Michael Jakobsen – författare

The study of ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia has a long tradition. What is most striking in these studies is just how difficult it is to generalise about this ethnic group in the region. Whether or not they have been able to identify as Chinese has to a certain extend depended on different processes of social and political engineering, which in turn make them more or less distinct as an ethnic group. In the case of Malaysia, national political schemes such as the affirmative action policy indirectly force the Malaysian ethnic Chinese to conceive of themselves as a coherent collective, and yet, when asked Chinese entrepreneurs in the maintain that despite the affirmative action policy ethnicity is not the a defining deciding factor when it comes to identifying business partners.This book focuses on the consequences of these kinds of policies in the field of inter-ethnic business practices and entrepreneurship in Malaysia within the wider context of the relationship between local, national and global markets. It focuses on the complexities of inter-ethnic relations and in particular, the strong economic position of the ethnic Chinese and their impact on the Malaysian economic scene as well as on the wider Southeast Asian region, underlining the degree to which inter-ethnic relations in Southeast Asia are crucial to understanding the political and economic complexitiescharacteristic of characterizing the region. In turn, it takes small and medium-sized enterprises as case studies, and shows how they are being shaped and in return shape the society in which they constitute a part. In doing so, the book highlights how these companies not only relate to the domestic economy, but also cater to the global economy, and presents a compelling argument for the introduction of a glocalised perspective in international business studies.Ethnic Chinese Entrepreneurship in Malaysia will be welcomed by students and scholars with an interest in Asian studies, political economy, international business studies, inter-ethnic relations and diaspora studies.

The study of ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia has a long tradition. What is most striking in these studies is just how difficult it is to generalise about this ethnic group in the region. Whether or not they have been able to identify as Chinese has to a certain extend depended on different processes of social and political engineering, which in turn make them more or less distinct as an ethnic group. In the case of Malaysia, national political schemes such as the affirmative action policy indirectly force the Malaysian ethnic Chinese to conceive of themselves as a coherent collective, and yet, when asked Chinese entrepreneurs in the maintain that despite the affirmative action policy ethnicity is not the a defining deciding factor when it comes to identifying business partners.This book focuses on the consequences of these kinds of policies in the field of inter-ethnic business practices and entrepreneurship in Malaysia within the wider context of the relationship between local, national and global markets. It focuses on the complexities of inter-ethnic relations and in particular, the strong economic position of the ethnic Chinese and their impact on the Malaysian economic scene as well as on the wider Southeast Asian region, underlining the degree to which inter-ethnic relations in Southeast Asia are crucial to understanding the political and economic complexitiescharacteristic of characterizing the region. In turn, it takes small and medium-sized enterprises as case studies, and shows how they are being shaped and in return shape the society in which they constitute a part. In doing so, the book highlights how these companies not only relate to the domestic economy, but also cater to the global economy, and presents a compelling argument for the introduction of a glocalised perspective in international business studies.Ethnic Chinese Entrepreneurship in Malaysia will be welcomed by students and scholars with an interest in Asian studies, political economy, international business studies, inter-ethnic relations and diaspora studies.

Navigating Corporate Cultures From Within offers a unique perspective on the management of headquarter-subsidiary-host market relationships with important insights on how to align corporate values with a localized mindset among culturally diverse employees and across a global enterprise.The shared norms and values that constitute a specific cultural setting supposedly create a common background for using a collective 'we' when referring to every individual employee in the organization. Yet, company values are engineered over time, are molded, and redesigned to match ongoing changes in both the external and internal environment, and their aim is to make the organization adapt faster to changing market conditions, globally as well as in local host markets.This study takes a closer look at the dynamic process of cultural renewal in a complex multinational organization with a particular focus on the role assumed by the individual employees. This is an entirely new way of looking at the effects of important corporate values where a common approach previously has been to look at organizational culture from a confined top management perspective. The findings in this book will be essential to the management of multinational enterprises.