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Feuds and Legacies: Conflict and Inheritance in Chinese Family Business

In: Chinese Business

Author

Listed:
  • Chee Kiong Tong

    (Universiti Brunei Darussalam
    National University of Singapore)

Abstract

There is a popular Chinese adage, “The first generation lays the foundation for a thriving business; the second builds on it; the third squanders it”. This adage highlights the enduring problem of succession in Chinese family businesses. The essay explores the negative or dysfunctional side of Chinese family business. It suggests that the very factors that help account for the success of Chinese firms, personalism and centralized control, contain the seeds for the eventual disintegration of the family business. Using three case studies, CB Bank, Kong Construction, and Yeo Hiap Seng, the chapter shows how family disputes involving wives, secondary wives, and daughters-in-law and sibling rivalries can lead to issues of conflicts and inheritance after the demise of the founding patriarch of the family business. The dependence of family and kin, while advantageous for the business, does carry with it burdensome obligations, leveraging towards the “dark side”.

Suggested Citation

  • Chee Kiong Tong, 2014. "Feuds and Legacies: Conflict and Inheritance in Chinese Family Business," Springer Books, in: Chee-Kiong Tong (ed.), Chinese Business, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 77-95, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-4451-85-7_5
    DOI: 10.1007/978-981-4451-85-7_5
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