Anglo vs. Asian Family Business: A Cultural Comparison and Analysis‪.‬

INTRODUCTION Asia is challenging the economic might and business models of the Anglo region, just as Japan did during the 1970s and 1980s, but with even greater potential impact on the world markets, thus illustrating what some have deemed the "Asian century" (Ashkanasy 2002). Family businesses have been, and remain, the mainstay of Asian (and most global) economies. Until recently, however, the literature on families and family businesses in Asia has been both scant and scattered. As Chrisman et al. (2003) note, family businesses are launched for reasons other than the desire for dollars and cents (or rupees and yen). They state, "Family businesses ... bring together so starkly the economic and noneconomic realities of organizational life ..." (2003, p. 442). Thus, family businesses must be examined within the cultural contexts in which they are bred, nourished, and grow.