Hubert Shea

Chinese Entrepreneurial Familism:second-generation Entrepreneurs Hubert Shea

This book is an early attempt to investigate entrepreneurial practices of second-generation family entrepreneurs in Hong Kong and Mainland China. A group of management scholars have marshalled theoretical and empirical evidence to support their proposition that entrepreneurial practices of family entrepreneurs in Diaspora and Mainland Chinese societies are due mainly to the influence of Confucianism. Based on the Weberian premise that culture can enhance levels of entrepreneurial activity and reinforce entrepreneurial practices, the culturist perspective maintains that entrepreneurial practices of family entrepreneurs can be interpreted as a fixed essentialised cultural phenomenon. This book provides evidence against the culturist perspective that Chinese family entrepreneurs are passive recipients of traditional cultural values as fundamental changes in entrepreneurial practices have been found. Therefore, the extant culturist perspective should be refined and reinterpreted judiciously. The research findings shed some light on the understanding of Chinese entrepreneurial practices, and are useful to scholars and professionals in the field of family business.