The moral embeddedness of labor market transactions in Indonesia: a study of Chinese migrant workers

Alhamudin Maju Hamonangan Sitorus, Sudarsono Hardjosoekarto, Rusfadia Saktiyanti Jahja, One Herwantoko, Fadlan Khaerul Anam

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: Moral consideration is significantly important as social responsibility of economic actions. This article aims to analyze the moral embeddedness of labor market using the typology of moral behavior in market exchange by Beckert (2005). Design/methodology/approach: This study contributes to methodological novelty through a digital research design using Gephi and NVIVO software. Textual Network Analysis (TNA) is used to analyze the moral embeddedness of labor market transaction of Chinese migrant workers. Findings: Overall, the results show that the presence of Chinese migrant workers in Indonesia is a form of Trojan altruism and harmful to local labor market. This study also provides a theoretical debate that morals are always embedded in markets. Research limitations/implications: The data and focus of this study are the Indonesian side, particularly the local labor market. In addition, access to interviews with the Chinese government and companies is very challenging and cannot be done because they cannot carelessly provide information to journalists and researchers. Originality/value: In contrast to previous studies on Chinese migrant workers that tend to use the economic perspective, this study applies the moral perspective that is more sociological and discusses social responsibility of market actions. Peer review: The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0737.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1485-1500
Number of pages16
JournalInternational Journal of Social Economics
Volume50
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Nov 2023

Keywords

  • China
  • Economic sociology
  • Labor market
  • Moral embeddedness
  • Trojan altruism

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