Economic studies on East Asia economies in general and Chinese economies are not lacking. However, most studies hitherto adopt the conventional neo-classical economic approach. In particular, the Cobb-Douglas production function and/or theory of comparative advantage are often applied to explain economic growth of an Asian economy. In international business, Dunning's eclectic theory is also widely adopted to understand the pattern of foreign direct investments in East Asian economies. Yet it is generally agreed that the mainstream neo-classical approach has severe drawbacks and limitations. In particular, it does not consider the role of knowledge and uncertainty. Entrepreneurship, which is the true engine of growth, is largely missing in neo-classical economics. This book uses the evolutionary approach to analyse economic and business activities in East Asian economies. Specifically, the book focuses on knowledge and coordination problems and examines the role of entrepreneurship in economic affairs.

In this major contribution to comparative-international business Richard Whitley compares and contrasts the dominant characteristics of firms and markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, relating these to their particular social, political and economic contexts. At the level of the firm he looks at such areas as management styles and structures, decision-making processes, owner-employee relations, and patterns of company growth and development. He also discusses market development, customer, supplier and inter-firm relations, and the roles of the financial sectors and the state in market and industry development. The book also examines the ways in which key social institutions in each country have affected the evolution of business. Finally, the author makes a comparison of East Asian business systems with dominant Western practices.

The Handbook explores institutional variations across the political economies of different societies within Asia. It includes empirical analysis of 13 major Asian business systems between India and Japan, and examines these in a comparative, historical, and theoretical context.

Much of the existing literature within the "varieties of capitalism " (VOC) and "comparative business systems " fields of research is heavily focused on Europe, Japan, and the Anglo-Saxon nations. As a result, the field has yet to produce a detailed empirical picture of the institutional structures of most Asian nations and to explore to what extent existing theory applies to the Asian context. The Oxford Handbook of Asian Business Systems aims to address this imbalance by exploring the shape and consequences of institutional variations across the political economies of different societies within Asia. Drawing on the deep knowledge of 32 leading experts, this book presents an empirical, comparative institutional analysis of 13 major Asian business systems between India and Japan. To aid comparison, each country chapter follows the same consistent outline. Complementing the country chapters are eleven contributions examining major themes across the region in comparative perspective and linking the empirical picture to existing theory on these themes. A further three chapters provide perspectives on the influence of history and institutional change. The concluding chapters spell out the implications of all these chapters for scholars in the field and for business practitioners in Asia. The Handbook is a major reference work for scholars researching the causes of success and failure in international business in Asia.

Since the end of the Second World War, Taiwan has transformed in around 60 years time from a farmland to a high tech industrial economy. This book examines entrepreneurship, innovative systems and government policies in Taiwan.

An insightful analysis of the strategy of one of Southeast Asia's largest family business groups.

In this book, three modern Chinese family businesses, including food and beverage company Yeo Hiap Seng, are studied to analyze the problems that family enterprises face. Other case studies include long-standing family businesses in Europe, America and Asia, such as Ford, Kikkoman and Samsung. This book also discusses the changing characteristics of Chinese family businesses, the pitfalls that such enterprises are likely to face, and how they can overcome these pitfalls and achieve sustainable development.