Private Entrepreneurs In China Research Articles

Work Experience of Private Entrepreneurs in SOEs and Enterprise Innovation Investment: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT Private enterprises are important due to their innovation-driven development strategies. There are many private entrepreneurs in China who have experience working in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and how entrepreneurs’ SOE work experience affects enterprise innovation investment has not yet been sufficiently studied. Based on imprinting theory and using data from a survey of private enterprises in China, our study confirms that private entrepreneurs’ SOE work experience promotes enterprise innovation investment. Mechanism tests suggest that political connections and policy perceptions are mediating mechanisms. Entrepreneurs’ educational background reinforces the mediating roles. This paper enriches the research on imprinting theory and enterprise innovation.

Research on the Relationship Between Chinese Private Entrepreneurs and Democratization

While the rise of democracy has been attributed to various factors, including the emergence of a capitalist class. This article adopts a theoretical analysis method to delve into the role of private entrepreneurs in China as a potential catalyst for democratization. Drawing on Barrington Moore's theory of "no bourgeoisie, no democracy" and Samuel Huntington's analysis of democratization movements, the paper explores the dynamics between private entrepreneurs and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and analyzes the identity and interests of private entrepreneurs.The study reveals that private entrepreneurs in China maintain close informal connections and share political interests with state officials, indicating an interdependent relationship rather than an antagonistic one. Additionally, the lack of a unified political front and diverging economic interests among private entrepreneurs undermines the potential for class formation and collective action towards democratization. The paper also highlights the integration and cooperation between the CCP and private business owners, dispelling assumptions of discontent and hostility between the two groups. Chinese private entrepreneurs are generally satisfied with the CCP's economic policies, with their primary concern being market competition rather than state policies. This research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics between private entrepreneurs and the CCP in the context of democratization in China.

To Get Rich is Glorious: Private Entrepreneurs in China’s Anti-Poverty Campaign

To Get Rich is Glorious: Private Entrepreneurs in China’s Anti-Poverty Campaign

Transitional leaders in China: the increasing importance of political acumen among private entrepreneurs

ABSTRACT The existing research has not yet been conducted on the impact of the current political environment on the political sensitivity of private entrepreneurs during China’s transition period. This study adopts the perspective of neo-institutional sociology for an analysis of the political sensitivity of current private entrepreneurs in China. The study found that, first, Chinese entrepreneurs are growing more politically sensitive. Second, the political sensitivity of Chinese entrepreneurs has shifted the leading role from the original external compulsory mechanism to the active imitation mechanism. Third, regardless of the size of the firm, private entrepreneurs generally believe that political and business relationships are very important.

The rise of red private entrepreneurs in China: Policy shift, institutional settings and political connection

This article examines the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) membership and private entrepreneurship in China since 2002, the year when the party revised its constitution and officially removed ideological discrimination against private entrepreneurs in member recruitment. Drawing on the data from the six waves of a nationwide survey on privately owned enterprises in China from 1997 to 2008, we find that, while very few private entrepreneurs were recruited into the CCP during the decade we examine, the constitutional change had encouraged many party members to enter the private sector. We also show that party members who became entrepreneurs after the 2002 policy shift tended to be more senior than those who had started their business before the constitutional change. Furthermore, our difference-in-difference estimation demonstrates that the phenomenon of party members turning entrepreneurs was more prominent in regions where the level of marketization was lower, legal protection was less available, and local governments were prone to more corruption, since political rents were generally larger in environments with weaker market-supporting institutions. This study suggests that party members in general and especially the elite among them were quick to sense the opportunity and knew how to translate their political influence into economic power.

Weapons of the Rich: Strategic Behavior and Collective Action of Private Entrepreneurs in China

This article, the product of several years of extensive fieldwork, seeks to reinvigorate the debate on China’s private entrepreneurs by arguing that they have become a “strategic group” within the Chinese polity. While they do not openly challenge the current regime, they continuously alter the power balance within the current regime coalition, which connects them to the party-state at all administrative levels. As the future of Chinese socialism depends on the sound development of the private-sector economy and, therefore, on the promotion of private entrepreneurship, it can be expected that entrepreneurial influence within the regime coalition will rise, with inevitable consequences for regime legitimacy and stability.

VC political connections and IPO earnings management

We examine the effect of VC political connections on accrual and real earnings management (EM) of IPOs controlled by private entrepreneurs in China. We find IPOs backed by government-controlled VCs exhibit severe IPO-year EM, which is driven by those VCs exiting their investments immediately after the VC lock-up expiration. In contrast, IPOs with politically connected private VCs have lower IPO-year EM and are not associated with VC exits. Therefore, IPOs with government-controlled VCs who immediately exit their investments are most likely to engage in ‘window-dressing’ of financial performance, and to have poorer long-run stock performance. The results remain unchanged after a battery of robustness tests.

Far from the Tree? Do Private Entrepreneurs Agglomerate Around Public Sector Incumbents During Economic Transition?

While it is well known that state enterprises in transition economies were displaced by private enterprises at a macro level, little is known about whether private entrepreneurs emerged in a way that helped preserve or shift preexisting agglomerations of industrial activity at a microgeographic level. To address this question, we integrate competing perspectives on the role of large, bureaucratic incumbents in spawning entrepreneurs. We conceptualize a trade-off between two countervailing effects of large incumbents on potential entrepreneurs: bureaucratic socialization and exposure to capabilities. This yields novel predictions about how different kinds of startups agglomerate around different kinds of incumbents. We test these predictions using fine-grained geographic data on founding rates by private entrepreneurs in China’s bicycle manufacturing industry. Consistent with our theorized trade-off, we find evidence of a nonmonotonic effect of incumbent size on local founding rates by private entrepreneurs. Additional moderating effects are consistent with boundary conditions on the hypothesized mechanisms. Our results provide the first empirical investigation of the extent to which entrepreneurial activity agglomerated around public sector incumbents during economic transition. We discuss how these insights add to the understanding of economic transition as well as how the context of economic transition adds to the understanding of entrepreneurial spawning.

