Social, cultural, and political constructions of Corporate Social Responsibility in China: A study of business discourses in the Fiberhome Technologies Group

Abstract This thesis focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR), a vital issue for both business and academic researchers, and examines how the reality of CSR is socially constructed within a Chinese social, political and cultural context. In particular, this thesis examines understanding and practice of the discourse of CSR within a large Chinese State-owned enterprise (SOE), FiberHome Technologies Group (FHTG). It explains how cultural and political factors contribute to the production and development of CSR discourse in China. It also scrutinises social practices of corporate social performance, especially employer-employee relationships, within FHTG by investigating both the actual knowledge of CSR that FHTG publishes on its headquarters’ homepage and the research participants’ interpretation of management construction of CSR discourse. Website documents produced by FHTG’s headquarters from 2006 to 2008 were collected and 33 participants (managers and employees) from five headquarters’ departments and six subsidiary companies were interviewed for this study. Participants were selected according to the extent of their work experience with at least one year of work experience being a minimum requirement. Website information and interview transcripts were analysed using Fairclough’s (1992) three-step approach to CDA to examine how the knowledge of CSR is constructed and reproduced by organisational members and how it shapes the ways in which the social reality of Chinese CSR is constructed. The thesis argues that the reality of Chinese CSR is shaped by the Chinese cultural system of Confucianism focusing on human virtues, as well as government adoption of some Western CSR initiatives. The research findings suggest a hybrid form of business management model by embracing both a Chinese management and a Western management style into business practice. The Chinese management style constructs a discourse of Confucian entrepreneurship which forms a distinctive feature of Chinese CSR practices, focusing on the development of human virtues that guide companies to a new way of improving their CSR performance. Also, the adoption of a Western management style exhibits a giving discourse that considers the interests of stakeholder groups including employee, government, community and society. In addition, the research findings suggest that employees’ understanding of CSR is shaped by FHTG’s social performance and is similar to the management construction of CSR discourse. Their definition of CSR involves three key aspects: social harmony, employee welfare, and economic benefits. This thesis contributes to knowledge from three perspectives: theoretical, methodological and managerial. Theoretically, this thesis contributes to the development of Chinese CSR theory. This theory promotes economic productivity as a means of achieving social wellbeing and employee wellbeing. Methodologically, this thesis offers a benchmark for the study of CSR discourse by using a face-to-face interview method which has previously rarely been used in research on CSR in a Chinese context. Managerially, this thesis provides a guide for government officials and business managers to design the strategies based on their own countries’ cultural, political, economic, social and institutional frameworks

The Economics of Gender in China

China’s rapid socio-economic development has achieved remarkable equalizing conditions between men and women in the aspects of health, education and labor force participation, but the glass ceiling phenomenon has become more prominent. The book develops a cross-disciplinary paradigm, with economics at its core, to better understand gender in China and women in management in the Chinese business context. The theoretical perspective integrates the knowledge and evidence from cognate disciplinary strands, such as economics, sociology, management studies, and the Chinese literature, into one unified framework. In-depth interviews with managers in China’s largest enterprises complement the theoretical perspective with rich empirical details to examine women’s managerial experiences and career choices. The book’s argument sheds light on the power of stereotypes that specify women’s roles in the family, organization, and society. It shows that understanding the socio-psychological and organizational dynamics of stereotyping in the Chinese context, as well as how Chinese women make career decisions, recognizing and deploying these expectations, provides new perspectives on the underrepresentation of women among business leaders in China. The book offers multi-disciplinary evidence on the economics of gender in China that is highly relevant for gender studies in general, and across a number of subject areas, and it can be used in any setting as an introductory reference

Facilitating knowledge sharing in Chalco: the role of communities of practice

Communities of practice (CoPs) have recently become key components in organizational knowledge management initiatives (Wenger, 2004). They have achieved prominence in the context of knowledge management and organizational learning both with scholars and practitioners. Many researches (Ardichvili et al., 2003; Davenport & Voelpel, 2001; Davenport & Probst, 2002) have investigated how some multinational companies integrated different kinds of CoPs into their knowledge management systems. But those studies focus mainly on the regions of the Western countries. There are limited researches conducted on other social context. This research therefore is to address CoPs in a Chinese organization - Chalco and investigates how the Learning Groups as the communities of practice facilitate knowledge sharing in the company. This research adopts the Nonaka‘s (1994) organizational knowledge creation model (SECI) and defines the organizational knowledge sharing as two parts of organization knowledge creation process: socialisation and externalisation. It examines how the Learning Groups facilitate tacit knowledge sharing (socialization) and the knowledge conversion from tacit to explicit (externalization). This research takes the social constructionist standpoint, trying to understand individuals‘ experience of participating Learning Groups in the company, through the interpretive lens. It adopts a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews to gather data which are then analysed using the narrative analysis approach paying attention to individuals‘ experience expressed through their interview accounts. Through narrative analysis, the way in which Learning Groups facilitate tacit knowledge sharing and the conversion from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge has been emerged. Some influences of Chinese cultural and social factors to the knowledge were also found. The finding of this study suggests that there are some knowledge sharing barriers caused by both organizational factors and cultural factors. The Learning Groups in Chalco have been playing very positive roles in overcoming those barriers and facilitating knowledge sharing in the company. The findings of this research can benefit to both academics and practitioners. It will help the related academics to understand how the Chinese cultural and social influences on knowledge management practice and how CoPs facilitate knowledge sharing in such context. It also provides an example of best practice on knowledge management for other business managers and government policy makers so that they can develop appropriate knowledge management strategies for the benefit of their companies and the social development

