key: cord-1005468-5pdiit9d
authors: Andrejuk, Katarzyna
title: Pandemic transformations in migrant spaces: Migrant entrepreneurship between super‐digitalization and the new precarity
date: 2022-03-25
journal: Popul Space Place
DOI: 10.1002/psp.2564
sha: b2507bd46e10a6845a0e805121b5a6b35d8f10b3
doc_id: 1005468
cord_uid: 5pdiit9d

The Covid‐19 pandemic has brought about new patterns in labour market activities, including greater frequency, intensity and sectoral diversification of technology‐mediated online work (super‐digitalization). The development of online professional activities, accelerated by the pandemic, has a profound influence on migrant entrepreneurship in many dimensions. While the phenomenon also concerns the native population and is not limited to foreigners, in the case of migrant entrepreneurs it has additional unique meanings and consequences, resulting from a greater significance of mobility for migrants and its restriction during the pandemic. The analysis discusses new phenomena, such as the emergence of pandemic digital nomads and the development of migrant business ventures characterized by a de‐ethnicized approach to customers. The theoretical framework for this analysis is the concept of super‐digitalization of professional activities as a privilege. Digitalization is not available to everyone, but it affects everyone; it also has consequences for offline migrant entrepreneurs by creating and enhancing new mechanisms of exclusion. The article emphasizes the difference between super‐digitalization and digitalization, which result in different outcomes for migrant entrepreneurs. The analysis is based on in‐depth interviews with 53 Polish migrant entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom.

expensive than the local workforce and are also seen as proof of the 'ethnic authenticity' of a business (Anthias & Cederberg, 2009 ). The researchers also emphasize the growing role of highly qualified migrant entrepreneurs, who are in a very similar position to entrepreneurs originating from the host society, provided they obtain a stable residence status and a university degree recognized in the receiving country (R. Kloosterman & Rath, 2010) .

These trends and mechanisms show one more key aspect: migrant entrepreneurs tend to be particularly flexible, resourceful and innovative in dealing with critical situations. Even though not all entrepreneurs are able to adapt successfully during crises, times of socioeconomic hardships constitute an exceptional arena for research on the mechanisms of entrepreneurial persistence (Davidsson & Gordon, 2016; Holland & Shepherd, 2013 Innovativeness as a response to the challenges is a crucial attribute (Schumpeter, 2003) , which enhances competitiveness and anchors migrant entrepreneurs in the host labour markets of their choice.

Entrepreneurs' individual agency, demonstrating itself in the pioneering and nonstereotypical approaches to economic crises, enables broader transformations: ideas and strategies of migrant entrepreneurs may be taken up by other segments of the migrant populations.

However, not all migrants are capable of responding to crisis through the super-digitalization of their activities. The theoretical framework for this analysis is the concept of super-digitalization of professional activities as a privilege, available to selected individuals and social groups and, at the same time, excluding others. The concept of privilege has been a topic of numerous academic studies, allowing a better understanding of how various people have broader access to certain benefits, which perpetuates their leverage within social hierarchies (Black & Stone, 2005; Case et al., 2012; McIntosh, 2012) . This analysis refers to Merton's concept of the Matthew effect, indicating that, for some individuals, certain resources and opportunities multiply while, at the same time, the disadvantages and risks accumulate for others (Merton, 1988) . The Matthew effect also underlines the role of privilege, indicating how previous leverage attracts further benefits and additional forms of control and power.

In this article, digitalization is defined as the development of online economic and online professional activities, which replace offline work. The pandemic brought more attention to the digitalization of highly skilled jobs and the use of technology to allow individuals to be more independent from their social environment. This issue is at the centre of attention in digital entrepreneurship studies. A lot of research on digital entrepreneurs has been conducted in recent years (see Zaheer et al., 2019) and the pandemic has only enhanced discussions about the phenomenon (Priyono et al., 2020; Qermane & Mancha, 2020) . As innovators, digital entrepreneurs are of key importance in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industrie 4.0., see e.g., Petrillo et al., 2018) . This is a group of entrepreneurs who use the Internet and advanced technologies to offer services and sell products. They also offer digital products. There are many subtypes, forms and nuances within the broadly understood field of 'digital entrepreneurship' (see e.g. Giones & Brem, 2017; Nambisan et al., 2019; Rahrovani, 2020) . What is common to all is their reflection of the general trend towards concentrating economic activities in the immaterial space of the Internet. Generally, digital entrepreneurship is a 'subcategory of entrepreneurship in which some or all of what would be physical in a traditional organization has been digitized' (Hull et al., 2007 , p. 293, as in: Kraus et al., 2019 . The pandemic, due to the limitation of personal contacts, can only perpetuate this trend.

