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Chinese Enterprise in Colonial Malaya: the Case of Eu Tong Sen

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2004

Lian Kwen Fee
Affiliation:
The Sociology Department, National University of Singapore. His e-mail contact is soclkf@nus.edu.sg
Koh Keng We
Affiliation:
The History Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa. His e-mail contact is kkoh@hawaii.edu

Abstract

This article is critical of the culturalist perspective as an explanation for the development of Chinese entrepreneurship. Drawing on Eu Tong Sen's business strategies and career between 1897 and 1920 as case study, it identifies the endogenous and exogenous conditions affecting Chinese business activities in colonial Malaya. Alfred Chandler's work on the rise of the modern business enterprise is argued to be particularly relevant for an economic history of Chinese business in Southeast Asia.

Type
Articles
Copyright
© 2004 The National University of Singapore

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Footnotes

We would like to acknowledge the comments of the two anonymous referees, which were most helpful in the revision of this article. Funding for this research came from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore.