Crafted culture: governmental sculpting of modern Singapore and effects on business environments

Abstract

The Singaporean government has enjoyed an astounding record of success based on its ability to attract MNCs and corresponding capital. Government‐led development has involved crafting a culture that will adapt to MNCs’ needs and to fast‐changing global environments in a restructured economy. The socially re‐engineered Singaporean culture appears hierarchical, disciplined, authoritarian and a showcase for technocratic management. Yet, further crafting of the Singaporean culture along the top‐down, technocratic model seems to result in a diminishing ability to produce creative, innovative and productive workers for the knowledge economy and the MNCs that dominate it. The authors sketch the ideological bases for Singapore’s crafted culture and explore Singapore’s distinctive characteristics as well as governmental policies that have molded this culture. They proceed to highlight specific governmental policies that are designing Singapore for the restructured, globalizing and fast‐changing knowledge economy; and discuss the competing model offered by Taiwan. Finally, the authors propose some implications for civic society and cultural change in Singapore.