Michael Jakobsen

Biography

"My main research interest focuses on how ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia are engaged in multiple forms of network practices engaging different types of capital (social, political, and economic) in the process. This research traces the contours of these networks by mapping linkages between supra- and sub-national transactions in order to show whether these alternative (business) networks undercut prevailing spatial organisations such as those organised by the nation-state. An important part of this research is to focus on the ethnic Chinese diaspora in especially Southeast Asia and whether ethnic Chinese business strategies are based on ethnic affiliated practices such as guanxi or xinyong or whether they are conditioned by changing global economic practices thus introducing more truncated and ad hoc based business network. In terms of size of businesses in Southeast Asia my main focus is on ethnic Chinese owned SMEs. As they are less engaged in international business transactions they are more likely to act as suppliers or sub-contractors for MNCs in a given domestic market. The focus point here is how these businesses relate to the national industrial and societal setup knowing that ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs constitute a minority group in all the Southeast Asian countries except Singapore. The ultimate interest in this connection is to research the outer limits of ethnic affiliation in a business cum societal context. My latest research interest focuses on cross-cultural communication strategies in international business. This research is mainly based on a data base collected since 2007 and onwards in Penang, Malaysia. This is part of a new research project that is initiated in 2012 and will eventually branch out to cover other Southeast Asia nations. "

Research Interest

"Political and economic relations between China and Southeast Asia Ethnic Chinese business strategies and networking practices in Southeast Asia Economic and political globalization International business studies in an Asian context Ethnic identity and nationalism"