At the same time, the role of migrants in developing digital entrepreneurship is underexamined. It may play a special role and have an influence on cross-border mobility.

The pandemic provided a key momentum for digitalization, but also deeply affected international mobility through closing borders, limiting short-term and circular migration, introducing migration restrictions and potentially increasing anti-immigrant attitudes (de Haan, 2020; Gamlen, 2020) . In the sphere of labour, the pandemic led to the growing frequency of remote work (Rymaniak et al., 2021) .

These phenomena have diverse influences on various migrant categories: while low-skilled migrants around the world lose their jobs or have to bear increased health risks, highly skilled migrants in 'white-collar' jobs may be more prone to take advantage of online work. These trends are especially interesting in the context of Polish migration because of its mass character and internal diversification.

Polish migration to the United Kingdom after 2004 is broadly studied in the literature (Lassalle & Johnston, 2018; Lulle et al., 2018; McGhee et al., 2017; Rzepnikowska, 2019; Ryan, 2018; Sredanovic, 2020; White, 2016 White, , 2017 . The research has shown that migrants' heightened sense of vulnerability is linked to the uncertainties of the political and social climate (Benedi Lahuerta & Iusmen, 2021) and at the same time their diverse reactions to crises depend on various socio-demographic factors (Trąbka & Pustulka, 2020 (Kilkey & Ryan, 2021) . The importance of crisis and digitalization is exceptional also because migrants and minorities are much more prone to discrimination and marginalization on the labour market, so the new divisions have more impact on these populations. According to the UK statistical data, the 'Other White' ethnic minority (which includes Polish migrants) was more likely to experience a decrease in salary (39%) in the period January-February 2020 to April 2020 than the 'White British' (29%) (Office for National Statistics [ONS, 2020b] (Bogusławska, 2018, p. 139 ). These numbers have most probably decreased due to return migration after Brexit.

The analysis is based on qualitative research conducted after the outbreak of the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021. The research method was in-depth semistructured interviews with migrant entrepreneurs.

The conversations were in Polish (the excerpts below are translated). (Chametzky, 2016) to identify the key areas of digitalization and manifestations of this process during the pandemic.

The main coding categories used in the analysis were online activities and the Covid-19 crisis. However, the analysis and findings are also based on a more comprehensive, in-depth reading, which allows the overall tone or approach of each interview to be grasped. This holistic analysis enables a better understanding and interpretation of interviewees' approaches beyond and in addition to, the content of illustrative quotes.

The sample consists of 53 respondents: 25 women and 28 men. Information and communication technology plays a key role in perpetuating the transnational social spaces in which migrants live (Nedelcu, 2012; Panagakos Anastasia & Horst, 2006) . Migrants often have high digital competences. They use the Internet to communicate with friends and family in the country of origin (Dekker & Engbersen, 2014) . For many of them, who take advantage of their ethnic social and cultural capital at work, online transnational communication tends to be an important business tool. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought a new intensity and quality to those activities.

They result from a multitude of interconnected aspects, which ANDREJUK | 3 of 11 constitute a transition from digitalization to super-digitalization.

Migration researchers indicate that the comprehensive intensification of a given phenomenon may have even greater significance for the transformations of social reality than just emergence of such phenomenon and its moderate forms (see the notion of 'superdiversity'; Vertovec, 2007) . This mechanism is also visible in the case of online activities.

The first change is a greater frequency and intensity of digital activities in migrant entrepreneurship. Prepandemic times were not a technological vacuum, nor was it a time when migrant workers and business owners performed offline activities only. Many forms of transnational activities relied heavily on digital tools even before Covid-19. However, at least for some sectors, in the pre-Covid times they were more often an exception than a rule. The pandemic has played the most significant role in speeding up the digital conversion.

Important highly digitized solutions, such as e-learning through special platforms or e-commerce, were present even before the pandemic. The opportunity to work online or run a business online were used also in the prepandemic times by migrants and migrant entrepreneurs. However, the pandemic led to their intensification, marginalizing offline activities in some sectors. The transition to digitalization in the sphere of business was possible due to migrants' own experiences of online work, as well as using the online tools created by other firms. Therefore, individual business owners who had focused on remote work and online activities even before the pandemic had an advantage over other entrepreneurs who were used to the offline mode. The second dimension includes a growing diversification of digital activities among migrant entrepreneurs. This is particularly significant, since migrant communities in the United Kingdom (including Poles) are increasingly differentiated with regard to the branches and sectors where they are active, as well as their skill level.

New online activities emerge in branches which used to be offline.

