Anglo vs. Asian Family Business: A Cultural Comparison and Analysis
| Pages | 46-55 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/15587890980001516 |
| Published date | 21 May 2009 |
| Date | 21 May 2009 |
| Author | Vipin Gupta,Nancy Levenburg,Lynda Moore,Jaideep Motwani,Thomas Schwarz |
| Subject Matter | Strategy |
Journal of Asia Business Studies SPRING 2009
46
INTRODUCTION
Asia is challenging the economic might and business models of the
Anglo region, just as Japan did during the 1970s and 1980s, but with
even greater potential impact on the world markets, thus illustrat-
ing what some have deemed the “Asian century” (Ashkanasy 2002).
Family businesses have been, and remain, the mainstay of Asian (and
most global) economies. Until recently, however, the literature on
families and family businesses in Asia has been both scant and scat-
tered. As Chrisman et al. (2003) note, family businesses are launched
for reasons other than the desire for dollars and cents (or rupees and
yen). They state, “Family businesses… bring together so starkly the
economic and noneconomic realities of organizational life…” (2003,
p. 442). Thus, family businesses must be examined within the cul-
tural contexts in which they are bred, nourished, and grow.
Fortunately, recent developments in cultural assessment and
measurement methodology have provided tools to enable a better
understanding of families and family businesses vis-à-vis the use of
regional clusters and comparative lenses (Ronen and Shenkar 1985;
Gupta and Hanges 2004). Thus, the Asian cluster can be identified
as not only unique, but uniquely different from the Anglo cluster,
which is highly individualistic (Hofstede 2001, House et al. 2004).
This is noteworthy since, in refining theories of family business, it is
important that they are examined in their cultural contexts and all
their diversity.
These developments indicate that while the Asian cultures share
pluralism, there are also two particularly strong lines of demarcation:
Indo-centric and Sino-centric. Huxley (1997), for example, in his re-
view of ancient legal systems, suggests that during the third and sec-
ond centuries before the Common Era (BCE), three distinct schools
of natural law flourished, which originated in India, China, and the
Hellenistic world. Similarly, while recognizing diversity within the Si-
no-centric cultures, Brett (1997; quoted in Gupta and Hanges 2004,
p. 189) observed: “Confucian influence extended to those Eastern
societies located within the China cultural orbit namely Korea, Ja-
pan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, not to mention overseas
Chinese communities everywhere. In China, itself, Confucianism has
provided the indispensable mainstay of a system of education that is
more than two thousand years old.”
Using the regional cluster tool, it becomes possible to develop a
common view of family businesses across the Indo-centric and Sino-
centric regions, and to contrast them with a similar view of family
businesses across the Anglo region. Thus, the purpose of this paper is
to address two gaps in the literature: (1) the absence of any compara-
tive study of family businesses within Asia along the Indo-centric and
Sino-centric demarcation lines, and (2) between the Asian and the
Anglo vs. Asian Family Business: A Cultural Comparison and Analysis
Vipin Gupta
Simmons College School of Management
Nancy Levenburg
Grand Valley State University
Lynda Moore
Simmons College School of Management
Jaideep Motwani
Grand Valley State University
Thomas Schwarz
California State University, Fullerton
absTRaCT
This paper compares the family characteristics and work cultures of family businesses in Anglo, Southern Asia, and Confucian
Asia cultures. Using the GLOBE classification and findings, the Anglo cluster of nations is distinguished by its strong perfor-
mance orientation but weak family orientation. The Confucian Asian cluster is characterized by a strong performance and family
orientation, and strong institutional collectivism. The Southern Asia cluster is distinguished by a strong family and humane orientation
– a hallmark of its deep community orientation. Results indicate differing patterns in terms of the involvement of the family in the family
business and other key organizational dimensions, although all three cultures share contextual embeddedness. The two Asian regions
are similar only in terms of their high operational resiliency and business longevity, in contrast with the Anglo region, which is more
moderate. For academicians, results suggest opportunities for examination of the impact of cultural and contextual differences on the
relevance of prevailing theories of family business; for practitioners, results provide insights for global family business practice.
Keywords: Family Business, Culture, Asia, Comparative Analysis
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