Erroneous Learning from the West? A Narrative Analysis of Chinese MBA Cases Published in 1992, 1999 and 2003

Abstract

The last two decades have witnessed an unprecedented transfer of Western management education theories and pedagogies into China and most Chinese MBA programs are now being modeled on their Western counterparts. To gauge the impact of this infusion of Western methods and theories on China’s management educational system, we have conducted a narrative analysis of Chinese MBA teaching cases published before and after this transfer. The holistic approach to management, prevalent in early Chinese MBA cases and typical of traditional Chinese culture, has largely disappeared and Chinese cases now exhibit many of the same weaknesses and deficiencies that have been documented in Harvard Business School cases.