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@marketscapes

© Copyright, Ela Veresiu

Disclaimer

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These slides were designed by Ela Veresiu (everesiu@me.com) to illustrate the theoretical insights from one part of her dissertation research. In her research, she investigates how market spaces are created and influence culture, society, and consumer behavior. These slides were presented at the 2011 North American Conference of the Association for Consumer Research. This is a PDF version. The PPT version is available by email. Thank you! Ela Veresiu March 28, 2013

How do poor migrants acculturate?

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Status Quo: Poor Migrants -> Shattered Identity Projects

Poor migrant consumers… “experience a betwixt-and-between anomie. On the one hand, [the dominant] culture continually “teases” them with a life that is immensely attractive but that [is] out of reach; on the other hand, they are forced to tolerate the unwanted identity squatter life forces upon them.”

“Accepting that this acute contradiction would likely never be resolved brought them sorrow and even depression.”

(Ustuner and Holt 2007)

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Engaging the Shattered Identity Model

We explored one of poorest migrant groups:

Roma Refugees (colloquially known as Gypsies) in Three Locations Roma are amongst the most disadvantaged, feared and hated ethnicities who have endured centuries of official persecution, slavery, imposed assimilation, and forced repatriation

(Belton 2005; Liégeois 1994; Petrova 2003)

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Roma Refugees in Pisa

Roma Refugees in Toronto

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The Global City (Sassen 2001, 2006)

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Global City = a loosely organized assemblage of specialized services, institutional organizations, advanced infrastructure, inclusive social systems, and interpersonal networks  

The Global City (Sassen 2001, 2006)

“Immigrant communities represent what could be described as a “favored” structural location to seize the opportunities for entrepreneurship as well as more and less desirable jobs” (Sassen 2001, 300) that can partially empower “disadvantaged populations- immigrants, poor women, people of color generally and, in the megacities of developing countries masses of shanty dwellers” (Sassen 2006, 316)

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Ethnic Entrepreneurship and the Myth of the Global City: "Exploring the Role of Space in Consumer Acculturation

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Ela Veresiu Markus Giesler Witten/Herdecke University, Germany York University, Canada

North American Conference of the Association for Consumer Research October 15, 2011, St. Louis, MO

Theoretical Proposition: Ethnic Entrepreneurship

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…the practice of consuming the global city as a mythic structure for the purpose of reconciling salient discrepancies between minority and dominant cultural ideologies.

Analysis 1: How is the Global City Myth Constituted?

Analysis 2: How do Roma Refugees draw from it to Construct their Identities?

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Illustrating the Practice of Ethnic Entrepreneurship

Mythic Influences of Metropolitanism

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“And if I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere It's up to you New York, New York

– Frank Sinatra

“Everything is possible in Berlin – that is, if you really want it and are willing to work for it. – Klaus Wowereit, Mayor

“New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of There’s nothin’ you can’t do

– Jay-Z & Alicia Keys

“I love London. It makes for good creativity. I feel really inspired when I’m there.

– Madonna

Mythic Influences of Globalization

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“Toronto is a healthy city, a good place to live, a place where immigrants, refugees and other migrants have been able to forge good lives. It is for this reason, we must suppose that Toronto remains a destination of choice for so many of the world’s migrants

(Anisef and Lanphier 2003)

“The city [New York] itself has an image that draws certain groups... The city has become, in the words of Bryce-Laporte (1979:216), the special object of their “dream[s], curiosity, sense of achievement, and desire for adventure.”

(Foner 2001)

How is the Global City Myth Constituted?

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Myth of the Global City

Implicatives Implicatives

Minority Culture Dominant Culture

Ideal: Flexible/Hybrid Identity

Contradictions

Negations

Shattered Identity Anomic, Anxious,

Disadvantaged, Disenchanted

Myopic Identity Intolerant, Ignorant,

Impulsive, Overbearing,

Acculturation of Poor Migrant Consumers

§  In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 21 Roma refugees, 9 Torontonians, 7 city officials (completed August 2011)

–  Roma from the Toronto Roma Community Centre, then word-of-mouth -  Local-citizens from online discussion forums

–  Public officials from social services, immigration/refugee, child welfare, public shelters and education sectors

§  Ethnography and Netnographic work (participant observation, media reports, historical research, relevant online discussion forums)

§  Hermeneutical analysis mode (Thompson 1997)

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Analysis 2: Exploring Roma Refugees’ Identity Work in Toronto

