culture. SImu taneous y, vve sc 1m . f' It . t shifts the theoretical position of cultural boundanes rom an znter~ersona . o.an zn r~p'sonallevel. In other words, the difference between inside and outsIde that IS lmked wüh e~ch boundary is now conceptionally moved to the level of individual subjects. The sub~ects are, likewise, characterized by transculturalism and accordingly have different cultural reference systems at their disposal. With this, the concept o~ culture a~ a close~ system of symbols becomes obso~ete. At th~ same time, however, . cultural dlff~rences remain conceivable: as a constructlOn accordmg to symbols that desIgnate belongmg and exclusion. . . On the basis of the previous considerations, culture can be conceptuahzed for actIOnoriented empirical research. These considerations divert attention from questions on ~he expression of so-called homogenously existing cultures. Instead, they draw attentlOn towards questions regarding the continuously undertaken 'cultur~l: practice o~ boundary drawing. Since boundaries create meaning, they separate the famIlIar, that WhICh belongs to the 'inside', from the unfamiliar, that which does not belong, the 'outside'. The~e perspectives of 'transculturalism as practice' (Pütz, 2004) are not. only co~prehenslble as analysis concepts. They can equally be regarded as concrete .actlOn practI~es of real subjects. Through the shift of the inside-outside diffe~ences dun~g the es.tab!l~hment.of cultural boundaries at the subjects' level, the multIple belongmg of mdlvIduals IS both conceptionally accepted and empirically tangible. People have action rou~i~es in the form of 'everyday transculturalism' at their disposal with which they can pO~ltIO~ t~em~elves in different interpretation schemes. For example, they can. re-estabhsh. sImIlanty. of meaning with business partners in economic interaction situatIons. If such mterpretatlOn schemes are reflexively accessible for the actor, and thus intentionally e~~loyabl~, 'ever~ day transculturalism' can become 'strategic transculturalism', as an ab~ht~, WhlCh P~SI tions itself reflexively in different symbol systems and is able to operate wIthm them (Putz, 2004). Cultural interpretative schemes can thereupon be regarded as giving meaning a.nd provoking action, but as a menu which has various options for action ready and to WhlCh individuals can have a reflexive access. Categories such as 'nationally designated culture' or 'ethnicity' are therefore cons~ructs in the interplay between describing the Other and the Self. As such, they unfol~ m the everyday entrepreneurial practice, although with considerable relevance. for actIOn. ~y transferring everyday essentialism and thus the everyday (re-)productIOn ?f. (ethm~) boundaries into scientific inquiry, scientists often stumble into the 'essentIahst trap, where they are misled to inquire scientifically about the distinctive characteristics of a 'Turkish entrepreneur'. . Instead, the questions that should gain importance in future are these: how are ethmcally or nationally designated boundaries and boundaries accordin~ to th~ gender category produced, and what function will they have in the entrepreneunal actlOn?

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4 'Ethnicity' and entrepreneurship First of .all,. the following questions are examined: what significance does belonging _ in a quantitative respect - have for networks constructed by entrepreneurs of Turkish descent and how can this be interpreted? Secondly, an attempt will be made to comprehend the role of the construction of nationally designated boundaries for the accumula_ ~ion of social capital. Thirdly, the 'strategic transculturalism' perspective is developed and mtroduced.

Construction of nationally designated networks Interviews with Turkish entrepreneurs in Berlin clearly show the central role that social relations play in the exchange of information with business leadership. The grocery wholesaler Kaya (all names have been changed) at first describes a relationship with an amicablyynked competitor ('relational embeddedness' in the sense of Granovetter, 1985, 1992), WhlCh he calls a helpful reference source and from which he expects a future quid pro quo ('reciprocity' in the sense of Portes and Sensenbrenner, 1993). When 1 these days telephone a supplier for green lentils, for example, he says: 'I have some for 1,50 for you.' Then 1 am also fair enough to call other wholesalers - also friends whom I know since the greengrocer's shop, with whom I have collaborated for years - and say: 'Listen where do you buy your green lentils?' If he says: 'There and elsewhere for 1,95.' 1 say: 'I've got something. Call so and so, just mention my name and all will be okay.' [... ] One hand washes the other. And when some time something strikes hirn that could be useful to me, then he will also tell me. [... ] He must not just help me with business, but can do so privately or some other way too.

