Chinese Private Entrepreneurs Research Articles

Capitalism without democracy: the private sector in contemporary China

Capitalism without Democracy: The Private Sector in Contemporary China, by Kellee S. Tsai. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007. xviii + 268 pp. US$55.00/ £27.95 (hardcover), US$21. 00/£l 0.50 (paperback). The rapid growth of China's private sector and the subsequent emergence of private entrepreneurs as an important social and economic force pose two intriguing puzzles: how the Chinese private sector could achieve sustained high growth rates despite unfriendly - or even discriminatory - government policies, and why Chinese private entrepreneurs have not become a force for democratic change. Kellee Tsai' s excellent new book provides an original and persuasive explanation. Tsai's central theoretical argument rests on the concept of informal institutions. Despite unfriendly official policies toward the private sector, political and economic in China are actually quite flexible. Such flexibility creates the space for the emergence of informal institutions. In the case of the growth of the private sector, according to Tsai, private entrepreneurs constrained by discriminatory official policies pursue various coping strategies and devise novel means of survival. In turn, through repetition and diffusion (p. 15), their actions influence local - and ultimately national official behavior and policy. Eventually, adaptive behavior by private entrepreneurs and the ruling elites creates its own political reality and institutional arrangements. Tsai traces the evolution of the Chinese government's policy toward the private sector in the last three decades and demonstrates convincingly the cumulative effects of the interaction between private entrepreneurs and the Chinese state through a process of mutual adaptation. The effectiveness of adaptive informal also explains the puzzle of the political passivity, if not co-optation, of Chinese private entrepreneurs. Since organizing collective action and confronting a repressive regime carry huge costs and risks, Chinese private entrepreneurs understandably prefer other alternatives. Here the advantages of adaptive informal become self-evident. For private entrepreneurs, adopting various coping strategies (mostly relational) under China's relatively flexible formal institutional arrangements can solve most of their practical problems, thus obviating the need for political action. Furthermore, Tsai argues, Chinese private entrepreneurs are, in fact, a very diverse group with regard to social background, political status, business success, identities and values. Such diversity inhibits collective action; it also means that they are not a social class and should not be treated, analytically, as such. The book is divided into two parts. In Chapters 1 and 2, Tsai develops her theoretical framework of informal institutions by focusing mostly on the puzzles of China's undemocratic capitalists and apparent authoritarian durability. By assigning a decisive role to capitalists in democratic transition (and implicitly attributing the lack thereof in China to the political passivity of its private entrepreneurs), Tsai may have overlooked other key variables in democratic transitions, especially economic performance, division within the elites and the mobilization of the counter-elites. Regime stability in China since 1989 coincides with several unanticipated developments: relative elite cohesion following the purge of the liberals from the top ranks of the Communist Party, sustained high economic growth, and the co-optation of the intelligentsia (and successful private entrepreneurs). The political passivity of private entrepreneurs is only one piece of the puzzle. The second part of the book - from Chapters 3 to 6 - provides a first-rate analysis of China's private sector. Chapter 3 examines the tortuous history of the development of the private sector and the uneasy relationship between private entrepreneurs and the state. …

Individualisation and Politics in China: The Political Identity and Agency of Private Business People

AbstractThe article considers the dynamics in the nexus between the Chinese party-state and private entrepreneurs. It develops in response to both globalization and market reforms which promote accelerated individualisation and disembedding of citizens anchored in the new capitalist economy, such as private business people. It is argued that informal political agency is part of the political dynamics of the nexus and that it develops through critical tension between private business people and the autocratic party-state. This is illustrated through the case of Sun Dawu, a Hebei businessman turned political activist. Referring to both Bech and Bech-Gersheim's and Baumann's discussions about the effects of the twin processes of globalisation and individualisation, one of the main conclusions is that Sun Dawu has engaged in 'self-politics' through creating a sub-political or 'peg' community where he and others can exert informal political agency. The construction of such a community is an example of how assertive private business people may exploit the dynamics of the state-private business nexus through critical tension.

