IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v15y2004i2p133-144.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Organization and Management in the Midst of Societal Transformation: The People's Republic of China

Author

Listed:
  • Anne S. Tsui

    (Arizona State University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Peking University)

  • Claudia Bird Schoonhoven

    (Graduate School of Management, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-3125)

  • Marshall W. Meyer

    (The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104)

  • Chung-Ming Lau

    (Faculty of Business Administration, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.)

  • George T. Milkovich

    (Cornell University, (for correspondence: 31 Sea Colony Drive, Santa Monica, California 90405))

Abstract

Twenty-five years of economic reform has propelled China to the center of the world's economic stage. Based on current trends, in the foreseeable future China is likely to become the largest economy in the world. China's dramatic growth may be envied by other developing economies, but for management scholars it presents an exciting intellectual puzzle. In this paper we describe the empirical context of China today, review contemporary research on Chinese management and organizations, and describe the nine papers in this special issue of Organization Science . The papers provide a close examination of how massive corporate transformation in China has influenced interfirm relationships, affected opportunity structures and social processes, and modified individual behaviors within firms. We identify the many paradoxes in this intellectual terrain and present a guide to the challenging research agenda ahead. We recommend that scholars of organizations think deeply about China as a context and consider China as an empirical setting where the boundaries of existing knowledge on organizations can be extended.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne S. Tsui & Claudia Bird Schoonhoven & Marshall W. Meyer & Chung-Ming Lau & George T. Milkovich, 2004. "Organization and Management in the Midst of Societal Transformation: The People's Republic of China," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 133-144, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:15:y:2004:i:2:p:133-144
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1040.0063
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1040.0063
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1040.0063?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chun Hui & Cynthia Lee & Denise M. Rousseau, 2004. "Employment Relationships in China: Do Workers Relate to the Organization or to People?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 232-240, April.
    2. Carolyn P. Egri & David A. Ralston, 2004. "Generation Cohorts and Personal Values: A Comparison of China and the United States," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 210-220, April.
    3. Wei Zhao & Xueguang Zhou, 2004. "Chinese Organizations in Transition: Changing Promotion Patterns in the Reform Era," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 186-199, April.
    4. Lisa A. Keister, 2004. "Capital Structure in Transition: The Transformation of Financial Strategies in China's Emerging Economy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 145-158, April.
    5. Bat Batjargal & Mannie (Manhong) Liu, 2004. "Entrepreneurs’ Access to Private Equity in China: The Role of Social Capital," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 159-172, April.
    6. Jiing-Lih Farh & Chen-Bo Zhong & Dennis W. Organ, 2004. "Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the People's Republic of China," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 241-253, April.
    7. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    8. Michael A. Hitt & David Ahlstrom & M. Tina Dacin & Edward Levitas & Lilia Svobodina, 2004. "The Institutional Effects on Strategic Alliance Partner Selection in Transition Economies: China vs. Russia," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 173-185, April.
    9. Wei He & Chao C. Chen & Lihua Zhang, 2004. "Rewards-Allocation Preferences of Chinese Employees in the New Millennium: The Effects of Ownership Reform, Collectivism, and Goal Priority," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 221-231, April.
    10. Chao C. Chen & Ya-Ru Chen & Katherine Xin, 2004. "Guanxi Practices and Trust in Management: A Procedural Justice Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 200-209, April.
    11. David A Ralston & David J Gustafson & Fanny M Cheung & Robert H Terpstra, 1993. "Differences in Managerial Values: A Study of U.S., Hong Kong and PRC Managers," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 24(2), pages 249-275, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yingying Zhang-Zhang & Sylvia Rohlfer & Jay Rajasekera, 2020. "An Eco-Systematic View of Cross-Sector Fintech: The Case of Alibaba and Tencent," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-25, October.
    2. Lu, Feifei & Zhu, Zhu & He, Xiaogang, 2021. "Aspirations of Chinese families-in-business: Development of a reliable measurement instrument," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4).
    3. Yadong Luo & Huan Zhang & Juan Bu, 2019. "Developed country MNEs investing in developing economies: Progress and prospect," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(4), pages 633-667, June.
    4. Christian Fisch & Jörn Block & Philipp Sandner, 2019. "The impact of acquisitions on Chinese acquirers’ innovation performance: an empirical investigation of 1545 Chinese acquisitions," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 125-153, March.
    5. Özalp Özer & Yanchong Zheng & Yufei Ren, 2014. "Trust, Trustworthiness, and Information Sharing in Supply Chains Bridging China and the United States," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(10), pages 2435-2460, October.
    6. Huang, Pei-Ying & Ouyang, Tao Hua & Pan, Shan L. & Chou, Tzu-Chuan, 2012. "The role of IT in achieving operational agility: A case study of Haier, China," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 294-298.
    7. Sven Horak & Markus Taube & Inju Yang & Katja Restel, 2019. "Two not of a kind: Social network theory and informal social networks in East Asia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 349-372, June.
    8. Yingying Zhang-Zhang, 2023. "Sustainable Strategic People Management: A Confucian Perspective on Chinese Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-20, June.