After a short time he describes a situation in which an acquainted self-employed person loses regard and reputation. Therefore he also loses an economically relevant interaction partner, because an entrepreneur whom he damaged is bound through networks with other entrepreneurs ('structural embeddedness'). Kaya explains: The rumor gets around very quickly if someone has large debts. One then hears everywhere: 'Oh, he has debt or problems with suppliers, has to pay something.' Then one is scared that he will not get anything, yes. Yes, then one gets problems there. This has to be stopped, because when he hears that 'he has debts', then he won't give me any goods either. This always seesaws.

Kaya's descriptions underline the perspective that no economic interaction can be understood outside the context of social relations. This point is important because economic interactions on the basis of trust and reputation, in which everyone should be trusting in their everyday actions, are not essentially linked to origin or 'being Turkish', even if this picture is frequently reproduced within the idea of an ethnic economy. If you, however, notice how Kaya introduced his account, this impression seems to change to the contrary: The Turk, he is everywhere. They know everything about one another. They help one another. I don't know whether the Germans do so with one another, I don't think so. And this the Turks do.

The membership of an imagined 'Turkish community' now promotes the decisive assumption in favour of benefiting from mutual help and trust. The construction of a nationally designated culture is an economically probate means according to which inclusion or


501

exc1usion from social relations is decided and the choice of business partners is simplified. This boundary drawing is linked with a powerful discourse of the 'Turkish entrepreneurs', which is based on the central categories of honour, trust and solidarity. By referring to this discourse, entrepreneurs make these categories economically useful as social capital. Simultaneously, by using them, they stabilize the meaning structures. Constructions of nationally designated cultures are (re-)produced out of dominating ethnicizing discourses. These are institutionalized through laws and thus structurally hardened, but also gain relevancy in concrete interactions. This can be illustrated by means of the following example: Veli, who made hirnself independent with different firms in the insurance business, can be described as an 'other German' according to Mecheril (1997). For hirn, multiple belonging in the context of nationally designated cultures is not necessarily problematic. 'Other Germans' have their life focus in Germany and are often born and raised there. They deviate from the fictitious 'German' ideal, because they, their parents or their ancestors are regarded as 'not belonging' and are often also ~reated l.ike this. The dominant discourse, being 'Other' and/or 'Turkish', comes from an mteractlOn of the attributes attached to Self and Other, which can have similar consequences for the individual entrepreneur, for example, in the case of market orientation. There the sphere of activity, his market, is segmented and regionalized according to nationally designated origin. With his two partners Veli built an enterprise group in which nationally designated boundaries seemed to have no significance. In a decisive situation he was suddenly completely defined by his (so-called) origin: when the enterprise lost customers, the market was ethnically divided and Veli, 'as a Turk' (who knows Turkey primarily from holidays), was allocated the 'Turkish structure'. In '98 it then began to crumble, [... ] started being nationally divided. 1 said: 'Stop with the nonsense!' No. Because at the meetings, weekly meetings, it was either the German or the Turkish structure: 'I don't want to split up! Particularly we three should not do this. No. We are responsible for one another.' [... ] But they then said: 'Yes okay but Turkish clients have other needs [... ] that doesn't work, we must split up!' And that is how it began. Until the end, when we just moved to Wedding, they stayed in Schönberg with two offices of the German structure.