The Economics of Gender in China:Women, Work and the Glass Ceiling

China’s rapid socio-economic development has achieved remarkable equalizing conditions between men and women in the aspects of health, education and labor force participation, but the glass ceiling phenomenon has become more prominent. The book develops a cross-disciplinary paradigm, with economics at its core, to better understand gender in China and women in management in the Chinese business context. The theoretical perspective integrates the knowledge and evidence from cognate disciplinary strands, such as economics, sociology, management studies, and the Chinese literature, into one unified framework. In-depth interviews with managers in China’s largest enterprises complement the theoretical perspective with rich empirical details to examine women’s managerial experiences and career choices. The book’s argument sheds light on the power of stereotypes that specify women’s roles in the family, organization, and society. It shows that understanding the socio-psychological and organizational dynamics of stereotyping in the Chinese context, as well as how Chinese women make career decisions, recognizing and deploying these expectations, provides new perspectives on the underrepresentation of women among business leaders in China. The book offers multi-disciplinary evidence on the economics of gender in China that is highly relevant for gender studies in general, and across a number of subject areas, and it can be used in any setting as an introductory reference. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

The Economics of Gender in China:Women, Work and the Glass Ceiling

China’s rapid socio-economic development has achieved remarkable equalizing conditions between men and women in the aspects of health, education and labor force participation, but the glass ceiling phenomenon has become more prominent. The book develops a cross-disciplinary paradigm, with economics at its core, to better understand gender in China and women in management in the Chinese business context. The theoretical perspective integrates the knowledge and evidence from cognate disciplinary strands, such as economics, sociology, management studies, and the Chinese literature, into one unified framework. In-depth interviews with managers in China’s largest enterprises complement the theoretical perspective with rich empirical details to examine women’s managerial experiences and career choices. The book’s argument sheds light on the power of stereotypes that specify women’s roles in the family, organization, and society. It shows that understanding the socio-psychological and organizational dynamics of stereotyping in the Chinese context, as well as how Chinese women make career decisions, recognizing and deploying these expectations, provides new perspectives on the underrepresentation of women among business leaders in China. The book offers multi-disciplinary evidence on the economics of gender in China that is highly relevant for gender studies in general, and across a number of subject areas, and it can be used in any setting as an introductory reference. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Relating cultural change to strategic adaptation: an interpretation of modern Chinese management

Research into Chinese management has investigated foreign direct investment, organisational structures, and the implications of Western management influences on Chinese domestic practices. The recent entry of China into the World Trade Organisation has increased the demand for Western business knowledge by Chinese managers. This thesis extends present research with an investigation of change and adaptation in the national cultural values and strategic decision making of the individual Chinese manager. In particular, it researches the effects at a boundary of British and Chinese cultures, studying Chinese managers working or training in the UK. A national group of managers has distinct decision making and problem solving characteristics. Such characteristics result from tendencies to prefer certain `ways of doing things' over others, identified through national cultural values. At the interface of Western and Chinese national cultures there is unresolved academic debate whether Chinese value systems are diverging, converging or crossverging - moving from, or closer to, the Western `way of doing things' or creating a unique set of Chinese cultural controls. Change in cultural characteristics and associated networks would dynamically reflect in the governing, control system criteria over Chinese strategic decision making. To interpret change in Chinese problem solving criteria, this thesis links Western strategic theory with Chinese cultural characteristics. Relevant research in the Chinese and Western literature is reviewed and the characteristics of Chinese management values identified. An empirical data set on Chinese values and networking (guanxi) provides quantitative and qualitative evidence that adaptation in Chinese management strategy can be interpreted using cross-cultural research techniques and economic concepts. Methodological limitations in cross-cultural research are discussed and a mixed method research approach, and pragmatic research design, is deployed. Chinese management characteristics are mapped with unified Western transaction cost, resource base and real option theories related to economic exchange. This thesis concludes that there is a determinable relationship between Chinese cultural characteristics, strategic decision making and Western economic and strategic theory. An explanatory, relevant and practical schema is theorised from the relationship. Flexible strategic problem solving by modem Chinese management infers an expansion of market governance in a low context, less hierarchical environment whilst retaining high context, guanxi relational governance for complex economic exchange. Strategic adaptation, domestically responsive but also internationally integrative, is reflected through change in the traditional way things are done -a transvergent adaptation

