Business Networks In Asia

Using the proflierating volume of social science data and concepts on the subject, this book attempts to provide an alternative interpretation of the business conduct of the ethnic Chinese of East and Southeast Asia. The authors argue that: explanations of Chinese business conduct in terms of culture are too convenient and simplistic; not all Chinese everywhere are the same, nor do they do business only among each other; not all Chinese are successful in business, and not all successful businessmen are Chinese; guanxi (connections) has its down side; many ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia may well be reluctant merchants as they face many institutional obstructions to their upward mobility; and the seeming solidarity among the ethnic Chinese as more to do with external forces impinging upon them as members of a racial group rather than primordial sentiments internal to the group.

Business Networks in East Asian Capitalisms: Enduring Trends, Emerging Patterns builds on the foundational studies conducted in the 1990s by gathering contemporary empirical and theoretical chapters which explore these themes in a comparative perspective. The book includes contributions from authors working on the relationship between personal and business networks in countries including China, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Authors emphasize enduring trends in social and business networks and/or track new emerging patterns, both within East Asian nations or between East Asia and other regions such as Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Provides contemporary, up-to-date empirical material and theoretical interpretation, charting the influence of more recent globalizing trends and institutional change in the region Includes studies of networks within PRC, between PRC and other regions, and in Chinese communities Offers studies centered on Korean, Japanese, and South East Asian Networks Includes a geographical scope that will be broader than other books, aiming to include studies of newly developing economies in South East Asia that share a common cultural heritage (e.g Vietnam)

The degree to which the extensive business networks of ethnic Chinese in Asia succeed because of ethnic characteristics, or simply because of the sound application of good business practice, is a key question of great current concern to those interested in business, management and economic development in Asia. This book brings together a range of leading experts who present original new research findings and important new thinking on this vital subject. Based on rich empirical research data and a multidisciplinary explanatory framework, this book assesses the role, characteristics and challenges of Chinese entrepreneurship and business networks in various East and Southeast Asian countries: the People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia. Chinese Entrepreneurship and Asian Business Networks demonstrates that Chinese network capitalism is contingent upon, for example, time, place, institutional frameworks, and that explanatory approaches of Chinese economic behaviour which stress culture and ethnicity are too simplistic.

Despite the current crisis, Asian economies remain an important market for firms around the world and continue to be stiff competitors in world business. One reason for the region's strength, and a predictor of Asia's endurance, are its business networks—^Ikeiretsus^R in Japan, ^Ichaebols^R in Korea, and other forms that connect single firms, entire industries, and which interlink the region as a whole. Richter and his contributors examine the origins of business networks, their effects on the economies, and the implications of their presence and growth in Asian economies. Corporate strategic planners, marketing executives, and other decision makers will find here an important contribution to their understanding of why Asia's economies will pick up again and how they will continue to grow. The book examines the promises of business networks and the role of transaction costs, interdependence, and membership commitment. The contributors do not automatically assume that past successes of these networks will mean future successes; rather, they define the outlines of new and innovative forms of networks, and see in their configurations an even better platform for further economic development in Asia and for the globalization of Asian multinationals. Contributors offer a critical approach to theory and practice of Asian networking, and because of their national diversity are able to provide a variety of viewpoints on them. Research-based and presenting the thinking of scholars and practitioners alike, the book supplies expert knowledge and a basis for academic discourse on managerial policy not easily found elsewhere.

This unique volume provides a broad introduction to the ethnic Chinese business in Asia, with focus on the ethnic Chinese in East and Southeast Asia. The growing interest in ethnic Chinese business reflects its importance in these two regional economies, and its relations with China's economy — the world's new economic powerhouse. It examines the nature and characteristics of the ethnic Chinese business, such as business networks, family business and conglomerates, concepts of xinyong and guanxi, and entrepreneurship and management. It also examines the input of history and culture in the formation and operation of ethnic Chinese business. The second half of the book is devoted to detailed regional studies, covering the Chinese in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This book provides an excellent introduction for tertiary students in business schools, and for prospective businessmen who wish to do business with the Chinese in East and Southeast Asia.