Understanding Entrepreneurship Process and Growth in Emerging Business Ventures under Market Socialism in China

Objectives: This paper aims to provide an insightful view of the entrepreneurial process and growth in different types of Chinese entrepreneurial enterprises under market socialism in China. This issue is explored by examining the organisational characteristics of three emerging business ventures under market reforms and institutional changes. It addresses the interactive effect of key contingency factors in entrepreneurship process and explains its impact on growth or failure outcomes in a particular ‘China type’ of market economy. Prior work: China’s hybrid economic system represents a mixed political economy with both socialist and capitalist characteristics (Lichtenstein, 1992; Morphy et al, 1992; Opper, 2001). Despite a growing body of research on Chinese small business practices alongside the economic reforms (Shen, 1994; Child, 1994; Naughton, 1994; Schlevogt, 2001; Warner, 2004; Yang, 2007; Kshetri, 2007; Yang and Li, 2008), more empirical studies are required to provide a critical insight into the emerging business practices. This research adopts a contingency model of entrepreneurship(Wickham, 2006) to examine entrepreneurship process and growth in different types of business venture. It reveals the interactive relationships among key variables such as strategy, ownership, culture and management process. Approaches: This research is undertaken through the empirical analysis of three case study companies in the textile industry. This fieldwork was conducted in 2006 and 2009 respectively. Multiple sources of data were collected including 21 open-ended interviews of owners and key managers in three case study companies. Results: The study offers an explanation on how entrepreneurship takes different forms and features in different organisational contexts. Empirical evidence supports four hypotheses: (1) The type of ownership is a key contingent factor that moderates particular entrepreneurial outcomes. (2) Leadership and knowledge accumulation capability are critical factors in learning process, significantly affecting the strategic choices in either high value or low value added products strategy. (3) The broadening of product portfolios and increased production capacity will improve survival chances and increase the likelihood of firm growth. (4) Management capability and consistency have greater impact on the outcome of entrepreneurship process than the resource and strategy factors. Implications: The findings have significant implications for a conceptual understanding of Chinese entrepreneurship dynamics. It addresses important considerations on government policy making and promotion strategies for entrepreneurship development in different forms of business venture. Value: The textile sector has pioneered the government reforms in restructuring and creating entrepreneurial enterprises. It offers a perfect case for assessing the entrepreneurship processes in a rapidly changing market environment. It emphasizes the important ownership effect on entrepreneurial outcomes. Drawing upon Wickham’s contingency model of entrepreneurship, it provides an improved understanding of this concept under particular circumstance and different contexts

Influencing mechanisms of institutional changes on the organizational culture of SOEs in China: The case of Dongfang Turbine Co., Ltd

This thesis takes Dongfang Turbine Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as DTC) as a typical case of Chinese state-owned enterprises (abbreviated as SOEs). Case study is used as the research method, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis. Data was collected from different sources including public reports, newspapers, journals, a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews so as to explore how the mechanisms of the institutional environment and change influence organizational culture. Through deep analysis, four stages of institutional change of SOEs, as well as the relevant basic characteristics of institutional environment, organizational culture and management style in each period have been identified. It was also found that the different institutional environments always required corresponding management styles fitting the specific characteristics of that period of time, and that the organizational culture enhanced the formation of this kind of management style through the core values historically formed across those periods of time. As the main theoretical contribution, a theoretical model was set up to analyse the connections among institutional environment, organizational culture, management style and organizational performance. The findings of this research have a significant practical value for SOEs, to assist them in their endeavours on how to create and change organizational culture to support their own development in today’s China.Esta tese analisa o caso da empresa Dongfang Turbine Co., Ltd. (DTC) enquanto caso típico de uma empresa estatal chinesa. O método do estudo de caso é adotado na investigação utilizando-se análise quantitativa e qualitativa. A informação foi recolhida a partir de diferentes fontes incluindo documentos internos da empresa, relatórios, artigos na imprensa, estatísticas oficiais, bem como através de um questionário administrado às chefias intermédias da empresa e entrevistas a dez gestores de topo com a intenção de explorar a forma como os mecanismos da envolvente institucional atuam sobre a cultura organizacional e a influenciam. A análise permitiu identificar quatro fases de mudança institucional que afetaram as empresas estatais chinesas desde a implantação da República Popular da China bem como as características principais da envolvente institucional, da cultura organizacional e do estilo de gestão em cada um desses períodos. O estudo revelou também que as diferenças na envolvente institucional exigem diferentes estilos de gestão de acordo com as características de cada período e que é a cultura organizacional que promove o tipo de estilo de gestão através dos valores que historicamente se formaram na empresa através do tempo. Em termos de contribuição teórica, a tese propõe um modelo que permite analisar as interligações entre a envolvente institucional, a cultura organizacional, o estilo de gestão e o desempenho organizacional. Os resultados deste estudo têm importância prática significativa para as empresas estatais chinesas na medida em que as pode ajudar a criar e/ou a mudar uma cultura organizacional que as apoie nos seus objetivos de contribuição para o desenvolvimento da China de hoje

