HomeResearch & Knowledgeback to HomeFamily Businessback to Research & KnowledgeYCH Group: How to remain an innovative family business across generationsback to Family Business

Case Study

YCH Group: How to remain an innovative family business across generations

By Marleen Dieleman and Sophia Xuefei Qiu

11 pages

July 2025

Order this case study

Reference: IMD-2659

YCH Group, a pioneering family-owned logistics company in Asia evolved from a small transport business into a regional leader in supply chain solutions focused on e-commerce, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. This remarkable transformation was thanks to executive chairman Dr Robert Yap, a visionary who was fond of disruption and who remained at the forefront of innovations in the industry. As Dr Yap contemplated the future of YCH, he wondered how his focus on innovation might endure. His son, Ryan Yap, represented a new generation with different ideas about how to protect the company’s core. The case asks participants to rethink legacy as not merely a fixed heritage of traditions passed down but one of continual change and entrepreneurship. It also invites learners to evaluate and discuss how YCH should prepare for a new era of success.

Learning Objective

Understand the ability-willingness paradox in family businesses.
Understand how constant change relates to a family business legacy.
Understand the nuances of the succession of strong family patriarchs.

Keywords

Family Business, Legacy, Ability-Willingness Paradox

Settings

Asia, Singapore
YCH Group, Logistics and Supply Chain
2025

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note

IMD case studies are distributed through case clearing houses. In order to browse the collection and purchase copies please visit the links below.

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]

IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Keep reading

Article

What Huawei's chip strategy reveals about innovation under pressure

Elon Musk’s reported Terafab project and Huawei’s Tau Scaling Law look, at first glance, like two versions of the same trend: the return of vertical integration in semiconductors. But the similarity is superficial. Terafab, if it materializes, is ...

Innovation Strategy

By Mark J. Greeven and Wei Wei

in Forbes.com

27 June 2026

Podcast

Banking’s biggest digital shift - Ralph Hamers - IbyIMD

Ralph Hamers on leading banking’s biggest digital shift: why banks must be tech-forward and how AI could redefine financial advice.

Finance Innovation Leadership Strategy

By Murat Tarakci

in I by IMD

Article

Huawei’s innovation strategy as old rules stop working

Huawei’s response to tech constraints reveals how redefining performance, building integration, and innovating under pressure can create competitive advantage.

AI as your personal thought-leadership partner

Learn how to partner with AI as your personal thought-leadership co-thinker, unlock flow, and accelerate complex decision-making.

Innovation Leadership Performance Measurement Strategy

By Francesca-Giulia Mereu and Paolo Cervini

in I by IMD

Article

Building the brain vs. wiring the body

Explore why the future of AI lies in coordination, not automation, and how combining US and Chinese AI strengths can create lasting advantage.

Reading the future - Florence Gaub - IbyIMD

Explore how weak signals, geopolitical shifts, and climate strategy shape tomorrow’s leadership. Learn horizon scanning and scenario planning with Florence Gaub

Innovation Leadership Geopolitics Strategy

By David Bach

in I by IMD

Article

When does financial slack matter? Family ownership, CEO family status, and SME performance

We offer novel insights into the utilization of heterogeneous types of financial slack (unabsorbed, absorbed, and potential) by family versus non-family small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We hypothesize that agency problems in family SMEs...

Family Business

By Tommaso Minola, Philipp Sieger, Massimo Baù, Giovanna Campopiano, Alfredo De Massis and Francesco Chirico

in Family Business Review

June 2026, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 149–172, https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865261420231

Article

Mastering digital transformation: "4E lessons" from leading multigenerational family firms

Relentless digital transformation is reshaping firm competitiveness, presenting both challenges and opportunities. This is especially true for multigenerational family firms, where complex intergenerational dynamics intensify the impact of transfo...

Family Business Digital

By Marco Mismetti, Samuel Wayne Appleton, Emanuela Rondi and Alfredo De Massis

in Research-Technology Management

June 2026, vol. 69, no. 3, https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2026.2631376

What Huawei's chip strategy reveals about innovation under pressure

By Mark J. Greeven and Wei Wei
in Forbes.com 27 June 2026

Summary

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Innovation

Strategy

Browse all topics

Banking’s biggest digital shift - Ralph Hamers - IbyIMD

By Murat Tarakci
in I by IMD

Summary

Ralph Hamers on leading banking’s biggest digital shift: why banks must be tech-forward and how AI could redefine financial advice.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Finance

Innovation

Leadership

Strategy

Browse all topics

AI as your personal thought-leadership partner

By Francesca-Giulia Mereu and Paolo Cervini
in I by IMD

Summary

Learn how to partner with AI as your personal thought-leadership co-thinker, unlock flow, and accelerate complex decision-making.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Innovation

Leadership

Performance Measurement

Strategy

Browse all topics

Building the brain vs. wiring the body

By Howard Yu
in I by IMD

Summary

Explore why the future of AI lies in coordination, not automation, and how combining US and Chinese AI strengths can create lasting advantage.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Innovation

Strategy

Browse all topics

Reading the future - Florence Gaub - IbyIMD

By David Bach
in I by IMD

Summary

Explore how weak signals, geopolitical shifts, and climate strategy shape tomorrow’s leadership. Learn horizon scanning and scenario planning with Florence Gaub

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Innovation

Leadership

Geopolitics

Strategy

Browse all topics

When does financial slack matter? Family ownership, CEO family status, and SME performance

By Tommaso Minola Philipp Sieger Massimo Baù Giovanna Campopiano Alfredo De Massis and Francesco Chirico
in Family Business Review June 2026, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 149–172, https://doi.org/10.1177/08944865261420231

Summary

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Browse all topics

Mastering digital transformation: "4E lessons" from leading multigenerational family firms

By Marco Mismetti Samuel Wayne Appleton Emanuela Rondi and Alfredo De Massis
in Research-Technology Management June 2026, vol. 69, no. 3, https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2026.2631376

Summary

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Digital

Browse all topics