Before the pandemic, online activities were perceived as unsuitable for some professionals and sectors, such as the arts (teaching piano or another instrument), medicine or court proceedings. During the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, not only did such activities develop, but the individuals representing these specializations acknowledged their advantages, such as saving time or the costs of commuting.

I work online when it comes to all the prevention activities, workshops in the Polish schools about the transition period for children and teenagers, this whole support is online, we are connecting (…) The only thing is, I do not visit parents. The whole antiviolence, antigang prevention for children and teenagers and parents, I do not do it face to face, just online (…) In a day, three different court cases can proceed, which would not be possible normally, because these cases are in different courts. As for today, we are able to have three court cases and I can appear in three different courts in a single day as an expert and submit evidence. My friends who are lawyers say that there is a lot going on (I-9, female, social worker)

The third major dimension is greater acceptance of digital activities from customers of migrant entrepreneurs, their contractors and other parties. While the transition to online activities within a firm was relatively easy, the more difficult task was to convince customers that online and remote services were of a sufficiently high quality. The prepandemic perceptions of online customer services were negative and seen as demonstrating insufficient customer care.

However, the change in customer attitudes to online services is the fundamental transformation brought about by the pandemic. The increasingly positive attitude to online services among customers makes it possible to further reduce offline face-to-face contact and developing a business and customer base without such contact becomes viable. The new patterns of customer communication also

give broader opportunities to expand beyond the local market and local customer base in the case of small low-budget microenterprises.

In the office, we have transited to remote work, work from home, literally overnight. We worked a lot, we had projects, we designed a lot. But the biggest change, a quite positive change, good for our business and opening up new opportunities-was remote work with customers, that is through Zoom. If we had proposed in January 

The pandemic established new types of migrant privilege connected with the ability of some individuals to work or run a business online in the 'host' country while staying in their country of origin. The Covid-19 crisis enabled new forms of geographic arbitrage, which refers to migrants, strategies of 'relocating day-to-day expenses to low-cost locations' (Girling, 2021; Hayes, 2014 Hayes, , p. 1953 . Geographic arbitrage takes advantage of the cross-country variations in livelihood costs. In particular, this concerns combining high salaries with a low-cost life due to these two aspects being realized in different countries.

Paradoxically, the new mechanisms of geographic arbitrage mirror some trends which have so far occurred in low-skilled groups. The traditionally popular strategy in the case of low-skilled migrants is circulation, which includes working abroad and spending money in the country of origin. In such cases, the migration of individuals did not transform into family or settlement migration, as the family remained in the country of origin, where the money was also spent.

Circulation is no longer a necessary condition to take advantage of reduced living costs. Currently, this type of arbitrage is becoming a domain of highly skilled individuals who run their own firms and can ANDREJUK | 5 of 11 work remotely. Some migrant entrepreneurs become digital nomads, who do not have to reside where their enterprise is located. In comparison with 'regular' digital nomads who tend to combine online work and foreign travel for pleasure (Nash et al., 2018; Reichenberger, 2017) , the pandemic digital nomads are different.

They do not travel for leisure and do not seek the tourist experience.

They travel to be in a low-cost location and attempt to stay longer in a single place. Financially, I managed to get by, and even succeeded.

It is better than it ever was, because I went to Poland for several weeks, I did not pay rent. I taught online, remotely, so I earned money practically all this time.

There was financial assistance from the government. I did not have to travel that much, so the money stayed in my pocket. When it comes to teaching, everything remains as it was (I-29, female, pianist) In the first narrative, the context of cost reduction is very strong.

In the second narrative, the long-term stay in the country of origin is constructed as something more spontaneous. It was not planned, but happened because of the restrictions on international travel. The respondent wanted to avoid the costs of travelling to England, both personal (self-isolation) as well as financial (costs of compulsory coronavirus tests for the whole family). Therefore, he and his family prolonged his stay. Running a British business from Poland has another significant advantage, namely, the costs of childcare. In Poland migrant parents can count on the participation of grandparents in childcare. This is also an economic cost which may encourage running the business from another country. 

Poland would be for a week or two. And they were never holidays, it was usually one meeting after another, so in the end I came back more tired than relaxed. Now there is a possibility to work from anywhere I want, from any place. So I thought that it may be a good opportunity to return home for two or three months, catch up with my parents and brother and on this occasion have a go, see whether I can enter that market being there, if there is any interest among the people I know. Because this is the easiest way to start this kind of market penetration. It is bound to be possible to enter that market from England.

