Mediated group communication for sustainable entrepreneurship
Insights from former Indonesian migrant workers in Lombok
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22093539 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nani Nurani Muksin (Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta, corresponding author), Oktaviana Purnamasari (0000-0003-2536-1235, Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta), Jumail Jumail (Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2297-900X • E-ISSN: 2297-900X |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1697535 |
| OpenAlex | W7122657110 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
Return migration is often framed as a catalyst for rural development, yet the communicative processes through which reintegration and post-migration entrepreneurship are sustained remain underexplored. This article examines how mediated group communication shapes the reintegration experiences of returned Indonesian migrant workers in Lombok. Drawing on a qualitative case study combining in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and mediated communication observation of WhatsApp groups and community Facebook pages, the study analyses how returnees organize livelihoods, negotiate participation, and sustain collective action after migration. The findings identify three interrelated communicative mechanisms. First, mediated group communication enables an equalization of voice under cultural constraint, allowing women and less dominant actors to participate more actively while remaining embedded in local hierarchies. Second, group communication functions as institutional substitution, compensating for fragmented and episodic state support by coordinating production, circulating market information, and maintaining collective momentum. Third, affective operational coupling reveals how emotional exchanges such as humour and encouragement are inseparable from organisational routines, reinforcing discipline and entrepreneurial persistence. Together, these mechanisms show that mediated group communication operates not merely as a channel of interaction but as a communicative infrastructure that sustains reintegration as an ongoing social process. By reframing digital and face-to-face communication as constitutive of post-migration entrepreneurship, the study extends theories of computer-mediated communication and group interaction in culturally embedded and institutionally constrained contexts. The findings contribute to communication scholarship by demonstrating how communities in the Global South mobilize communication itself as a form of capital for resilience and collective economic action
Cognitive reframing · Collective action · Communication in small groups · Focus group · Indonesian · Negotiation · Organizational communication · Psychological resilience · Scholarship · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy
Toward a Theory of Community-Based Enterprise
Group processes in computer-mediated communication
Introduction
Indonesian post-migrant workers
Culture and Social Norms
Working Across Faultlines—Assessing Intersubgroup Communication in Teams
Digital entrepreneurship in developing countries
Storytelling Neighborhood
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
The Social Dynamics Approach to mediated communication
Migration Control as Communication? Voluntary Returns, Information Campaigns and the Justification of Contested Migration/Border Governance
Social Remittances
Multi-actor rural innovation ecosystems
Coping strategies of rural migrant workers in China during and after the pandemic
Solidarity Economy, Social Enterprise, and Innovation Discourses
The Reintegration of Return Migrants and Change in Rural Society
| Highly cited | No |
|---|