Examining employment relations in the ethnic Chinese restaurant sector within the UK context By: Xisi Li A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Science Management School December 2017 Declaration No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institution of learning. Abstract Studies of employment relations in ethnic minority small firms have long been focused on the South Asian and Black communities. While the richness of these accounts has contributed much to our understanding of employment relations in small firms both relating to members of minority communities and more widely, there remains scope for engaging with a greater diversity of minority ethnic communities in the UK context. Specifically, there has not been any extensive research focusing on the ethnic Chinese community. The PhD thesis aims to examine employment relations in the ethnic Chinese restaurant sector within the UK context to address the current research gap. The research is located within a rich ethnographic tradition. The fieldwork for the current study consisted of participant observation of restaurant work over a period of seven months spent in two ethnic Chinese restaurants in Sheffield. The researcher worked as a full-time front area waiter and a full-time kitchen assistant. The field work enabled the researcher to develop a nuanced understanding of workplace behaviours. By focusing on four different aspects – the product market, the labour market, multi-cultural workforces and the informality-ethnicity interaction, this research thoroughly demonstrates how shop-floor behaviours and employment relations in the two case study firms are influenced by a variety of factors. This research contributes to existing knowledge in three respects. Empirically, it reveals the nature of workplace relations in the ethnic Chinese restaurant sector within the UK context, a hitherto under-explored area. This adds new knowledge to the study of employment relations in ethnic minority small firms. Theoretically, it draws out the concept of ‘ethnic twist’, which denotes the conflict and resistance between different group members from the same ethnicity, revealing the heterogeneity of people from the same ethnic origins. Methodologically, the research demonstrates the continued importance of the ethnographic approach in studying workplace relations. Key words: employment relations, ethnic Chinese, small firms Acknowledgements I would firstly like to thank the guidance of my supervisors, Dr Robert Wapshott and Professor Jason Heyes. I have been extremely grateful for their incomparable help over the past four years. I would also like to thank all the participants in the two case study firms. Finally, I thank my family for their support. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 7 2.1 Employment relations in small firms ................................................................................. 7 2.1.1 ‘Small is beautiful’ versus ‘bleak house’ .................................................................... 7 2.1.2 The impacts from external environments .................................................................. 8 2.1.3 The impacts from internal environments ................................................................. 13 2.1.4 Developing a framework – integrated analysis ........................................................ 20 2.1.5 Influences from laws and regulations ....................................................................... 24 2.1.6 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 26 2.2 Employment relations in ethnic minority small firms ................................................... 27 2.2.1 The restaurant sector and the ethnic minority restaurant sector under the UK economy ................................................................................................................................ 28 2.2.2 Employment relations in ethnic minority businesses in the restaurant sector ..... 30 2.2.3 Integration of informality and ethnicity ................................................................... 34 2.2.4 Research trend in studying employment relations in ethnic minority small firms36 2.3 Gaps and rationale ............................................................................................................ 38 2.3.1 The Chinese diaspora in the UK ............................................................................... 38 2.3.2 Characteristics of ethnic Chinese small firms in the UK context ........................... 39 2.3.3 Gaps and rationales .................................................................................................... 43 2.3.4 Analytical framework for the research .................................................................... 44 Chapter 3 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 51 3.1 The research aim, questions and objectives .................................................................... 52 3.2 Research methodology ...................................................................................................... 54 3.2.1 Empirical tradition of workplace studies ................................................................. 54 3.2.2 Ethnography as the approach ................................................................................... 56 3.2.3 Research justification ................................................................................................. 66 3.3 Gaining and sustaining access .......................................................................................... 68 3.3.1 Gaining initial access .................................................................................................. 68 3.3.2 Maintaining and sustaining access ............................................................................ 70 3.4 Introducing the firms ........................................................................................................ 72 3.5 Data collection .................................................................................................................... 76 3.5.1 The concept of template analysis ............................................................................... 76 3.5.2 Data collection techniques ......................................................................................... 81 3.5.3 Note-taking .................................................................................................................. 84 3.6 Coding and data analysis .................................................................................................. 85 3.7 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 87 Chapter 4 Influences from the product market upon owner-managers’ choices and employment relations .................................................................................................................. 89 4.1 The increase of Chinese restaurants in Sheffield ............................................................ 90 4.1.1 The demand side -- the continuous increase of Chinese students .......................... 90 4.1.2 The supply side -- savings and entrepreneurial motivation from chefs ................. 91 4.2 The unstable environment ................................................................................................ 95 4.2.1 The nature of demand fluctuation ............................................................................ 95 4.2.2 Owner-managers’ choices under the unstable product environment and implications to employment relations ................................................................................ 99 4.3 Competition, market position and owner-managers’ strategies ................................. 106 4.3.1 The level of competition ........................................................................................... 106 4.3.2 Pricing strategies ...................................................................................................... 108 4.3.3 Retaining customers ................................................................................................. 110 4.3.4 Moving upward ......................................................................................................... 112 4.4 Geographic locations and the product market ............................................................. 113 4.4.1 The Location A versus Location B .......................................................................... 113 4.4.2 Adaptive choices from owner-managers under the constraints of locations ....... 115 4.5 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 116 Chapter 5 Influences from the labour market upon owner-managers’ choices and employment relations ...............................................................................................................