Generational change, innovation capacity and enterprise development: Case studies of family smes in the food and plastics industry in Malaysia / Lee Kean Yew
This study reviews the challenges faced by family-owned small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in an increasingly global economy. It is acknowledged that family SMEs constitute a large segment of all companies in the Malaysian corporate sector. Malaysia’s economic development is therefore lar...
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Summary: | This study reviews the challenges faced by family-owned small- and medium-scale
enterprises (SMEs) in an increasingly global economy. It is acknowledged that family
SMEs constitute a large segment of all companies in the Malaysian corporate sector.
Malaysia’s economic development is therefore largely dependent on the
entrepreneurial capacity of family firms in an increasingly global marketplace. This
study analytically and empirically reviews family SMEs to increase our understanding
of the core issues surrounding the growth of such enterprises. The primary focus of
this study is the development of tacit knowledge through innovation among family
SMEs following one or more generational changes, with specific attention given top
plastic and food production as comparative longitudinal case studies. This study
appraises the impact of generational change by tracing the changes that occur when
new generation of family business owners attempt to build on the tacit knowledge of
the founders by expanding the range and quality of products produced. This study will
assess second-generation and third-generation family firms in terms of the 3Ms, a
concept developed by the business historian Alfred Chandler Jr., which refers to a
company’s capacity to develop its manufacturing, management and marketing
potential. This study reviews how different generations in small, medium and largescale
family SMEs with inherently different management activities, styles and
characteristics innovate. This study also reviews how different generations of family
SMEs develop and codify tacit knowledge, adopting modern or more professionalized
management that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurial dynamism. This study
concludes with a set of policy recommendations that could serve to facilitate
enterprise development of family SMEs in Malaysia. |
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