OVERSEAS CHINESE NETWORKS - UNDERSTANDING THE ENIGMA

There are three major forms of capitalism in Pacific Asia: Japanese, Korean, the Overseas Chinese. The latter is still relatively little understood, partly because it belongs to no one country but is spread across the entire region. Its significance for China is growing very fast. To understand it requires an acceptance that it is grounded in a certain cultural legacy containing strong elements of Confucian paternalism, personalistic trust, and drives based on insecurity. In this context, family business overcome their scale limitations by networking, and they do so regionally. That they do so effectively is indicated in the wealth of capital now generated and reinvested in the region.