Transnational Corporations and Business Networks: Hong Kong Firms in the ASEAN Region

by Wai-Chung Yeung,Henry

• ISBN13: 9780415140164
• ISBN10: 0415140161
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-07-29
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Drawing upon extensive field research in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, this book focuses on networks of business and personal relationships as a key means of transnational operations.

Table of Contents

List of figures	x	(1)
List of tables	xi	(2)
List of boxes	xiii	(2)
Foreword	xv	(2)
Acknowledgements	xvii	(4)
List of abbreviations	xxi
1 The rise of the network transnational corporation: an introduction	1	(27)
Transnational corporations and business networks: some key issues	3	(8)
The global and regional contexts	11	(6)
Hong Kong: a dynamic economy	17	(8)
The structure of the book	25	(3)
2 The emergence of transnational corporations from Asian newly industrialised economies	28	(25)
Global geography of foreign direct investment from developing countries	29	(7)
Main characteristics and competitive advantage of TNCs from Asian NIEs	36	(13)
Explaining the internationalisation of TNCs from Asian NIEs	49	(2)
The role of business networks	51	(2)
3 Conceptualising transnational corporations as networks of governance structures	53	(27)
Transaction cost framework and business networks	54	(3)
Embeddedness and the social organisation of networks	57	(1)
Towards a network perspective on transnational corporations	58	(20)
Conclusion	78	(2)
4 Hong Kong firms in ASEAN: business organisation and corporate strategies	80	(52)
Historical development of Hong Kong TNCs and FDI	81	(2)
Organisational characteristics of Hong Kong TNCs	83	(20)
Strategic predisposition of Hong Kong TNCs	103	(5)
Raison d'etre of ASEAN operations: minimising costs or maximising markets?	108	(18)
The `1997 question' and Hong Kong TNCs	126	(3)
Conclusion	129	(3)
5 The social organisation of business networks	132	(42)
The social organisation of Chinese business	136	(9)
Control and coordination in Chinese business firms	145	(2)
Mechanisms of intra-firm networks	147	(9)
The role of entrepreneurship	156	(4)
Guanxi and inter-firm networks	160	(13)
Conclusion	173	(1)
6 The political economy of Hong Kong firms in ASEAN	174	(23)
A neoliberalist political economy and the development of firms in Hong Kong	175	(2)
The politics of transnational operations in ASEAN	177	(6)
Case studies of Hong Kong firms in ASEAN	183	(11)
Conclusion	194	(3)
7 Competing in the global Triad: competitive advantage and business networks	197	(29)
Bias in comparative management studies	199	(1)
The competitive advantage of Hong Kong firms	200	(6)
A tale of leading Hong Kong firms from three industries	206	(5)
Business networks and the hidden dimension of competitiveness	211	(12)
The fate of Hong Kong and its firms after 1997	236	(4)
Appendix 1 Attributes of parent Hong Kong transnationals and their ASEAN subsidiaries	240	(1)
Appendix 2 Profiles of selected Hong Kong transnational corporations	241	(7)
Notes	248	(6)
Glossary	254	(5)
References	259	(28)
Index	287