Here it becomes clear that dominant ethnicizing discourses are conveyed and become relevant to action especially within the context of the asymmetry of power. Forcing Veli to take care of 'Turkish' customers, because of his Turkish origin (and not to take care of business insurance, which is his greatest competency), is nothing but the reproduction of a dominant ethnicizing discourse enforced across existing asymmetries of power and thus further cemented (Pütz, 2004). The above-mentioned examples confirm Schiffauer's (1997) claim that 'cuIture' can be conceptualized as condition or as process. Thus the discourse of a so-called 'Turkish entrepreneurial spirit' is, to a large extent, based on constructions of honour or mutual help. In corresponding action contexts it can be activated and become an important source of accumulation of social capital. In that entrepreneurs refer to this discourse and the interpretative schemes that are associated with it, they also contribute to its stabilization. At the same time, however, entrepreneurs such as Veli can weaken such ethnicizing discourses, because they can, in the sense of 'transculturalism as practice', position themselves in different imagined communities (Pütz, 2003a, 2003b). In principle they possess

502


the ability to refer to different symbolic interpretative schemes and deploy this in their actions. This confirms the point of departure that nationally designated boundaries are not a given, but constructs that are conveyed discursively and (re-)produced in action practices. Belonging is consequently no given size and thus, in principle, also changeable. This aspect is often ignored in economic and geographical works that refer to 'cultural embeddedness' and attach this to the so-called 'shared norms and values' of a collective. Strategie transculturalism When cultural boundaries are not 'naturally given' but discursively established, and also changeable, they are in principle also available to the individual actor. The accessible 'transculturalism as practice' would then be read not only as a concept of analysis, but also as concrete practices of concrete actors. This will be reconstructed in the following by Kevsan's example (Pütz, 2004). Kevsan's great-grandmother is a survivor of 'Alevites-genocide' in the 1930s. In the 1970s, her relatives were persecuted and murdered because of their religion and proKurdish political activities. Accordingly, the maintenance of a collective identity while simultaneously concealing this from the outside world, is a meaningful and continuous topic in this family's everyday life. The demand to keep oneself reflexively apart by belonging to an imagined community is thus already applied in Kevsan's family. They continue with this in their present entrepreneurial action. Three separate lines of conflict thus dominate: Kurdish-Turkish through language-denoted ethnicizations, Alevitic-Suni through attributions linked to religious orientation, and to the role of wo man-man through gender-linked attributions. All three fields of discourse reveal vast interaction between appropriation and rejection of those identities attributed to them in their life history. From meetings with Turkish-speaking schoolfellows, Kevsan only learned after their migration to Germany that her family's language (Kurdish) and religious (Alevitic) embodiment is the target of persecution in Turkey. It turned out that the discourse hegemonic in Turkey is also very powerful in Germany: in Berlin, Kevsan learned German and Turkish, but because of her Kurdish accent she was identified as 'a Kurd' in the school and forced into 'being Kurdish'. She is thus subject to a double ethnicizing as a 'foreigner in Germany' and as 'a Kurd amongst Turks'. She dealt with this through the development of two action strategies which she uses to the present day: on the one hand, the acquisition of knowledge and the acceptance associated with this; on the other hand, by changing her pronunciation of Turkish, which makes an encoding through language impossible. The attributions as an Alevitic family member of a 'bad, impure' group was also already conveyed to Kevsan as a child. Later the religious background of her family caused some of her relationships to end. She deals with this, among other ways, by concerning herself intellectually with her diploma thesis on 'Alevites and Suni images of women' and by reorienting herself anew through knowledge acquisition. Consequently, she places herself in a position that gives her access to reflection on different religions and the social practices and discourses associated with them. This can be regarded as a decisive precondition for the development of the 'strategie transculturalism' ability from which she will obtain value in her future entrepreneurial practice. Thus Kevsan, through the choice of her outward appearance - formal business look and perfeet make-up - does not allow herself to be associated with an ethnic or religious


503

grOUP by outward characteristics. Through these disti~guishing chara~teristics s~e is easily recognized as a businesswoman and, as a result, gams respect and dlstance. N eüher can she be 'pinpointed' through her use of language. Simultaneously she had, through reflexive explanation with powerful attributions, and in the dynamic between acquisition and rejection of the external identity positions applied to her, deve10ped the ability to handle cultural encodings flexibly and to use them situationally. This ability, here denoted as 'strategie transculturalism' (Pütz, 2003c), can be appreciated as a resource that contributed substantially to Kevsan's economic success. This is exemplarily revealed in an interaction situation in which the acquisition of a job is at stake: I go there, and introduce myself. [The dient] is younger than I am, looks at me and says: 'Good day, please take aseat.' I took aseat, and simultaneously said: 'What are we waiting for then?' Then he says: 'For your boss.' I said: 'Excuse me? I don't have a boss.' He replies: 'The business must have a boss, surely?' I said: 'The firm does have a boss, and I'm her.' And he looks at me as if to rea11y say: 'What? You?' And he is so big, and I stand there and he points his finger at me: 'You are the boss? No, then we don't want you.' Thereupon I asked: 'Why don't you want me?' 'No, this firm is led by a wo man [... ]'. I stood there and his woman came and greeted me with a nod, she was veiled.