Entrepreneurial Practice of Networking I: And if you get accepted (to stay) will you visit Hungary again? Actually we can’t because the immigration people are going to say things like why are you going back if you are here, but we don’t want to anyways. We are talking with everybody on Skype. Do you know Skype? Yes, so we are talking on that every day. And my sister and her husband asked me how it is here. And is it going good or not. And I told them how it is, so they came too with their kids. They came last December. And my other sister is going to come, I don’t know when, soon. (Irma, 34, refugee, unemployed, single, 2 kids, in Toronto for 16 months)

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We had a problem even getting this apartment. And it’s not because of who we are, but because of things that the landlord might have gone through with other people who preceded us. But now we are best friends with the superintendent. So it’s not an issue anymore. We’ve made sure we have a relationship so that he can see the positive things about Roma and allow incoming friends and family to move into the building. I know a lot of other Roma families in this building and their apartments are spick and span just like mine. (Julia, 26, refugee, unemployed, married, 1 kid, in Toronto for 20 months)

Entrepreneurial Practice of Networking

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K: We go to food banks and we can use the preserved goods, but there are so many other stuff there that we just cannot use. E: Oh but you didn’t go to the right place! I know places where the food is not expired and quite good. It’s a food bank also! Let me give you all the information about these other food banks where you can go. K: Oh this is great because wherever I went I wasn’t very happy about the selection and the freshness. (Konstantin, 46, refugee, unemployed, married, no kids, in Toronto for 2 years) (Elena, 27, now landed immigrant, unemployed, single, 3 kids, in Toronto for 10 years)

Entrepreneurial Practice of Opportunity Seeking

Well we came in 1997. And originally there was an article back from back home in a newspaper about Roma coming to Canada. And so I thought that that could be a, you know great opportunity to get out of there. I: And what did they talk about in the article? Well the article was about Roma applying for refugee status in Canada and actually being successful. (John, 47, now landed immigrant, married, 2 kids, handiwork, in Toronto for 14 years)

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I: Do you know how long you have to wait (until the refugee hearing)? No we don’t know any date yet. Like I think it’s going to come with mail. But we heard it takes at least two years. I: And until then how is your family going to get by? Well until then we get support from the government to live and to be able to afford room and housing and to be able to afford food. (David, 16, refugee, single, school, in Toronto for 16 months)

Entrepreneurial Practice of Opportunity Seeking

Subject: Unity in the Community in support of the Vadasz Family "In 2008 the Vadasz Family claimed refugee status in Canada when they arrived from Hungary. Faced with discrimination for being Roma, the family fled to Canada for a better life and access to a good education for their three sons; Jozsef, Marcell, and Vendel. Their claim was denied at the beginning of the year, and they recently learned that their appeal was also denied. Their last chance is to apply for a PRRA (Pre-Removal Risk Assessment) and Humanitarian Appeal. Come to an evening of music to help raise $2,000 to pay for legal fees that are vital for the Vadasz family to stay in Canada. This is an achievable goal. (E-mail correspondence from Roma Community Centre, September 2011)

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“So at the beginning, like after we decided to come out from the shelter, we received some start-up money, but because we didn’t have anything we though that, well we bought a used car for $100 just from someone. And we packed everything, whatever we had and we moved to Jamenson (downtown Toronto). And the apartment was totally empty and we collected all the furniture from the street.” (Elena, 27, now landed immigrant, unemployed, single, 3 kids, in Toronto for 10 years) I: When did you arrive in Toronto? I came here 12 years ago. And since I’m here I learned the language. Then I find my job. I can raise my kids here. I find my life. You can actually do things like this in Toronto. But not back there (Hungary). (Tom, 55, now landed immigrant, community worker, married, two kids, in Toronto for 12 years)

Entrepreneurial Practice of Creating

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Consumer Acculturation in the Global City

Network Opportunity Seek Create

Ethnic Entrepreneurship Practices:

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Myth of the Global City

Implicatives Implicatives

Minority Culture Dominant Culture

Ideal: Flexible/Hybrid Identity

Contradictions

Negations

Shattered Identity Anomic, Anxious,

Disadvantaged, Disenchanted

Myopic Identity Intolerant, Ignorant,

Impulsive, Overbearing

1) Consumer Acculturation Literature: -  Existing research reduced space to a contextual backdrop -  Different spaces have their own mythic structure, so each

space has an acculturation model of its own 2) Servicescape Literature: -  Globalization has created a new servicescape: the Global

City, which is mythically structured 3) The Global City Literature: -  Entrepreneurial agency can extend beyond the current labor

and capital production sphere into the domain of everyday consumption

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Three Key Takeaways

We would like to sincerely thank you!

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