Popping the “bubble” metaphor: separation and integration of expatriate communities
ISSN: 2049-8799
Article publication date: 25 October 2022
Issue publication date: 14 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss multiple uses of the concept of “bubble” as a metaphor to refer to different experiences of foreign working communities and suggests a more flexible and comprehensive approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted at different locations, the authors propose changing the use of the bubble metaphor from an analogy of living in isolation to a way of conceptualising the changing contexts and characteristics that impact the porosity and permeability of communities.
Findings
The paper suggests that when using the metaphor as a concept, the following considerations need to be taken into account: (1) the conventional thinking that “expat-bubbles” are isolated places, (2) any simplistic notion that different internationally mobile workers will be less or more immersed in the local community and (3) the use of the bubble metaphor without a careful delineation and reference to its permeability and porosity.
Originality/value
The paper helps to visualise a different dimension of the traditional taken-for-granted representation of the bubble. The bubble emerges as a rich analogical concept not to explain binomial representations of integration-separation. Rather than a simple “open” or “closed”, bubbles became more or less porous and permeable depending on the experiences of foreign working communities.
Keywords
Citation
Miao, C., Gaggiotti, H. and Brewster, C. (2023), "Popping the “bubble” metaphor: separation and integration of expatriate communities", Journal of Global Mobility, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 110-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-05-2022-0016
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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