In a conversation which is 'pure business', dealing with the negotiation of a job and a c1ient acquisition, Kevsan finds herself repeatedly in a situation which is first and foremost not determined by economic parameters, such as costs and quality, but by 'cultural' meaning attribution. She sees herself confronted by traditional gender-specific role concepts. Neither her outstanding professional references, which she can use additionally as an effective means of job acquisition, nor the outward characteristics of her behaviour as a businesswoman, are accepted as symbols of specialist and professional capability. She must redefine the cultural interpretative schemes which are valid in the negotiation situation and, with the aid of two symbols, she adapts herself: on the one hand she takes up the disparaging remarks of the family man and his referral to a corresponding traditional discourse on the woman's role, on the other hand the outward characteristics of his wife's veiling. As a result she uses other interpretative schemes and co ding rules in her approach: He remarked: 'Yes, if a company is led by a woman. In addition your company is very new. I don't know if it'11 go bankrupt and a woman can't rea11y lead a company.' I then said: 'Do you know, if your problem is that 1'11 go bankrupt, I can tell you that I have very good backing. My brother also has a company. I will never go bankrupt while he will help me over the dry spe11.' [... ] Then he softened, and he asked very loftily: 'Who then is your, who then is your brother who is supporting you?' I thought: either I can leave this house or I can stay. But I said: 'Companies x and y are my brother.' Whereupon he replies: 'Ah, yes, the one that is in Mehringdamm. Of course. That one I know. Then there's no problem.'

Economic action is always also 'cultural' action in the sense that, as in the enterpriserelevant interaction situation (as in all), 'c1ient acquisition' is from the very beginning negotiated as the valid interpretive scherne. At the same time Kevsan recognizes that the symbolism, 'educated, qualified expert', has no effect. She identifies another field of discourse as defining the situation and adapts herself to the valid coding rules. It becomes c1ear here that questions of power, understood as abilities that enforce their interpretive schemes, are central to the contemplation of the cultural aspects of entrepreneurial action. Therefore Kevsan refers to representative tools that, in the acquisition situation,

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increase and repr.oduce across the ~~terpretative schemes enforced by asymmetry of power, and thus slmultaneously stablhze the corresponding discourse. She devalues her professional qualifications and abilities and uses codes in which she obtains her qualit· les . I h excIUSlVe y t rough her older brother's position, which is what the person opposite her expects. Thus the drawing of boundaries, which separate inside from outside and therefo ~stablishes communities, is also always an act of identity construction. Hence differen~: IS produc~~ a~ross symbolic markings, and the 'I' isplaced in relation to the Other. Such (self-)posItIOnmg processes must be regarded as an essential element when the cultural asp~cts o~ entrepre~eurial. action are bein~ exa~ined. ~.ntrepreneurs move (like all acting subJects) m a field m WhlCh permanent IdentIty positIOns are negotiated. As Kevsan's example shows, the concept of an 'essential' identity should therefore be abandoned, as should the concept of an 'essential' belonging to a community. The term 'positioning' appears rather more adequate than the term 'identity', since in it the act (to position oneself), the attribution effect (being positioned) and the situational nature (positioning aso an. always recontextualized phenomenon) flow together. These three aspects are constItutIve of the construction of identity positions (Pütz, 2004). , The p~s!t.ioning ~spec~ is c~ntral to understandi?g t~e actors' actions in so-called purely ~co~omlc mteractIOn sItuatIOns. If transculturahsm IS regarded as concrete action practIce, It can be positioned in various imagined communities. In principle it therefore has the ability to refer contextually to different symbolic schemes of interpretation and to deploy them in its action. As far as transculturalism is concerned, all entrepreneurs can adopt everyday competency, because in each economic interaction the interpretative schemes are 'negotiated' (mostly unspoken). On the level of the single actor, transculturalism can be further differentiated (Pütz, 20?4): eve,:yday transeulturalism describes the routine redrawing of schemes of interpretatIOn WhlCh can, for example, produce similar meanings with inter action partners in interaction situations. Such routines, following Giddens (1984), can be terminologically anchor~d in the 'practical consciousness' and in a reflexive monitoring and are gene rally not avallable to those who act. However, strategie transculturalism describes a purposeful reflexive positioning. Negotiated interpretative schemes can also be anchored in the 'disc~rsive consciousness' and can therefore be readily available for the actors. That gives the smgle actor the opportunity to handle identity coding fiexibly and, depending on the situation, to adapt himself and intentionally adjust to different reference systems. Strategic transculturalism, which Kevsan's example illustrated, is thus an economically useful ~esourc.e whic~ expands the scope for action in market dealings and makes participation m varymg SOCIaI relations possible for the entrepreneur. 5

