The Impact of Family Conflicts on the Development of the Chinese Entrepreneurially Managed Family Business: The Yeo Hiap Seng Case in Singapore

• Main Author: Fock, Siew Tong
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 1998
• Subjects: Family-owned business enterprises; Singapore; Chinese; Corporations; Asian Studies; Business Administration, Management, and Operations
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/3794; https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.1998.10593285
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Using Yeo Hiap Seng as a typical case of a home grown Singaporean Chinese family business, this article examines the reasons for family conflict and its impact on the family business, and explores the influence and significance of Chinese cultural values. A chronological approach traces the history of Yeo Hiap Seng Holdings, from its founding in 1901 to the take-over by Ng Teng Fong’s Far East Group, an outsider. The reasons for the family feuds that ultimately result in the take-over of the second largest food and beverage company in Singapore is explained. From this explanatory case study of a well known Singaporean Chinese family business, recommendations will be made at a general level on how existing family business can try to pre-empt and manage family business conflicts, an understanding of the nature of the conflict and the exploration of the ways to manage the conflict can help to promote the continuity and growth of the family business – an important component of Singapore’s continued economic growth.