Service model innovation for public administration: a case study of Guizhou entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau

Currently, the enormous amount of merchandise trade in China brings about a huge demand for more efficient inspection and quarantine services. Due to the rigidity from planning economy, many public administrations still behave like before and their traditional managerial models cannot meet the fast development of the Chinese economy. Therefore how to provide more efficient and qualified services for the trading enterprises has become a big challenge to all Chinese Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureaus (CIQ). The objective of this thesis is to explore an innovative service model for CIQ to provide better and more efficient services to the trading enterprises. There are altogether six chapters and multiple approaches including empirical study and case study are employed to collect required data and to do theoretical analysis. After the introduction of the history and functions of four Chinese provincial CIQ, a large-scale empirical investigation was done to assess the performance of CIQ and to collect the requirements of trading enterprises. Then based on the results of the empirical study, and taking Guizhou CIQ as a case, this thesis suggested to establish an Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Service Center (EIQSC) to meet the market demands. A public-private partnerships (PPP) model was suggested to address the ownership issue of the EIQSC and its business model was also analyzed. In particular, four components including value proposition, strategy positioning, key activities, and profiting model were discussed in detail. Finally, the implications of EIQSC were discussed especially its application in other provinces of China.A atual vasta quantidade de comércio de mercadorias na China determina a elevada procura por serviços de inspeção e quarentena mais eficientes. Muitas administrações públicas ainda se comportam como antigamente, devido à rigidez da economia de planeamento, e os seus modelos de gestão tradicionais não se adaptam ao rápido desenvolvimento da economia Chinesa. Consequentemente, um dos grandes desafios de todas as Agências de Quarentena e Inspeção de Entrada-saída (CIQ) Chinesas tem sido como fornecer serviços mais eficientes e qualificados às empresas de comércio. O objectivo desta tese é explorar um modelo de serviços inovador para as CIQ de forma a fornecer melhores e mais eficientes serviços às empresas de comércio. A tese está estruturada em seis capítulos contendo múltiplas abordagens, incluindo um estudo empírico e um estudo de caso, para a recolha dos dados necessários e realização da análise teórica. Após a introdução do enquadramento histórico e das funções de quatro CIQ de províncias Chinesas, foi realizado uma investigação empírica de larga-escala para avaliar o desempenho das CIQ e para recolher os requisitos das empresas de comércio. Seguidamente, com base nos resultados do estudo empírico, e tomando como exemplo a CIQ de Guizhou, foi sugerido nesta tese a criação de um Centro de Serviços de Quarentena e Inspeção Entrada-saída (EIQSC) para fazer face às necessidades do mercado. Foi sugerida a utilização do modelo de parcerias público-privadas (PPP) para o EIQSC, tendo o seu modelo de negócio sido igualmente analisado. Em particular, quatro componentes foram discutidas em detalhe: proposta de valor, posicionamento estratégico, atividades chave e modelo de lucro. Por fim, foram discutidas as implicações do EIQSC, especialmente a sua aplicação em outras províncias da China