'Gender' , ethnicity and entrepreneurship Kevsan's example it has become c1ear that not only ethnic ascriptions regarding slgmficance are at work in entrepreneurial action. Also gender attributions infiuence the entrepreneur's real actions. Both the interpretative schemes, ethnicity and gender, consequently form two central schemes of knowledge within the culture sense-making system and cannot be analysed individually (Schreiber, 2003). International studies on immigrant business have for some years taken gen der aspects into account (for example, Phizacklea, 1988; Dallalfar, 1994; Berg, 1997; Strüder, 2002). The scientific interest in female enterprise ~hr~ugh

505

activity can be traced to women increasingly establishing their own enterprises..In Berlin, wornen head a fifth of businesses (see Figure 31.4). Simultaneously these studles p~rsue the goal of conquering the 'gender blindness' in immigrant business research. Also m the Gerrnan-speaking space the gender category is integrated in the conception of theory (for exarnple, Kontos, 1997; Hillmann, 1999) while two lines of argument dominate. 1.

Conditions determined by the structurallramework: the point of departure of these studies is that labour markets are segregated along gen der lines and hierarchically, whereby women generally have fewer chances on the job market. In addition, there is the 'double socialization' (Knapp, 1990): women experience their socialization in both the private sphere of the family and also in their work, which is associated with numerous difficulties for female entrepreneurs. 2. 'Female' self-employment: the background to these studies is in the different initiatives regarding feminist theories. This, in accordance with Butler (1990), was grounded in the assumption that belonging to a natural-given sex produces a gender identity. People belonging to the same sex - and the same origin - consequently form a unit. The axis of the sex difference would be the boundary line along which innumerable essential distinctions between man and woman were stretched. When applied to Turkish female entrepreneurs this means revealing two dominant cores: a gender and an ethnic core. Accordingly, they disposed of common characteristics and, consequently, produced a specifically female action model- founded on biological 'facts'.

In most works on 'immigrant business', a dominating topic was the emphasis on the differences between male and female terms of employment and ability. This was certainly in danger of continuing the discourse on the difference between male and female. The quest for 'female' characteristics and the 'tracking down' of different action strate~ies in careers forces boundaries to be drawn around the 'other' gender - and thereby It also fm"ces exc1usion. Through simultaneous differentiations according to the category origin, the drawings of boundaries are even increased. Various constructivist initiatives in gender research (Kessler and McKenna, 1978; West and Zimmerman, 1987; Butler, 1990) draw attention to deducing causes from and the dangers of such erroneous conc1usions: a given collective's gender and ethnic action models. From this conception, gender is, like ethnicity, a continuous social achievement of interacting individuals. It is, without exception, produced in each action. West and Zimmerman (1987) have described this programmatically as 'doing gender'. The interpretative scheme of gender therefore does not exist before the knowledge is used in everyday action. With the re-establishment of gender, actors sooner fall back on interpretive schemes that permanently c1assify all people into two gender. Biological characteristics are essential signs of 'gender' (Kessler and Mckenna, 1978). Gender as 'moral fact' (Garfinkei, 1967, p. 122) consequently forms an unquestioned background of perception and action. This idea can be applied to the immigrant business research: like gender, ethnicity forms a scheme of knowledge in entrepreneurial action. Both interpretive schemes provide female entrepreneurs with two ways of looking at the meaningful construction of their reality and are interwoven in their everyday life. Gender and ethnicity can therefore not be analysed in isolation of each other (Gutierrez Rodriguez, 1999).

