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

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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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Yingying Zhang-Zhang, 2023. "Sustainable Strategic People Management: A Confucian Perspective on Chinese Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-20, June.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
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