Publication Type

Working Paper

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

11-2005

Abstract

Against the background of a rapidly changing business environment, the article examines the organizational change management behavior of the owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in Singapore. The analysis of survey data is aimed at ascertaining whether there are any differences between Chinese and English-educated small (Chinese) businessmen in terms of Change Management (CM), a dichotomy that is of great historical and politico-cultural significance in Singapore. The survey data show that there are indeed differences between the subgroups (e. g. with regard to the initiation of a more participatory people management style) but these variations turned out to be far less pronounced than expected. Access to information, rather than culture, appears to be a key antecedent of the various change management approaches used by both groups. Chinese-educated businessmen in particular seem to be somewhat disadvantaged in this respect as the modern management literature is still largely published in English.

Discipline

Business Administration, Management, and Operations

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

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