National innovation systems, developing countries, and the role of intermediaries: a critical review of the literature

Developed over the past three decades, the national innovation system concept (NIS) has been widely used by both scholars and policy makers to explain how interactions between a set of distinct, nationally bounded institutions supports and facilitates technological change and the emergence and diffusion of new innovations. This concept provides a framework by which developing countries can adopt for purposes of catching up. Initially conceived on structures and interactions identified in economically advanced countries, the application of the NIS concept to developing countries has been gradual and has coincided – in the NIS literature – with a move away from overly macro-interpretations to an emphasis on micro-level interactions and processes, with much of this work questioning the nation state as the most appropriate level of analysis, as well as the emergence of certain intermediary actors thought to facilitate knowledge exchange between actors and institutions. This paper reviews the NIS literature chronologically, showing how this shift in emphasis has diminished somewhat the importance of both institutions, particularly governments, and the process of institutional capacity building. In doing so, the paper suggests that more recent literature on intermediaries such as industry associations may offer valuable insights to how institutional capacity building occurs and how it might be directed, particularly in the context of developing countries where governance capacities are often lacking, contributing to less effective innovation systems, stagnant economies, and unequal development

Management Study of Cross Border M&A in Post Deal Stage: When Chinese Company Acquired German Company

With the decades of rapid development of China's economy, especially in the latest 20 years, more and more Chinese enterprises went abroad to acquire high-tech enterprises from developed countries. To develop its Made in China 2025 plan, Chinese enterprises drew significant inspiration from Germany’s relevant experience and helped Chinese enterprises to discover the main reasons Chinese enterprises invest in Germany. Through acquisition, Chinese enterprises hope to achieve the perfection of the industrial chain through CBMA (cross border mergers and acquisitions) and further increase the value of Chinese enterprises; expand the business scale globally, realising scale advantages and enhancing market competitiveness; diversify and extend business to disperse business risk for enterprises; and improve the overall market layout and make up the shortcomings the enterprise has in a certain product region

The Formation Of The Big Data Industry And Related Strategies

Big Data, as moving into the post-cloud era in year 2015, is changing the way software is applied by industries. Meanwhile, the Open Data is transforming the sources of value for software development in which comprehensive digital data value creation is set to be the mainstream in IT application strategies. Big Data applications can enhance the knowledge level of technology applications as well as drive value growth for products and services. The key issue affecting Big Data development is the question of how to leverage mechanisms for joint creation by the general public to identify the value that Big Data can provide. This paper proposes that an effective Big Data industry ecosystem should encompass data owners, application innovators, technology leaders, and open API platforms. Using the methods of design science, the paper evaluates the way in which Big Data creates value in the industrial development process, and argues that it is important to attract mass participation and to satisfy the needs of both industrial and social development when putting forward a value proposition. Moving further, the next step is value creation initiatives, in which the first priority should be to promote the digitalization of industry seeking to create digitalized industries that can contribute to the gradual optimization of the industrial ecosystem as a whole