    9. Meng Xi & Shuming Zhao & Qin Xu, 2017. "The influence of CEO relationship-focused behaviors on firm performance: A chain-mediating role of employee relations climate and employees’ attitudes," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 173-192, March.
    10. Crystal Le & Jing Pu & Seungho Choi, 2023. "The Effect of State Ownership on a Cross-Border Acquisition Wave," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-14, May.
    11. Neng Liang & Shu Lin, 2008. "Erroneous Learning from the West? A Narrative Analysis of Chinese MBA Cases Published in 1992, 1999 and 2003," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 603-638, November.
    12. Wendi L. Adair & Jeanne M. Brett, 2005. "The Negotiation Dance: Time, Culture, and Behavioral Sequences in Negotiation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(1), pages 33-51, February.
    13. Wenlong He & Zi-Lin He & Tony W. Tong, 2020. "Ownership Change and Firm Innovation: The Mediating Role of Interest Alignment," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 17-38, March.
    14. Ashish Malik & Vijay Pereira & Pawan Budhwar & Fabian Jintae Froese & Dana Minbaeva & James Sun & Anh Tuan Nguyen & Shanzi Xue, 2022. "Multilevel relational influences on HRM practices: a cross-country comparative reflective review of HRM practices in Asia," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(5), pages 745-779, November.
    15. Fuming Jiang & Subramaniam Ananthram & Jizhong Li, 2018. "Global Mindset and Entry Mode Decisions: Moderating Roles of Managers’ Decision-Making Style and Managerial Experience," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 413-447, June.
    16. Ping Ping Fu & Anne S. Tsui & Gregory G. Dess, 2006. "The dynamics of guanxi in Chinese hightech firms: Implications for knowledge management and decision making," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 277-305, June.
    17. Brian L. Connelly & Jonathan L. Johnson & Laszlo Tihanyi & Alan E. Ellstrand, 2011. "More Than Adopters: Competing Influences in the Interlocking Directorate," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 688-703, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jing Yang & Jiatao Li, 2008. "The development of entrepreneurship in China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 335-359, June.
    2. Canfei He & Jiangyong Lu & Haifeng Qian, 2019. "Entrepreneurship in China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 563-572, March.
    3. Joseph Ofori-Dankwa & Scott D. Julian, 2013. "Dynamism, Capital Structure, and Performance in a Sub-Saharan Economy: Extending the Institutional Difference Hypothesis," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(5), pages 1422-1438, October.
    4. Chao Chen & Xiao-Ping Chen, 2009. "Negative externalities of close guanxi within organizations," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 37-53, March.
    5. Dan V. Caprar & Sunghoon Kim & Benjamin W. Walker & Paula Caligiuri, 2022. "Beyond “Doing as the Romans Do”: A review of research on countercultural business practices," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(7), pages 1449-1483, September.
    6. Diego Quer & Enrique Claver & Laura Rienda, 2007. "Business and management in China: A review of empirical research in leading international journals," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 359-384, September.
    7. Bradley, Frank & Gao, Yuhui & Sousa, Carlos M.P., 2013. "A natural science approach to investigate cross-cultural managerial creativity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 839-855.
    8. Collins, Jamie D. & Holcomb, Tim R. & Certo, S. Trevis & Hitt, Michael A. & Lester, Richard H., 2009. "Learning by doing: Cross-border mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 1329-1334, December.
    9. Gordon Redding & Michael Witt, 2009. "China’s business system and its future trajectory," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 381-399, September.
    10. Hongjuan Zhang & Rong Han & Liang Wang & Runhui Lin, 2021. "Social capital in China: a systematic literature review," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(1), pages 32-77, February.
    11. Hongjuan Zhang & Rong Han & Liang Wang & Runhui Lin, 0. "Social capital in China: a systematic literature review," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-46.
    12. Gedajlovic, Eric & Cao, Qing & Zhang, Hongping, 2012. "Corporate shareholdings and organizational ambidexterity in high-tech SMEs: Evidence from a transitional economy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 652-665.
    13. Lau, Chung Ming & Bruton, Garry D., 2011. "Strategic orientations and strategies of high technology ventures in two transition economies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 371-380, July.
    14. Bat Batjargal, 2005. "Software Entrepreneurship: Knowledge Networks And Performance Of Software Ventures In China And Russia," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp751, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    15. Kevin Zhou & Caroline Li, 2007. "How does strategic orientation matter in Chinese firms?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 447-466, December.
    16. Chao C. Chen & Joseph P. Gaspar & Ray Friedman & William Newburry & Michael C. Nippa & Katherine Xin & Ronaldo Parente, 2017. "Paradoxical Relationships Between Cultural Norms of Particularism and Attitudes Toward Relational Favoritism: A Cultural Reflectivity Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 63-79, September.
    17. David Ahlstrom & Garry D. Bruton, 2006. "Venture Capital in Emerging Economies: Networks and Institutional Change," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(2), pages 299-320, March.
    18. Bradley Koch & Pamela Koch, 2007. "Collectivism, individualism, and outgroup cooperation in a segmented China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 207-225, June.
    19. Bat Batjargal, 2012. "The Effects Of Network???S Structural Holes: Polycentric Institutions, Product Portfolio, And New Venture Growth In China And Russia," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp1033, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    20. Linqing Liu & Shiye Mei, 2015. "How can an indigenous concept enter the international academic circle: the case of guanxi," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(1), pages 645-663, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:15:y:2004:i:2:p:133-144. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.