506

In th~ following ~~nc~p~i?n. of ethnicity, g.ender and entrepreneurship, the gender research ~ constructivist mIt~atIves. should be mtegrated and their significance for the explanatI?n of entrepreneunal actIOn be highlighted. Here two aspects are central. On the one SI?e, the f~male entrepr~neurs reproduce gen der connotations, since they revert to th?se mter~retIv.e s~hemes m everyday action and, through persistent repetition, rem~m cau~ht m thiS discourse. On the other side, females consciously produce gender, makmg fleXIble use of female- or male-connoted action practices. On the one hand, the female entrepreneurs consequently allow themselves to be interpreted as bearers and reproducers of symbolic gend~r. ~iscourses. On the other hand, in the form of a purposeful. man.a?ement, the actIvltIes of the everyday 'doing gender' interest multiple gender IdentItIes. Consequently, the concept of 'strategic transculturalism', which Was developed in line with the ethnicity example, can be extended with the gender categories (Schreiber, 2003). Construction 0/ 'jemininity' in entrepreneurial action Aynur is a female lawyer who successfully heads an office. Her orientation to two spherescareer and family - clearly explains that the structural splitting into women and men's worlds is no longer self-evident. Nevertheless, she is confronted by the attributions of ~being a wo~an' every day. At the same time she reproduces society's discourse of gender, m that the lIfe of the 'successful German female entrepreneur', which she represents, contrasts with the lifestyle of 'a typical Turkish housewife': ~or me it's not about money. Really. Yes, everyone wants to earn money. But now, in this phase, It'S not about money for me. For me it's about that which I have built up, for which I have sacrificed so much, is also maintained. And the responsibility, that they obviously can't at all COillprehend, those housewives. [... ] And in certain areas one notices of course that one can't talk to them, that's .it. Because.o~e has chan?ed oneself, because one is different. One has certain pref~rence, they stIll have theIr Ideas of bemg a woman. They still have their ideas of a family, and If I were to tell them what I think about that, that would not be so good (Laughs).

Aynur splits 'female-ness' into 'housewife' and 'female entrepreneur' according to the professional qualifications required of each. This boundary drawing goes hand-in-hand with a classification with 'traditional spheres of feminine activity' which are situated at horne. Female entrepreneurial activities she associates with rather male action principles, such as, for example, 'earning money' or 'building something up'. Conversely, the horne sphere is perceived as inferior owing to a lack of professional specialization and to her relative arbitrariness. It becomes a symbol of 'female backwardness', whereas entrepreneurial activity represents change and progress. Hierarchy formation resulting from the re-establishment of difference is consequently not only conceivable with a boundary between women and men. The drawing of boundaries is also possible within the collective theme 'woman' . The differentiation of 'female entrepreneur' and 'housewife' is intensified since Aynur's ideas run parallel to gen der and ethnicizing discourses Yes, yes under a typical Turkish man, one has, I have, society, precisely, has man who want a housewife, a woman who is there for the housework, for the children and who will bear children who likes housework, who supports the husband in his work. Who always stays in the back~ ground and always pushes the man to the front. And with my husband that was rather different. [...] He accepted that he would stay in the background and his wife has a career.

