Family, Harmony, and Greng Jai: The Culture And Innovation Challenge In ASEAN Organizations

According to William Malek, a high-growth innovation mindset and execution framework planner bringing Stanford ideology to southeast Asian companies, innovative mindset has become fundamental to a company’s growth and prospect of success. However, similar to how culture can rapidly destroy a new strategy, innovation processes can be just as easily eradicated by culture. In southeast Asia, innovation faces historical and cultural challenges that limit its progress in organizations. With a traditionally strong family-based business culture, collectivism dominates over individuality, posing challenges in achieving disruptive innovation. Power distance index, which refers to a deference to a scalar chain of the hierarchy and what is best for the family and community instead of individuals, is also a significant factor. The lack of highly disruptive long-term solutions is caused by the cultural bias towards avoiding high uncertainty, which is a major obstacle to effective innovation in the nation. Despite the unique challenges, there are increasing numbers of innovative partnerships happening in the region which can help embrace risk-taking, ensure over-message communication and create a safe psychological environment.