A descriptive study of the marketing practices of Chinese private entrepreneurs

PurposeThis study is designed to describe the marketing practices of private entrepreneurs in mainland China.Design/methodology/approachPersonal interviews were conducted with 200 private entrepreneurs in China. A structured survey instrument was used and data were analyzed using SAS tools.FindingsFour key findings: Chinese entrepreneurs focus primarily on reaching an industrial client base among private companies in China; their marketing practices suggest that they prefer tight control over their operations; they use listed prices extensively and salespeople are typically given some flexibility in deviating from those listed prices; the development of sales/distribution networks is enhanced through the use of listed prices but is hurt by the flexibility salespeople have in deviating from those listed prices. Some marketing practices differ by geographic location of the entrepreneurial firm (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou) and by the type of entrepreneur (returnee, local).Research limitations/implicationsIt is imposible to offer a clear reference point for Chinese entrepreneurs; hence, apart from documenting their practices, it is not certain whether these practices are significantly different from others. All data are self‐reported (including financial performance). Sampling frame: although every attempt was made to have a representative sample, there was no way to guarantee this. More comprehensive research to validate the findings is needed.Originality/valueThe major contribution is insights into the marketing practices of Chinese entrepreneurs so far not documented in the literature. Hence, this study gives a descriptive but comprehensive picture of Chinese entrepreneurs as marketers.

Tocquevillian Moments: Charitable Contributions by Chinese Private Entrepreneurs

Using a 1995 national survey of 2,870 Chinese private entrepreneurs, this article examines collaboration between private business and government in times of economic transition. Much as in the late 18th century situation in France as described by Tocqueville, special moments occur when a newly emerging business class offers monetary payments for charity and for honorary offices. In exchange, the government, desperate for new sources of revenue, provides social recognition and political access. The data suggest that into at least the 1990s Chinese private entrepreneurs donated generously to government welfare projects, and in exchange gained political access and social status via appointment to political councils.

Who are the Chinese private entrepreneurs?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the key micro factors that are shaping Chinese entrepreneurship: socio‐political origins, motivations, educational attainment, organisational forms and power structures.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a questionnaire survey approach, involving a sample of private entrepreneurs who responded in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2002, and 2004.FindingsThe findings reveal a remarkable change in the origin of private entrepreneurs, from a lower to a higher social background. It emerges that individuals were primarily motivated to become private entrepreneurs by positive factors. Increasingly, since the late 1990s, individuals who chose private entrepreneurship exhibited much‐improved educational attainments. Significantly, many enterprises have not yet separated ownership from the management function.Research limitations/implicationsThe data under investigation are not yet fully explored. Further analyses of the impact that the changing attributes of private entrepreneurs could have on entrepreneurial firms is planned for the near future.Practical implicationsFrom the perspective of social changes, there is a need for differential policies to support novice entrepreneurs who originated from a poor social background. Current business governance indicate a tough task to create an organisational structure and management style that would maintain the entrepreneurial spirit and accommodate the needs for control, delegation, and co‐ordination within the organisation.Originality/valueThe paper uses the newly available nationwide survey data to explore the attributes of private entrepreneurs.

Prospects for Civil Society in China: A Case Study of Xiaoshan City

'Civil society', 'the market' and 'democracy' are the conceptual 'good guys' that dominate current Western thinking about China's present and future in the social, economic and political realms respectively. Though these ideas are often used in imprecise and tendentious ways, they have considerable analytical and practical power; they reflect real processes and point toward real solutions. This paper sets out to examine how useful the notion of 'civil society' is in describing and explaining social change in contemporary Chinese society. I shall proceed, flrst, by clarifying the specific way in which I intend to use the term 'civil society' and, second, by investigating the empirical utility of the idea through a case-study of one Chinese city.