How Asian Entrepreneurs Balance Business and Family Life: A Case Study from Taiwan

Entrepreneurship is one of the hottest research topics in the world and one common research area within this field is the entrepreneurial model or process. The successful entrepreneurial model in the western world is a well-discussed topic. However this model is not applicable in the Asian world due to cultural differences. In the western world, business and family life are clearly separated, but in Asia, there is no clear boundary. The aim of this study is to investigate how Asian entrepreneurs balance business and family life. The study focuses on how the entrepreneur balance business and family life in the entrepreneurial process and on identifying the most critical factors for long-term entrepreneurial success. These issues have been examined through a single case study including the Taiwanese enterprise FU NIANG FANG. This study has identified twelve key factors leading to the enterprise’s success. These key factors are: (1) Product and service innovation, (2) Mechanism to ensure service and product quality, (3) Quoted purchase, (4) Interaction with suppliers, (5) Market segmentation, (6) Value proposition, (7) Site selection, (8) Barriers to market entry and relationships with competitors, (9) Interactions with customers, (10) Talent demand, (11) Entrepreneurial team members and their experiences related to entrepreneurship in past, and (12) Venture financing. This study is explorative in nature and is limited to one company located in Taiwan. Thus, more empirical data should be gathered to reinforce the validity of the findings.