"They should work the way we do". The discursive construction of Chinese and Italian cultural identity

The Chinese migration is one of the most important migratory flows in the international scene, both for the number of people involved, and for the large and varied number of countries chosen as a destination, including Italy. The present study aimed to study the intercultural dynamics that could arise from the encounter between native (Italian) and immigrants (Chinese), being the Chinese, one of the largest community in Italy. In this vein, the main aim of the study was that of analyzing the relationship between the Chinese and the Italian culture in the south of Italy. Participants were five Italians and five Chinese workers, managers and/or managers of a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bari and in its surroundings. A semi-structured interview was administered as to investigate the interpretative repertoires that both cultures adopt to make sense of work as well as to interpret their reciprocal relationship in the labor market, especially in terms of economical competition in times of crisis. Diatextual Analysis was used as to interpret the data collected. Results showed a difficult integration between the two cultures, especially as for their cohabitation in the labor market.