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Handbook 0/ research on ethnic minority entrepreneurship

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When Aynur picks up the social discourse on 'feminine' competencies and refers .to her · h environment she on the one hand, pro duces and cements stereotypmg of " . . h' h' d' Tur kIS 'female-ness'. On the other hand, she creates a '~a~e Turk: gender Iden~Ity, w lC m 1how social categories such as gender or ethmcIty are mterwoven wIth one another. cat es .' f ' lf The construction of gen der inequality is thus only completed when It tnes to ree Itse from gender allocations by emphasizing its activity. Making gender identities flexible

. . ' Gender, like ethnicity, insists on being taken into account m each mteractIOn, b~t can also be deliberately neutralized: for example, in favour of economic success. In t~IS respect, Hirschauer (1994) speaks of 'undoing gend~r', ignoring th~ usually routme ~en?er differentiations. The neutralizing of the beionglllg to a gender IS as much an estabhs~mg rocess as 'doing gender' itself. In this case, women and men present themselves agamst ~he demarcation of their gender as 'unfeminine' or 'unmanly'. They consequently construct their gender, in that, in its assessment, it remains unnoticed by the other gender. In male-dominated career sectors, in particular, women are expected to perfo~m a constant balancing act between 'doing gender' and 'undoing ge~der' t~ be profeSSIOn~lly reco?nized, which is also described as 'gender management by ~emt~.and Nadal (1998) III acknowledgement of Goffman. Such a flexible use of gender IdentItl~~ can be understood as a further element of 'strategic transculturalism'. It means the abIlIty to reflect gen der interpretive schemes and also applying it in a context-dependent ~anner. Gende~ and e.thnicity can thus be conceptualized as two interwoven resources III entrepreneunal actIOn

(Schreiber,2003). . . . In the example of the female architect Derya, it becomes clear that 11 lS pOSSI?I~ for t~e female entrepreneurs to revise norms and to deploy codes of gende: and. ethmc.Ity fleXlbly. As a female architect, Derya must assert herself in ~ ca~eer field m w~lch mamly men are employed. Although her capability implies a certam hierarchy, .she IS confronted by exclusion. She sees herself inevitably confronted by ideas of a speclfic female pattern of behaviour that ignores her individual qualifications: For example, a woman on a building site is as hard as nails, because that is a hard as nails business. And that is because one is confronted by very many labourers who do not a.ccept .women at all. [... ] Furthermore if this is a woman who is quite small and n?t very sturdIly bUllt, then the men will even more so think that such a wornan can't have anythmg to tell me ab out h~w I should be building now. She can at best tell me which colour to use but she can most certamly not tell me how I should be building this.

The building site proves to be a place where the interpreta~ion of ge~der is being fought out. Derya seizes a male-connoted leadership style that IS a meanmgful way to assert herself in her working environment: As a woman one really has to say: Away with being nice. One always has to keep a good distance, yes, and always let them c1early know: People you work for me. ,ves, I am the one who says what should be done. I say where, how it should be done. And I don t allow myself to be persuaded.

In entrepreneurial action, Derya has 'gender manageme~t' ability. This pe:mits her to deploy gender identities flexibly. Female- and mal~-occupled patt~rns of actIOn can consequently be understood as elements of a repertOIre that, dependmg on the context, can

508


~e applied. The fe~ale ~entist Melike has indeed succeeded in manipulating the percephon of her gender ldenüty to such a degree that, in interaction with Turkish men, she is no longer regarded as a 'Turkish woman': They also talk to me as they do with a man. However, in their eyes I am then rather the (female) doctor, but not the woman. They make a clear distinction here. [... ] Many also call me 'Mr doctor' which is more male for them (Laughs).

