Building Core Competencies in a Turbulent Environment: An Exploratory Study of Firm Resources and Capabilities in Chinese Transitional Economy

The impact of firm resources and capabilities on performance among Chinese enterprises has been a subject of anecdotal speculation due to its significant implications for organizational researchers as well as practitioners. Yet empirical evidence has been very limited. In this research, set in the People’s Republic of China, we examine firm resources and capabilities and their impact on firm performance among Chinese enterprises. Using large sample of 12,047 Chinese firms from 1991 to 1992, we found that most of the firm specific resources and capabilities examined in this study have a positive impact on performance. We discussed the implications for organizational researchers, policy makers, and managers, and proposed directions for future research.economic transition, firm strategy, resources and capabilities

My Life as an Art Soldier in Mao\u27s China: Art and Politics

The author narrates how in Mao\u27s China his personal experience took unexpected turns when China dramatically transformed politically, economically, and culturally, and how in reacting to these overwhelming changes he evolved from the role of artist to student activist, businessman, political prisoner and academic. The article focuses on the relationship between art and politics in Mao\u27s China and how the two evolved into what the author characterizes as market communism in today’s China

The Inevitable and Difficult Transition from Relation-Based to Rule-Based Governance in China

China has benefited tremendously from replying on the relation-based way of doing business and governance, as evidenced in its rapid economic growth up to now. However, further relying on the relation-based governance may eventually hinder China\u27s economic growth and exacerbate inequality, resulting in political instability. On the other hand, given China\u27s cultural heritage and powerful vested interest groups, can China shed its relation-based way? This article argues from logical, theoretical, and empirical perspectives the inevitability and difficulty of China\u27s transition from relations to rules, and discuss the implications of the transition or the lack of it for China

The Relocation of Supply Chains from China and the Impact on the Chinese Economy

The U.S.-China trade war has had a huge impact on the supply chains in China, accelerating their relocation that had already begun due to rising taxes, costs of labor, and other input factors. The exodus reported in the past year is only the tip of the iceberg, as more serious effects will not become apparent immediately. A major effect of the relocation on China is job losses, which may reach as many as 5 million in the coming years. Given the unlikeliness of a quick end to the trade war and the reluctance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to make structural changes, the long-term prospects for supply chains in China are not promising because not only will existing firms gradually reduce their exposure to political and economic uncertainties, but also potential newcomers are likely to avoid China. Although the CCP rolled out some policies that may help alleviate the shock, it has yet to come up with specific policies to effectively address the problem

From Heresy to Policy: My Prescription for China\u27s Population Policy 25 Years Ago

Recently scholars have been calling for the loosening up of China\u27s one-child policy, and even the Chinese government has begun to show some willingness to do so. The call is not new. In my doctoral dissertation 25 years ago I first showed that China should allow couples to have two children and could still achieve the same population control goal as the one-child policy. I am glad to see that what I proposed 25 years ago is repeated by many scholars and even acceptable to the Chinese government

Assessment of and Outlook on China\u27s Corruption and Anticorruption Campaigns: Stagnation in the Authoritarian Trap

Since the beginning of China\u27s economic reform in the late 1970s, corruption has been progressing alongside of economic growth. In 2012, when Xi Jinping took power, he waged the largest and longest anticorruption campaign known in the history of the Chinese Communist Party. This study provides an assessment on his campaign and projects an outlook on the future of corruption and anticorruption in China. The author argues that China will enter into an authoritarian trap, in which the authoritarian power enables the state to effectively carry out the economic reform and achieve economic growth, while suppressing the demand for the rule of law and democratization, resulting in rampant corruption that hurts further economic development and threatens the authoritarian rule. However, eradicating corruption in absence of the rule of law risks returning to Mao\u27s communism, which is not in the best interest of the authoritarian state either. Trapped in this dilemma, China will likely experience stagnation in both economic and political development in the foreseeable future

China\u27s Intellectual Property Rights Provocation: A Political Economy View

It is well recognized that intellectual property rights (IPR) violations are at the heart of the economic conflict with China. Little agreement, however, exists about the origin and solutions for this provocation. Broadly speaking, two prescriptions have been proposed: the natural evolutionary and the rule of law views. While both have merits and add to our understanding, they do not go far enough to address the more fundamental IPR policy issue: China has benefited from a rule of law overseas and a rule through law at home, manufacturing unfair advantage to its firms, many of which are owned and/or influenced by the government. While recognizing China’s recent effort in improving IPR protection, we point out the intrinsic contradiction in the political economy of China between maintaining the one-party rule, on the one hand, and protecting IPR by an independent court, on the other. Understanding this tension in the application of IPR law can help the international community search for more effective policy options

China Inc. and the World\u27s Response

This article is based on the author’s new book, China, Inc.: How the Chinese Communist Party Transformed China into a Giant Corporation (Cambridge University Press, 2022). The author argues that leveraging its absolute power, low human rights advantage, and tolerance by other countries, the Chinese Communist Party has transformed China into a giant corporation. Living, working, and investing are not rights but privileges granted by the party. The party is the management of China, Inc., with the politburo standing committee as the board of directors and the party’s general secretary as the CEO. The various ministries are the functional departments of China, Inc. Residents in China are the employees of China, Inc.: they need the party’s approval for where to live, work, and invest. State-owned firms are business units or subsidiaries, private firms are joint ventures, and foreign firms are franchisees of the party. China, Inc. enjoys the agility of a firm and the vast resources of a state. Meanwhile, foreign firms competing with Chinese firms can find themselves matched against the mighty Chinese state. The Rise of China, Inc. will interest many readers: it will compel business scholars to rethink state-firm relationships; assist multinational business practitioners in formulating effective strategies; aid policy-makers in countering China\u27s expansion; and inform the public of the massive corporate organization China has become, and how democracies can effectively deal with it

Art and Politics: The Cultural Revolution in the Eyes of an Art Soldier

2016 marks the 50th anniversary of China\u27s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). When the revolution started in 1996, I was 9. The ten years of the Cultural Revolution was the most important period for my education. I love painting and drawing. So during the ten years of the Cultural Revolution, I devoted all my time to study art except for the time I was forced to study communist ideology and to do hard labor. According to the communist theory, art is politicalized and is a tool to serve the communist revolutionary goal. During the Cultural Revolution, the politicalization of art reached its peak. I ardently used art to paint propaganda pictures to denounce capitalism. In this article, I will use my own experience to illustrate how art is politicalized during the Cultural Revolution, explain the revolutionary theory of art developed by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party during the Revolution, and briefly discuss how art and politics intertwine in today\u27s China