Malay entrepreneurship: historical, governmental, and cultural antecedents

This paper provides a review on the history of Malay entrepreneurs, both before and after independence. It also provides conceptualisation of Malaysian entrepreneurship in the context of government incentives, cultural traits, management systems, and the dimensions of organisational culture as an element of entrepreneurship. The characteristics of Malaysian culture are covered with special reference to the value systems inherent within Malaysian and Malay management practices. The understanding of Malay entrepreneurship can help researchers form a generalised theory of entrepreneurship in developing countries, with particular emphasis on Asia.