Gender. differentiations .reveal their effects in different contexts. When entering aspace filled wIth male symbohsm (such as chambers, practices and building sites) the female entrepreneurs fall back on a scheme of knowledge, in this case on the gender dualism which makes an action appear meaningful in its particular context. The representation of a gender identity is therefore not bound to the assumed sex affiliation, but dependent on the place in which the subject interacts with others. The comments of the female entrepreneurs have shown that boundaries are drawn according to categories such as ethnicity and gen der and are never natural, but are COllstructed socially and discursively. In the application of both interpretive schemes in entrepreneurial practice these are,. on the one hand, reproduced, but are also simultaneously mterpreted and newly negohated. Accordingly, it is possible for the individuals to use ethnic and gender codings for each particular field of action. As 'strategie transculturalism', this is initially developed in keeping with the original model and subsequently expanded to the category gender. Conclusion The findings suggest that the legal framework has a considerable influence on the selfemployment of foreign nationals in Germany, while at the same time questioning the value of 'niehe market' initiatives as an explanation. The study emphasizes the central role that social relations play in economic interaction and also reveals that nationally designated cultures' constructions are not only perpetually 'automatically' (re-)produced but come also from the dominating ethnicizing discourses. The findings suggest that, similar to the concept of an 'essential' belonging to a community, the concept of an 'essential' identity should be abandoned and replaced by the term 'positioning'. The findings generally provide support for the concept of ethnicity, gen der and entrepreneurship as interdependent elements. This is best illustrated by female entrepreneurs who reproduce gender ascriptions, because they revert to these interpretative schemes in everyday action and, through persistent repetition, are trapped in this discourse. They also consciously produce gender, making flexible use of female- or male-connoted action practices. This study identifies 'strategie transeulturalism', a purposeful reflexive positioning, as an economically useful resource which expands the scope for action in entrepreneurial contexts by making varying social relations possible for the entrepreneur. In that sense, flexible use of gender and ethnic identities can be understood as elements of 'strategie transculturalism' and as two interwoven resources in entrepreneurial action. References Ausländerbeauftragte des Senats von Berlin (2002a), 'Bericht zur Integratiol1s- und Ausländerpolitik in Berlin 2000', Berlin.


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32 Immigrant entrepreneurs in Hamburg Nikolinka Fertala

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Introduction In this research we explore whether homophily as an organizing principle affects the performance of immigrant entrepreneurs in Germany. The objective of the study is, therefore, to investigate how the venture's team structure is formed and, on the other hand, how the current structure influences the economic performance measured by indicators such as volume of sales and cumulative employment. We argue that the forming process follows the principle of homophily and the latter leads to stable work teams over time, whose members communicate effectively. Does effective communication due to a 'similar-to-me' hypothesis cause better economic performance among immigrant entrepreneurs in Germany? If this is not the case, we refer to the phenomenon as a homophily paradox. The empirical analysis in this chapter is based on a detailed survey of 500 immigrant entrepreneurs from Afghanistan, China, Former-Yugoslavia, Iran, Poland and Turkey. The survey was conducted during the period September-October 2002 in Hamburg city by means of face-to-face interviews using a detailed questionnaire to study various aspects of immigrant entrepreneurs hip in Germany. The questionnaire consists of 40 questions divided into the categories general, capital and investment concerns, consulting prior to foundation, obstacles regarding the German authority, hindrances subsequent to the foundation, employment and country of origin, as weIl as a rich set of background variables related to the immigrant entrepreneurs. Two different econometric specifications are estimated: first, we concentrate on founders' main characteristics, and second we consider the homophily's impact on ventures' performance. The main finding suggests that the process of composing a working team within a venture is likely to follow the principle of homophily. Working teams with male dominance are more common than mixed gender teams. In 84.31 per cent of the companies inc1uded, the founder and the greater part of the employees are male. Moreover, the gender-based homophily raises significantly the volume of sales, by 8.31, while increasing the male dominance by 10 per cent. The nationally homogenous working teams are the regular case in our study. In 72.3 per cent of the companies, the working team is composed mainly of employees from the same country of origin as the entrepreneur. Surprisingly, the thus formed team structure causes decline in the sales per employee of 5.14 per cent, while increasing the dominance of co-nationals by 10 per cent. Additionally, cooperating mostly with co-nationals as suppliers improves the economic performance of immigrant entrepreneurs by 4.78 per cent. In contrast, serving mainly German customers increases significantly the volume of sales per employee. In total, the patterns of homophily among the immigrant entrepreneurs are remarkably robust over those varying types of relations investigated in the study. As a consequence, we can conc1ude that the principle of homophily does lead to stable working teams within a company with respect to gender and nationality, but do not necessarily improve the economic performance of immigrant entrepreneurs in Germany.

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