Hong Kong’s diaspora, networks, and family business in the United Kingdom : a history of the Chinese 'food chain' and the case of W. Wing Yip group.

Abstract

In this article, the authors assess how the Wing Yip group, the leading Chinese enterprise in Britain’s thriving Chinese food sector, has evolved. The key concern of this study is to analyze the nature of the ties between owners of companies in the Chinese food sector as the owners of the major firms in the Chinese food sector are from Hong Kong. This article begins by studying the meanings of Chinese family business networks and the history of the Chinese catering services in the United Kingdom. It assesses the mode of development of this family firm, a major form of corporate ownership among ethnic Chinese in this sector. Among the key issues that is determined is how these Chinese family firms cope with socioeconomic changes within this developed economy. How do members of this Hong Kong diaspora interact with each other? How do their ethnic-based institutions function, and what are the key factors that inform their pattern of business development? The answers to these questions provide important insights into the importance of culture and ethnicity in the development of enterprises among the broader Chinese diaspora.