Suchergebnisse

Biotechnology is one of the fields highlighted by the Economic Committee as an area of high value-added technology which could be developed in Singapore. The recommendation of the Economic Committee was that the venture capital industry be developed to aid in attracting young foreign technological firms to Singapore. Biotechnology includes the areas of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food processing and agro-technology. A number of local biotechnology businesses have sprung up. This is an interesting phenomenon since biotechnology is difficult ground for small firms to be engaged in. It is usually associated with a long lag time between the development and the actual introduction of the product into the market-place, a need for large sums to be invested in research, and a short product life span, amongst other disadvantages. In an environment where enterprise is only currently being encouraged and entrepreneurship being nurtured, one would not have expected local entrepreneurs to venture into biotechnology. It would therefore be of interest to examine these businesses to see if there are any unique problems that they face by operating in Singapore. This paper proposes to examine the problems encountered by these local firms. Some of the problems ascertained through interviews with local firms concern financing and government funding, and availability of trained staff.

The paper reports the preliminary findings of a larger study that the authors are engaged in on the venture capital (VC) industry in Singapore. The authors point out that although the VC industry is still developing, there appears to be a range of VC firms (VCFs) similar to the small, medium and large VCFs in the USA. The funds have a mix of high technology and low technology investments that hover about 50:50 mark. (DÜI-Sen)

Social entrepreneurship is a new phenomenon in Singapore. Unlike the US, where there are entrepreneurship programs offered at various ACCSB accredited universities such programs do not as yet exist in Asia. The motivations for social entrepreneurship in Asia differ from those in developed countries. While as social entrepreneurship often stem from the social agenda of successful entrepreneurs who are motivated to repay society, the recent trend of social entrepreneurship in Asia may stem from initiatives directed at political liberalisation and the development of civil society on the part of existing governments. The Singapore government in 1997 introduced a series of initiatives to promote active citizenry and involvement in community development, thereby encouraging greater opportunity for social entrepreneurship.

From its earliest days as a British outpost, Singapore has relied heavily for its economic survival on its position as an entrepot trading centre. In the first decades after independence in 1965, economic strategy was focused on building infrastructure, attracting foreign direct investment, and export-led growth. The political commitment to openness in both trade and capital — and, more recently, labour — is one of the key features of a strategy that has delivered remarkable returns in terms of the economic well-being of the people of Singapore. Between 1961 and 1996 GDP per capita grew at an average rate of 10.4 percent a year (Ho and Hoon, 2000), vaulting the country into the ranks of the developed economies. However, until recently, the role of small and medium-sized enterprises, insofar as they featured in this strategy, has been secondary. They were primarily the local links of the supply chains of the multinational corporations which had set up operations in the country. Nonetheless, in this capacity, they benefited from having largely assured demand for their products, and were often also recipients of technology transfer.

The advent of the knowledge economy brings with it needed new public policy initiatives on the part of governments desiring to ensure that enterprises in their economies are able to participate and excel in this new arena. The knowledge economy brings with it opportunities for new ventures as it embroils the global economy in a revolution where information technology is a pervasive and enabling force; where knowledge is the critical asset. This paper explores the implications this revolution for small and medium-sized enterprises and suggests policy initiatives that would assist in promoting ventures for this brave new world.

One of the characteristic features of the East Asian economic development strategy has been the interventionist role of the government in the economic sphere (Amsden 1989; Kwon 1994; Wade 1990; Zutshi and Gibbons 1998). Governments in East Asia have traditionally, worked closely with the private sector. As a result unique business systems embedded in networks and alliances have evolved in countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Singapore (Hamilton and Biggard 1988). Singapore has attempted to extend this model of strategic cooperation beyond its borders into the region. Schein (1996) identifies a number of major development eras in the evolution of Singapore. In 1965 attracting MNCs (multinational corporations), and thus foreign direct investment, was critical to its export-led growth strategy. But after the recession of 1987 the emphasis shifted to building an external wing for the Singapore economy. By 1990 the Corporist State had taken definitive steps toward forging strong economic linkages with the neighboring countries. Singapore foreign direct investments in 1995 were to the tune of S$ 48.5 billion of which almost 60% were invested in the region (Department of Statistics, 1996). Apart from direct investments Singapore has also partnered with the industrial development authorities in the region to promote industrialization. It set up a growth triangle with Malaysia and Indonesia and forged a number of joint ventures with local authorities in China, India, Vietnam and Myanmar in the development of industrial estates.

It has become common advice furnished to family businesses that in order for them grow and further develop, they need to professionalise their management. The literature suggests that firms that follow this advice will perform better and show higher survival and growth. This paper presents the findings of a study on the professionalisation of family businesses in Singapore. It examined whether family businesses that have professionalised their management differ from these that have not. It is anticipated that the professionalised Chinese family businesses would benefit from the introduction of professional managers. It was anticipated that they would be older in age (since succesion is not confined to family member), report better business performance, and adopt aggressive growth strategies. Firm differences were studies using three dimensions: firm characteristics like age and size when professionalised; performance differences using growth and business volume measures developed by Chandler and Hanks (1993) and growth strategies using the Miles and Stones typology (1978) of growth oriented firms. The study found that the professionalised family businesses did not differ in age but showed significant difference in size, better performance and aggressive growth strategies from those that were not.