Corporate governance of innovation in Singapore Chinese family business

• Main Author: ONG, Geok Chwee
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Innovation; Corporate Governance; Singapore Chinese Family Business; Asian Studies; Technology and Innovation
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/254; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1254&context=etd_coll
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Despite the large number of research publications on innovation management matters, there is still a gap in the understanding of effective innovation governance at corporate levels. The mechanisms that drive effective governance at firm level to ensure the “alignment of goals, allocation of resources and assignment of decision-making authority for innovation across the company, and with external parties” (Deschamps, 2013) remain unclear. Given the importance of family firms in Asia (and beyond), there is an urgent need to examine those family factors that influence the effectiveness of corporate governance of innovation in Asian enterprise. Against this background, this study attempts to contribute to the innovation literature by (i) developing a new model of corporate innovation governance for Singapore Chinese family firms; (ii) defining the roles and responsibilities of the board of directors in these family-based firms with regard to governing innovation; and (iii) creating a checklist to support both board members and CEOs of local family firms to better govern and manage organisational innovation efforts at corporate levels. A qualitative research approach was used to provide rich insights into the “why” and “how” of the corporate governance of innovation in an Asian business context, which is still poorly understood. During phase 1, we interviewed ten experts in areas related to innovation, governance and Chinese family firms. Using the insights generated, we created semi-structured interview questions for the subsequent phase 2 case study research. For each of the four case studies, interviews were conducted with two to three key executives of the firms to gather deeper insights into the research topic and to ensure a high level of data validity. Using a grounded theory approach, we formulated an actionable, corporate innovation governance model that points the way ahead for the leaders of Singapore Chinese family firms towards continued value creation. Our research suggests that there is a clear gap between the expert views concerning the desired roles and responsibilities of the board of directors with regard to innovation governance and the actual practices observed in Singapore Chinese family firms. One of the key issues is the lack of domain expertise and experience in innovation management at the board level. Based on the qualitative research, we developed propositions on the antecedents to board’s pro-activeness (e.g. shareholders’ expectations), and family influence factors (e.g. cohesiveness among family members involved in business operation), that affect the governance of innovation. Besides discussing the theoretical implications of the research findings such as the impact of innovation leadership on the corporate governance of innovation in Singapore Chinese family firms, the dissertation concludes with a novel checklist to inform top business leaders about key variables and aspects that affect the effectiveness of making corporate innovation governance work such as innovation leadership, innovation capabilities and clarity of innovation strategy.