But as I say, it is a combination of personal and business reasons. If there is this opportunity, then why not, when my parents are still here, I can kill two birds with one stone (I-36, male, forex)

The growing acceptance of digitalized activities is multidimensional and includes various institutions. It concerns various dimensions of business conduct, which facilitates geographic arbitrage. The legal aspect of super-digitalization encompasses the state's more positive approach to online services and broadening opportunities for remote contact with public institutions. This is a continuation of a trend which was already present for years. The United Kingdom was very open to online services even before the pandemic: respondents have mentioned registering as self-employed online and the issuing of settled or presettled status also takes place online. However, the pandemic brought even more digitalization in this regard, especially concerning court cases, which can now be dealt with online. Interactions with official institutions sometimes lead to discriminatory outcomes (Fox et al., 2015) and such ethnic bias may be prompted during offline contact by various ethnicities, accents or patterns of personal interaction. The additional value of new digitized solutions for migrant communities may be the minimization of personal prejudice.

Limitations of potential geographic arbitrage arise from employers' attitudes, rather than from the policies of official state institutions. Obviously, not only entrepreneurial activities, but also the work of employees may be performed remotely. In this context the issue of distrust towards employees has additional significance.

The employer's approach shapes the opportunities of becoming a pandemic digital nomad. One respondent, who considered transition to online work from Poland, indicated that his partner was obliged to go to her office once a week, even though her work was conducted online. This respondent (previously self-employed, but remaining in dependent employment during the interview) planned to work online from Poland in 2 years' time; however, he recognized the necessity of achieving a high level of trust from his current employer and strengthening his position within the company. This demonstrates that in the case of migrants on work contracts decisions to work from another country cannot be made as fast as in the case of migrant entrepreneurs. They require more time and the employer's consent, even if the work counts as highly skilled and can be carried out remotely. Migrants' activities on the host labour markets are changing: while the gastarbeiter model of unskilled short-term mobility prevailed 50 years ago, highly skilled migrants currently participate in key sectors of the knowledge economy and pursue activities associated with information processing. They can be successfully performed online and remotely. The Covid-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to work remotely from another country, especially in the case of migrants who are highly skilled and independent, developing their own business activities in prestigious branches such as translation, the arts and financial services. The crisis has emphasized the difference between privileged migrants and foreigners who work in unskilled sectors. Migrant entrepreneurs deserve special attention when studying these processes. Self-employed individuals are more independent and capable of shaping the social environment of their activities, by choosing the workplace more freely than employees, for example. They are at the forefront of the digitalization of economic activities.

The pandemic and crisis generated new ways of responding to difficulties and new strategies of coping on the host labour markets. Access to digitalization constitutes an increasingly significant axis of socioeconomic divisions. Migrants' transnational lives and business strategies also provide broader opportunities in the era of remote work. While the significance of digitalization for labour activities is generally acknowledged by research, its unique effects on migrant work and migrant entrepreneurship in particular are not that widely discussed. This paper addressed this study gap and indicated how online business activities affect digital transition in other spheres of migrants' lives. As the table below demonstrates, the consequences of super-digitalization go beyond the labour market activities of migrants. Super-digitalization does not only denote 'quantitative changes', but encapsulates the growing complexity of migrants' transition to online activities (see Vertovec, 2007 for his explanation of superdiversity). The categories described in Table 1 Opportunity to overcome some uncertainties and obstacles associated with migrant status: for example, reducing additional lengthy bureaucratic procedures or prejudice connected with perception of ethnicity in face-to-face contacts.

Note: Own elaboration on the basis of the qualitative empirical study of Polish migrant entrepreneurs. experience a loss of workers, who return to the country of origin. In the field of migrant entrepreneurship, we can observe the effect of accumulated advantage (Merton, 1988) . Those migrants who work mainly offline, lose their income and are threatened by additional sanctions for not following the restrictions. Those migrants who can work fully online are additionally rewarded by the opportunity to apply various strategies of profit maximization, such as working from the country of origin.

There are many definitions and nuances of digital entrepreneurship, which may be more or less profitable for various groups. For the businesses which can only implement partial digitalization, the use of online tools remains a marginal activity, which may prevent them from a total loss of income, but has a very limited developmental potential. Such businesses adapt to the pandemic situation, but do not take business advantage of the new circumstances. This concerns especially those entrepreneurs who use digital platforms to offer their services, but have work which still requires being physically present (platform workers). At the same time, other (super-digitized) entrepreneurs performing highly skilled tasks can work fully online.

Although digitalization of some tasks within a business does not does not make a given enterprise a 'pandemic winner', super-digitalization of all tasks and work of an enterprise allows some migrant entrepreneurs to take advantage of new privileges and opportunities to generate substantial profit during the pandemic.

The project was financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic

Exchange within the Bekker programme, contract number PPN/BEK/ 2019/1/00200/U/00001.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Katarzyna Andrejuk https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3397-152X

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