State- and context-dependent information management and wealth accumulation: an intercultural information analysis among the billionaires in Asia, Taiwan and China

Abstract

From the Forbes Magazine survey of the world's 538 richest, 77 or about 14.4% were identified as born in Asia (Asia Week, June 28, 2001). In addition, the top 100 billionaires (in $NT) in Taiwan, 2001 and 2002 were surveyed by Taiwan Smart Monthly magazine (November 11, 2002) and another top 100 billionaires in China (in US dollars) were reported by the Forbes magazine in 2004. This paper utilises Liu, Lin, Lee and Chou's (1997) state- and context-dependent information management model specification and equity account-dependent variables to study the underlying intercultural factors affecting the richest 77 Asian and the top 100 Taiwanese and Chinese entrepreneurs, respectively, by such attributes and characteristics as shown in the Bamboo network (Weidenbaun and Hughes, 1996) and Liu and Gawford (1996). Using regression and categorical techniques, this paper shows that important intercultural information factors affecting the world's richest Asian billionaires are age, marital status, Chinese cultural background and self-made accomplishment, economic and national business condition, education, training and Total Quality Management, and the Human Development Index, etc. While most billionaires in Taiwan came from the Information Technology (IT) industry, but due to different stage of IT development, many billionaires in China were found in real estate and manufacturing management.