Succession at Taiwan’s Hop Lion Feather Works: Not leaving it to chance
Publication Type
Case
Publication Date
3-2022
Abstract
Many Chinese family businesses are facing a succession crisis due to the lack of succession planning. Contrary to this finding, Chen Koon-yaw, the fourth-generation owner of the Hop Lion Feather Works Corporation, had planned early and handed the leadership role over to the next generation well before his retirement age.
Hop Lion is a supplier of processed down and feathers to well-known consumer brands specialising in beddings and winter coats, including Canada Goose, Moncler, The North Face, and many others. Founded in 1908 and headquartered in Taiwan, the century-old family business had faced multiple crises that threatened its survival in the early 1990s – family separation, employee betrayal, loss of major clients and a highly volatile business environment. Chen’s experience of an abrupt takeover of the family business after the demise of his father had led to his decision of not leaving succession planning to chance, and grooming his son as the next leader well in advance.
Even after officially handing over to his elder son in 2015, there were doubts on whether he would truly let go. At 61, he had stepped down earlier than most Taiwanese CEOs. Should he continue to exert control over his successor to influence decision-making?
Through the case, students will learn to identify the criteria used to select successors for the leadership role in a company, and evaluate the decisions made by family firms in their preferred choice of a successor in the context of a Chinese society. They will get to analyse the corporate governance of family firms using the Three-Circle Model. An added learning objective is for students to devise growth strategies for the company in the feather and down processing industry.
Keyword(s)
Succession planning, Leadership transitions, Leadership, Leadership qualities, Growth strategy, Corporate governance
Discipline
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
Research Areas
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources
Data Source
Field Research
Industry
Industrial sector
Geographic Coverage
Taiwan
Temporal Coverage
2015
Education Level
Executive Education; Postgraduate; Undergraduate
Publisher
Singapore Management University
Case ID
SMU-21-0049
Additional URL
https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/5346
Comments
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