The Chinese Commonwealth: Implications of the Overseas Chinese

Abstract

The Overseas Chinese, the Chinese Commonwealth, or the Chinese Web, consists of companies formed by Chinese who are found outside of China and inside other countries, such as, the United States, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. These Chinese entrepreneurs work under a set of familial, cultural, and relationship values. They help one another and protect each others businesses. Non‐Chinese companies are now realising the potential growth of this unofficial Chinese economy. This network was first formed by family relationships. However, foreign companies outside this web may find it easier to enter by linking themselves into joint ventures, marriages, political opportunities or just by having some common culture. This Chinese economy is starting to grow approximately by 5% each year. These Chinese entrepreneurs are not cluttered in a single region, as it is in the case of North America, Europe, and Japan. But yet, these potential marketers are failing to realise the importance and the power of this growing economy.

Citation

Herbig, P. and Shao, A. (1997), "The Chinese Commonwealth: Implications of the Overseas Chinese", Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb008418