High Technology and Globalization Challenges Facing Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs‪.‬

Introduction From the end of World War II until the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, the economies of East Asia, from Vietnam to Taiwan, grew rapidly (Aggarwal, 1999). As the financial crisis ended, the region settled back into steady, albeit slower growth. Much of that economic activity is traceable to the commercial activities of a single ethnic group--the Overseas Chinese (Backman, 1995; Chen, 2001; Weidenbaum and Hughes, 1996). (1) Overseas Chinese are of Chinese decent but live outside of Mainland China. (2) Historically, such individuals played important, if not dominant roles, in the East Asian economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Vietnam (Chua, 2003). The business culture of these Overseas Chinese firms is associated with family control, simple organizational structures with centralized decision-making, internal financing, little research and development, and limited advertising and promotion (Carney, 1998; Chen, 2001; Weidenbaum and Hughes, 1996; Yeung, 1999a). These characteristics have proven particularly appropriate for success in slow-growth, generally low-technology manufacturing, real estate, trading, and commodity-based industries where contract manufacturing based on outside designs is emphasized (Arthur, 1996; Carney, 1998).