Institutional Hibernation and Revival: Resurgence of Private Entrepreneurship in Post-Mao China

Abstract

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings includes abstracts of all papers and symposia presented at the annual conference, plus 6-page abridged versions of the “Best Papers” accepted for inclusion in the program (approximately 10%). Papers published in the Proceedings are abridged because presenting papers at their full length could preclude subsequent journal publication. Please contact the author(s) directly for the full papers. Institutional Hibernation and Revival: Resurgence of Private Entrepreneurship in Post-Mao ChinaHongwei Xu and Litao ZhaoHongwei XuINSEAD and Litao ZhaoNational U. of SingaporePublished Online:30 Nov 2017https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2015.14044abstractAboutSections ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail AbstractThis study examines the revival of an institution after decades of delegitimation. We argue that the former legitimacy of the institution "hibernates" in constituent organizations that existed during the delegitimation period. We further argue that the hibernated legitimacy in constituent organizations does not automatically help revive the delegitimized institution. Instead, whether the hibernated legitimacy facilitates the institutional revival depends on the nature of the delegitimation and the strength of the relegitimation trigger. We test these arguments in the context of China, where state delegitimation of private entrepreneurship in the Mao era was well targeted at two types of social organizations-- (i) local industry and trade associations, and (ii) the family. We find that local prevalence of industry and trade associations before 1949 (the Communist era) had a negative effect on individuals’ entry into private entrepreneurship in the early reform era (1978--1988) but it prompted individuals to become entrepreneurs faster when the state strongly relegitimized private enterprise in 1988 and thereafter. In contrast, the family, as a less collective organization, proved to be a more fragile platform for hibernated legitimacy. FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 2015, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 30 November 2017 Published in print 1 January 2015 InformationCopyright of Academy of Management Journal is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.KeywordsChinaEntrepreneurshipInstitutional Theory