Transgenerational Intent of Taiwanese Business Families in Brisbane, Australia

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of immigrant context on continuity and success in Chinese family business. We conceptualize the immigrant context as exposure to country differences in family logic, arguing that the immigrant context influences transgenerational intent by affecting family practices and relations. Based on a multiple-case study of Taiwanese business families in Brisbane, Australia, we show that variations in three family practices – parental control, children’s filial piety, and parental role in children’s career development – play an important role in this matter. To explain why, we theorize that the extent to which Taiwanese immigrant business families continue with or depart from traditional Chinese family logic in terms of these three practices enables particular meaning of intrafamily succession to prevail in the family, which ultimately affects their transgenerational intent.