Rethinking Overseas Chinese Business in Singapore and Malaya, c. 1880-1940

Abstract

Overseas Chinese business personnel and firms have long played major roles in Southeast Asia. Over time, a rich scholarly literature has developed that attempts both to explain the strategies pursued by Overseas Chinese businessmen and businesswomen and to account for the structures of their firms. Broadly speaking, scholars have emphasized either cultural or institutional factors—or some combination—in their explanations. Here, the author lays out the prevailing themes in this literature, points out some of the problems with this literature, and offers some suggestions about how explanations can be rendered more robust. In so doing, the author primarily employs data pertaining to Overseas Chinese business in Singapore and Malaya between about 1880 and 1940.