Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business

Transferring a business to the next generation can pose serious challenges, especially in the SMEs sector. In many cases, the owner of the SMEs is the pillar of the company and he/she is responsible for most of the functions in the business. Some are near irreplaceable, thus, making succession even...

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Main Author: Jade Li, Chong
Format: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2009
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24265/
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author Jade Li, Chong
author_facet Jade Li, Chong
author_sort Jade Li, Chong
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Transferring a business to the next generation can pose serious challenges, especially in the SMEs sector. In many cases, the owner of the SMEs is the pillar of the company and he/she is responsible for most of the functions in the business. Some are near irreplaceable, thus, making succession even more difficult. According to research, about two-thirds of all family businesses fail to make it from the first generation to the second, and even less make it to the third. Researchers believe that the reason for this immortality is lack of planning. Predecessors do not address the issue of succession until they are forced to or when they fall sick. Based on my research with 7 family business owners in Malaysia, they all have selected their internal family member as their successor. There was no formal planning carried out in the selection of a successor. The choice is purely based on emotions and relationship. These factors are also the Chinese way of doing business, that is, depending of connections and relationships (guanxi). It is too early to tell if the ‘Malaysian way’ of succession works in the current economy/era. We need to observe longer, perhaps another 20 – 30 years to see if the second generation leaders are successful in persevering the family wealth. Family firms, especially in the SMEs sector, lacks of money and human capital. Therefore, it is important that the management of these family firms recognise this and plan strategically around such circumstances. The dynamics of the economy is changing so rapidly that the leaders in the family firms have to catch up fast!
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spelling nottingham-242652018-01-04T21:01:15Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24265/ Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business Jade Li, Chong Transferring a business to the next generation can pose serious challenges, especially in the SMEs sector. In many cases, the owner of the SMEs is the pillar of the company and he/she is responsible for most of the functions in the business. Some are near irreplaceable, thus, making succession even more difficult. According to research, about two-thirds of all family businesses fail to make it from the first generation to the second, and even less make it to the third. Researchers believe that the reason for this immortality is lack of planning. Predecessors do not address the issue of succession until they are forced to or when they fall sick. Based on my research with 7 family business owners in Malaysia, they all have selected their internal family member as their successor. There was no formal planning carried out in the selection of a successor. The choice is purely based on emotions and relationship. These factors are also the Chinese way of doing business, that is, depending of connections and relationships (guanxi). It is too early to tell if the ‘Malaysian way’ of succession works in the current economy/era. We need to observe longer, perhaps another 20 – 30 years to see if the second generation leaders are successful in persevering the family wealth. Family firms, especially in the SMEs sector, lacks of money and human capital. Therefore, it is important that the management of these family firms recognise this and plan strategically around such circumstances. The dynamics of the economy is changing so rapidly that the leaders in the family firms have to catch up fast! 2009 Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24265/1/chongjadeli.pdf Jade Li, Chong (2009) Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished)
spellingShingle Jade Li, Chong
Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business
title Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business
title_full Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business
title_fullStr Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business
title_full_unstemmed Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business
title_short Succession Planning in Malaysian Family Owned Business– Case Studies in Malaysian Chinese Owned Business
title_sort succession planning in malaysian family owned business– case studies in malaysian chinese owned business
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24265/