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Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

1996

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Business

Trading Networks Of Chinese Entrepreneurs In Singapore, Thomas Menkhoff, Chalmers E. Labig Apr 1996

Trading Networks Of Chinese Entrepreneurs In Singapore, Thomas Menkhoff, Chalmers E. Labig

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The entrenchment of entrepreneurs in local, regional, or global business networks based on kinship, clanship, territorial, or ethnic ties has often been cited as characteristic of Chinese business communities in Southeast Asia. Qualitative interviews with Singaporean Chinese merchant-exporters were conducted in order to examine this thesis. The findings reveal that there is a strong tendency among Chinese entrepreneurs in Singapore to rely on external commercial relationships with ‘outsiders’ and ‘friends’ rather with those related by blood or marriage. It is suggested that kinship reciprocity may under some circumstances curb the autonomy and freedom of the transacting actors, thus limiting their …


Organization Structure And Structural Change In European Manufacturing Organisations, Derek Pugh, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark, Geoff Mallory Jan 1996

Organization Structure And Structural Change In European Manufacturing Organisations, Derek Pugh, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark, Geoff Mallory

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The paper considers two approaches to thestudy of the impact of national cultures on thestructure of organizations; viz: culture free andculture bound approaches. Af ter a discussionof the problems of obtaining comparable datain cross-cultural research, the preliminary results of a comparative study of large manufacturing organizations in six countries in Europeare presented. The results suggest that whileformal organizational authority structures appear to be culture free reflecting the impact ofstrategic contingencies, use of coordinationtechniques, such as regular top managementmeetings and task forces, is more affected bycultural factors.