Transnational Mobility and Generational Changed: Taiwanese businessmen in the Perl River Delta area

• Main Authors: Ming-Ju Wei, 魏明如
• Other Authors: Jian-Bang Deng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/73917089585910003894

碩士 === 淡江大學 === 未來學研究所碩士班 === 98 === Taiwan’s traditional manufacturing industry enterprises started to massively move to China’s Pearl River Delta, when Taiwan’s economical structure began to change in the 1980s. However, after 20 to 30 years of development, these traditional manufacturing industry enterprises are now facing the problem of transformation again, particularly due to economic structure changes in Southern China and the aging of the first generation of Taiwanese businessmen. This study deals with the issue of migration experiences between different generations of Taiwanese businessmen in China’s Pearl River Delta. It aims at finding the differences of migration experiences between the first-generation and the second-generation businessmen, and trying to find out the explanations of these changes. Results show, first, the first generation businessmen make transnational moves because of the structural change in the traditional industries in Taiwan. The migration of first-generation Taiwanese business people to China are made, therefore, only to meet the needs of the enterprise and the continuing development of their companies. However the transnational moves of the second generation businessmen are made to meet the needs of succession, in the hopes to reach a sustainable operation of family firms. Second, the migration experiences of first- and second-generation Taiwanese businessmen are very similar. Both their social networks and daily habits are close to other migrant Taiwanese, and show great differences to that of local Chinese. Third, the succession of Taiwanese manufacturing firms happens to diverse industries in the Pearl River Delta and the second-generation Taiwanese businessmen are strong connected through the Youth Taiwan Merchant Association. This ethnic network plays a pivotal role in the operation of the enterprises of the second generation businessmen in the Pearl River Delta area.