THE ROLE OF CONTEXT IN KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION STRATEGIES: GLOBAL VS. EGYPTIAN SAMPLE

Management research on knowledge and organizational innovation (OI) is a vast field which covers numerous topics and occurs at multiple levels of analysis (Crossan & Apaydin, 2010). However, the role of context in this research has been underexplored. The importance of inclusion of context in management research has been repeatedly highlighted by Tsui and colleagues (2004) with reference to Chinese context. This paper investigates the role of context in development and implementation of knowledge and innovation strategies by benchmarking an Egyptian sample (8 companies) with the Global Sample (68 companies), using the Innovation Audit Instrument developed based on the Comprehensive Model of OI (Crossan & Apaydin, 2010). The results indicate that the Egyptian companies lag behind the Global Sample in all aspects of the determinants of OI: leadership, managerial levers and business processes. Their innovation strategies are based on exploitation rather than on exploration. Also, only one company was practicing Sustainable innovation strategy (as defined in Zona, 2009), while most had no explicit innovation approach. Increasing company awareness about the comprehensive model of innovation and the imperative of an explicit innovation strategy is one of the managerial implications of this study

THE ROLE OF CONTEXT IN KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION STRATEGIES: GLOBAL VS. EGYPTIAN SAMPLE

Management research on knowledge and organizational innovation (OI) is a vast field which covers numerous topics and occurs at multiple levels of analysis (Crossan & Apaydin, 2010). However, the role of context in this research has been underexplored. The importance of inclusion of context in management research has been repeatedly highlighted by Tsui and colleagues (2004) with reference to Chinese context. This paper investigates the role of context in development and implementation of knowledge and innovation strategies by benchmarking an Egyptian sample (8 companies) with the Global Sample (68 companies), using the Innovation Audit Instrument developed based on the Comprehensive Model of OI (Crossan & Apaydin, 2010). The results indicate that the Egyptian companies lag behind the Global Sample in all aspects of the determinants of OI: leadership, managerial levers and business processes. Their innovation strategies are based on exploitation rather than on exploration. Also, only one company was practicing Sustainable innovation strategy (as defined in Zona, 2009), while most had no explicit innovation approach. Increasing company awareness about the comprehensive model of innovation and the imperative of an explicit innovation strategy is one of the managerial implications of this study

The Impact of National Culture on How Innovation Is Facilitated: A Comparative Study of Innovation-Enhancing Management Practices in Chinese and Finnish Companies

The purpose for this thesis is to try to understand main differences in innovation manage-ment practices that emerge in different cultural context, namely China and Finland. The study creates a framework of innovation-enhancing management practices based on the literature on innovation, entrepreneurship, and human resource management and subse-quently aims to combine this knowledge with the cultural dimensions of Hofstede (1980; 1984) and business system theory by Whitley (2000) to explain the differences of how this process works in different countries. Innovation-enhancing management practices focus particularly on empowerment-enhancing HRM practices and knowledge management practices. I conducted a semi-structured interview study with three companies in China and three companies in Finland. The methodology was an application of a grounded theory building through case studies in order to uncover the differences in management practices in Chinese and Finnish companies. Overall, I identified 67 different management practices, out of which 33 practices were considered to be innovation-enhancing management practices. These were further divided under five innovation-enhancing management practice groups: promotion of learning, training, efficient procedures, empowering people and teamwork. The research suggests that Chinese and Finnish companies utilize different management practices to facilitate innovation. While the companies used practices in all of the management practice groups, the individual practices under each group, which were important, were rather different. However, similar practices were in customer collaboration and utilization of multiple different sources for acquiring new knowledge. Moreover, the Chinese and Finnish companies emphasize teamwork in innovations and empowering individuals but stress the importance of withholding personal liability for risks and honest mistakes emerging in innovation development. The main contribution of the study is in increasing our understanding of what kind of management practices work in different cultural settings. For example, collaboration activities concerning innovations work differently in Chinese and Finnish companies due to the difference in long-term orientation of the cultures. Moreover, this research shows that while management practices might be similar on a conceptual level, the contents and impact of similarly defined practices often differ significantly in different cultures

Knowledge management in consultancy-involved process improvement projects: Cases from Chinese SMEs

Knowledge management (KM) is considered as an effective strategy to improve organisational performance. In its application to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), resource constraints mean that exploitation of knowledge from external sources, such as management consultants, is often needed. Drawing on the knowledge management literature, in particular the theory associated with liminality, this study explores practical KM issues encountered by Chinese SMEs when working with management consultants to introduce new business improvement practices from a multi-level practice-based perspective. A comparative case study is conducted focusing on two consultancy-involved process improvement projects in Chinese manufacturing SMEs. The case results suggest a clear KM strategy is needed at the outset of the project and SME managers and employees need to play a proactive role in the learning and adoption of new knowledge. The research is novel in that it is the first study to explore knowledge management and the notion of liminality within the context of consultancy-involved Chinese SME improvement projects. The paper culminates with two research propositions that require further empirical study. Implications of this research are provided for SME owner/managers and management consultants