Tan Kah Kee and Oei Tiong Ham: A comparative study of overseas Chinese entrepreneurs

Abstract

Overseas Chinese entrepreneurship, a sub-category of modern Chinese entrepreneurship, grew out of its environments where eastern and western cultures met. The different socio-political and economic environments overseas required the Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia and beyond constantly adjust their temperaments and skills to found and develop their business enterprises. Using Tan Kah Kee in Singapore and Oei Tiong Ham in Indonesia(Dutch East Indies) as examples, this paper is to illustrate the salient characteristics of Overseas Chinese entrepreneurship. As I have argued elsewhere, the Overseas Chinese entrepreneurs, like many other types of entrepreneurs, were men of great ability who had effectively brought capital, labour and management together to create new modern enterprises. They possessed strong capitalistic attitude in pursuit of profit, and had the courage to take risk to fulfil their ambitions. Further, they had possessed business acumen and innovative spirit. In other words, they were not only the creators of modern enterprises, but also the perpetuators of these enterprises. However, the most important characteristic of Overseas Chinese entrepreneurs was their constant and successful integration of traditional Chinese values and western business practices, and Tan Kah Kee and Oei Tiong Ham were two of these good examples.

This paper also draws similarities and contrasts between Tan Kah Kee and Oei Tiong Ham in their socio-political inspirations and business practices, and partly the result of which both took different paths to success and fame in the history of the Chinese in Southeast Asia and their relationship with China