Developing a Commercialization Process Model: Case Study of UUM

It is customary to embark on research efforts in the academia, world-wide. Doing a research is not enough. It is desirous to find a way of implementing the findings of researches; for commercialization or any other purpose, whatsoever. Universiti Utara Malaysia is expected tobecome a Research University by year 2013. Hence, there is a need to put in place, a dynamic process of implementing and commercializing the University’s research findings in all Schools, students research efforts, inclusive. In this Final Project, we explored an evaluative study among UUM- School of Computing Academic Staff and Officers of Centre for University-Industry Collaboration; Research Innovation and Management Centre; Postgraduate IT Students of the School of Computing. We obtained their input through Questionnaires and personal Interviews; after a Pilot Study was conducted. Their responses enabled us to develop a UUM Commercialization Process Model for use by a now-recommended School of Computing Standing Committee for Research Findings Commercialization. Our recommendations include: a desire that the Committee should facilitate a further research; to do a real-world evaluation of the UUM-CPM (Commercialization Process Model); which we expect some Postgraduate IT Students to carry out in a very near future. A Prototype Website is also developed; to display the constant status of School of Computing Postgraduate IT Students research efforts status. Finally, we were able to determine the implementation and commercialization status of similar past research findings; which is not encouraging, and specifically asserted as ”Not Aware”/ “Zero”by the two Centres-CUIC and RIMC–which are in charge of University-Industry Collaboration and Innovation, respectively

Using Cost Simulation and Computer Vision to Inform Probabilistic Cost Estimates

Cost estimating is a critical task in the construction process. Building cost estimates using historical data from previously performed projects have long been recognized as one of the better methods to generate precise construction bids. However, the cost and productivity data are typically gathered at the summary level for cost-control purposes. The possible ranges of production rates and costs associated with the construction activities lack accuracy and comprehensiveness. In turn, the robustness of cost estimates is minimal. Thus, this study proposes exploring a range of cost and productivity data to better inform potential outcomes of cost estimates by using probabilistic cost simulation and computer vision techniques for activity production rate analysis. Chapter two employed the Monte Carlo Simulation approach to computing a range of cost outcomes to find the optimal construction methods for large-scale concrete construction. The probabilistic cost simulation approach helps the decision-makers better understand the probable cost consequences of different construction methods and to make more informed decisions based on the project characteristics. Chapter three experimented with the computer vision-based skeletal pose estimation model and recurrent neural network to recognize human activities. The activity recognition algorithm was employed to help interpret the construction activities into productivity information for automated labor productivity tracking. Chapter four implemented computer vision-based object detection and object tracking algorithms to automatically track the construction productivity data. The productivity data collected was used to inform the probabilistic cost estimates. The Monte Carlo Simulation was adopted to explore potential cost outcomes and sensitive cost factors in the overall construction project. The study demonstrated how the computer vision techniques and probabilistic cost simulation optimize the reliability of the cost estimates to support construction decision-making. Advisor: Philip Baruth

Open Collaborative Mechanical / Product Design - User as Developer A New Design Methodology for Internet Era Business Innovations and Entrepreneurship

In product design and development projects, the most important part is identifying user needs. Traditional methods such as surveys, focus group studies and interviews are expensive and sometime inaccurate in identifying those needs. Inspired by the open source software development, along with the research that has been done on the lead user method, the method of using collective customer wisdom to modify old products or even develop new products has become an emerging new design method and is starting to get popularity and success. However, the effectiveness of such method comparing to the traditional face to face close development method is a question that keeping established businesses from apply such method. At the same time, failures of early attempts to use such methods also cast doubts about the quality of this method. We set up two experiments to compare this method and the traditional face to face method, and found out that the effectiveness of both methods were about the same. Problems of implementing such method also emerged from the experiment, possible solutions are discussed, and future studies are also identified. Comparing this method to the open source software design, there is one stage of the development that is unique for mechanical products. The prototyping and manufacturing of mechanical products involved cost and quality control issues that don\u27t exist in software development. We conducted an experiment of applying a collaborative open design approach to test the possibility and necessity of applying such design method during prototype fabrication. Our results showed that open collaborative design is necessary to identify true customer needs. A product prototyping and manufacturing method is also proposed for real world practice. The open collaborative design method is new and is not easily adopted by established businesses, as they are often reluctant to implement new approaches. Entrepreneurs can usually take advantage of this situation and establish their share of the market, even possibly driving out the established businesses later on. We argue that the open collaborative design method is one such technology. Future research and practice is proposed and discussed