COMPARISON OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE

Abstract

This is a comparative study of entrepreneurship development in two economic twins - Hong Kong and Singapore. Despite similarities in history, economic structure and trade dependency, entrepreneurship has flourished in different ways. For instance, indigenous entrepreneurship is much stronger in Hong Kong than in Singapore. Also, while the latter has a strong entrepreneurial government, the former does not. As such, this study seeks to explore the mechanisms behind their development and in doing so, present a general theory of local entrepreneurship development.

Chapter one gives a brief illustration of the importance of entrepreneurship to the economic twins' economic growth and development. Reasons pertaining to why Hong Kong and Singapore have been chosen as case studies for this topic are also provided here. The chapter ends with an outline of the purpose and scope of study.

The second chapter is a review of past theories of entrepreneurship. In addition, an attempt is made to refine the concepts 'entrepreneurship' and 'entrepreneur'. This is done by first distinguishing the entrepreneur from the manager and businessman, and the political entrepreneur from the political bureaucrat. Such distinctions are necessary so that important entrepreneurial characteristics pertaining to Hong Kong and Singapore will not be left out.

Chapter three focuses on the countries' economic development. It proceeds by first reviewing the socio-political structures and economic performances of the two city-states. It then traces the role of entrepreneurship in their economic development. Important similarities or differences in entrepreneurial patterns are highlighted.

The fourth chapter analyses the economic and non-economic factors behind entrepreneurship development in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is proposed that the extent and strength of entrepreneurship depend on conditions favourable to its development as well as on the challenges faced. The prospects of future development are also projected in this chapter.

Chapter five concludes by summarizing the essence of the main organizing idea behind the study into a theory of entrepreneurship development in four stages, based on the industrial experiences of the two city-states. It is expected that through this study, a better insight into the development of entrepreneurship can be gained.