https://www.scmp.com/rss/312608/feed Morten Bennedsen is the André and Rosalie Hoffmann chaired professor of family enterprise and academic director of the INSEAD Wendel International Centre for Family Enterprise en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com In 1938, a young man who had just lost his father used the inheritance money from his landowning family to set up a trucking company to ship fish, vegetables and fruit on the Korean peninsula and even across the sea to Manchuria and Beijing. Rather than naming the company with his own surname, Lee, a common one in Korea, Lee Byung-chull called the enterprise Samsung, meaning three stars. It turned out to be a lucky omen, at least for the firm’s first two generations of leaders. The third “star”,... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2114120/samsungs-lee-family-succession-crisis-shows-importance-long-term-planning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2114120/samsungs-lee-family-succession-crisis-shows-importance-long-term-planning?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Oct 2017 02:01:26 +0000 More than 110 years ago, Fung Pak-liu, an English teacher, and Li To-ming, a local merchant whose family owned a porcelain shop, started an export trading company in Guangzhou, shipping porcelain, fireworks, jade handicrafts and silk, mainly to the United States. In 1937, Fung’s son had a dream to transform the tiny export company into a world class player. To fulfil his dream, Fung Hon-chu opened the company’s first branch office in Hong Kong, then a fast-growing port city and financial centre... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2051181/its-all-relative-four-keys-family-business-longevity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2051181/its-all-relative-four-keys-family-business-longevity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Dec 2016 08:07:29 +0000 When people talk about the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), the first thoughts that spring to mind are its huge contributions to the growth of the Taiwanese economy over the last 50 years. FPG’s advanced engineering know-how has provided Asian countries with some of the products that enabled them to build their factories and their housing on a scale and at a speed that remains unmatched half a century later. Its legendary founder’s rags-to-riches story is well known in Asia: a man working himself... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1999246/innovation-should-always-be-rooted-core-dna-owner-managers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1999246/innovation-should-always-be-rooted-core-dna-owner-managers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Aug 2016 07:32:06 +0000 Are Asian family firms innovation leaders? “Family business” often has a reputation for paternalism, risk aversion and being far away from new dynamic innovative industries. And yet, many family firms across the globe have managed to be innovation leaders for decades. In both East and West, such examples are not far away. In Japan, Toyota (controlled by the Toyoda family) has been one of the most innovative companies in the world focusing on process innovation for over 50 years. In Taiwan, the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1730744/are-asian-family-companies-leaders-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1730744/are-asian-family-companies-leaders-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2015 01:55:54 +0000 Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, is in the middle of executing a long-term plan for his empire, diversifying his investments and business risk by taking on a more global profile. For the past two years, Li has invested more in Europe and North America while exiting a number of high-profile projects in Hong Kong and other Asian countries. Although there might be sound macroeconomic policies to support this, I believe it is also a strategic move as he plans for the eventual succession of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1585716/li-ka-shings-business-empire-diversifies-prune-risk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1585716/li-ka-shings-business-empire-diversifies-prune-risk?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2014 02:58:21 +0000 In the picturesque Awazu Onsen district off the northwest coast of Japan is a small inn that is the world's oldest independent family firm. The Hoshi Ryokan was established in 718 and has been owned and managed by the Hoshi family for almost 1,300 years. The current owner-manager is Zengoro Hoshi, a member of the 46th generation. Following the death of his eldest son, Hoshi is preparing to transfer the inn to his grandson, who represents the 48th generation of the family. The name of the family... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1436947/centuries-old-japanese-family-owned-inn-model-succession?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1436947/centuries-old-japanese-family-owned-inn-model-succession?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Feb 2014 02:30:15 +0000