The Horatio Alger Myth in China: Origins of the First Generation of Visibly Richest Chinese Private Entrepreneurs

This article traces the socio-economic origins of the first generation of the visibly richest private entrepreneurs in China by analysing the roles of political background, family connections and culture capital. Based on a data set essentially reconstructed from two leading Chinese rich lists from 2003 to 2012, the author finds no clear evidence to support the hypothesis of strong political capitalism. The theory of interrupted embourgeoisement is applicable to those who come from pre-communist elite or petty-bourgeois families, but more than half of the rich founders were born into the lower-middle class, such as the urban working class or peasantry. Moreover, for those who majored in social sciences and humanities, having a college degree is considered a ticket for landing a job in a public institute early in their career, while those having credentials in sciences and engineering are more likely to start their business in relevant areas directly. The author concludes that although each factor is vital, none of these provides a satisfactory single explanation for individual super-wealth. There is also a significant distinction between pioneers (early adopters) and newcomers (the recently established entrepreneurs).

Private Entrepreneurs in China: Social Entrepreneurs or Social Menaces?

Many think that private entrepreneurs are capable of creating partnerships with central and local government, business, churches, charities and other local and national institutions. There is a considerable amount of research about how private entrepreneurs make different social contributions whereas scholars and politicians define them as social entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, this paper argues that private entrepreneurs in China have been traditionally discriminated and continue to be regarded as social menaces in the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s regime though they really acted as social entrepreneurs for a short time during modern China. Chinese leadership, from the founding of the PRC to the reforms and opening-up, has seen private entrepreneurs as social menaces - a threat to the authority rather than social entrepreneurs - a dedication to changing the systems and patterns of society.

Private entrepreneurs and political developments in China: The Chinese version of ‘no bourgeoisie, no democracy?’

Private entrepreneurs play an invisible but increasingly influential role in Chinese political life. Therefore, more studies on government–business relations are needed for a better understanding of political developments in contemporary China. Based on the theoretical assumption of ‘no bourgeoisie, no democracy’, existing research studies explore whether there is an autonomous and opposing capitalist class in the process of market transition. Most of these studies conclude that the capitalist class in China is quite dependent on and colludes with the state because of their shared political values and interests as well as the political co-optation and corporatism of the party-state. Other studies reflect on these viewpoints and contend that it is improper to consider private entrepreneurs to be a homogeneous social class with common interests and a common identity. The theoretical assumption of ‘no bourgeoisie, no democracy’ is also questioned and modified. Based on these studies, the article argues that existing studies have placed too much emphasis on private entrepreneurs’ role in the democratization process, acting either for or against it, while neglecting the actual individual or collective influences of private entrepreneurs on policymaking and implementation. This situation, however, signifies great political change in contemporary China. Therefore, this paper suggests that it is necessary to reflect on the existing theoretical assumption in order to deepen our understanding of the relationship between private entrepreneurs and the Chinese government. Furthermore, future research studies on private entrepreneurs in China may need to shift their focus from democratization to policy influence and from autonomy to influence.

Revolving out of the Party-State: the Xiahai entrepreneurs and circumscribing government power in China

The revolving door of private entrepreneurs in China is considered to be a crucial strategy of the Chinese Communist Party to adapt to the market transition and contributes much to the compliance of private entrepreneurs. However, based on the data from the official National Survey on Private Enterprises in 2006, this article finds that the Xiahai entrepreneurs revolving out of the Party-state were significantly and robustly more confrontational than those without state employment backgrounds. We argue that the unique path of the market transition in China makes the former political and economic elites more confrontational and has a significant effect on who might turn into potential challengers of the current regime among the economically powerful social class.

The dependency of private entrepreneurs on the Chinese state

AbstractDespite the introduction of market mechanisms and the rapid growth of the private sector, in some ways important to the entrepreneurial process, private entrepreneurs in China remain dependent on the Chinese state.

Ownership, Organization, and Income Inequality: Market Transition in Rural Vietnam

In transitional economies, the scale of economic enterprise and the allocation of property rights shape social structures and influence income distribution. In agrarian economies, where labor-intensive family enterprises dominate, political officials' income advantages decline rapidly relative to those of private entrepreneurs. Larger enterprises, however, provide greater income opportunities for officials, especially when a government retains an ownership stake in the initial phases of reform. This article replicates the findings from an earlier study of rural China using comparable survey data from Vietnam. We find that during the first two decades of rural market reform in Vietnam and China, the scale and ownership of firms differed radically. Small family enterprises dominated rural development in Vietnam, whereas China's development was dominated by larger firms, initially established by rural governments. Consequently, while cadre income advantages have kept pace with those of private entrepreneurs in China, they have declined rapidly in Vietnam.

Mobilization of Personal Social Networks and Institutional Resources of Private Entrepreneurs in China*

Les auteurs examinent les liens micro et macroscopiques dans l'étude de l'économie en transition, en analysant la façon dont les entrepreneurs mobilisent leurs réseaux sociaux personnels intégrés à diverses institutions, afin de protéger leurs ressources d'affaires. Les résultats démontrent que les membres du réseau travaillant dans les organismes du gouvernement ou du parti jouent, en gros, un rôle essentiel dans l'obtention des ressources importantes comme les contacts gouvernementaux et l'information sur le marché et le financement. Ils démontrent aussi que les entrepreneurs utilisent différents membres de leurs réseaux pour différents types de ressources. Les auteurs discutent les différentes conséquences que cela entraine pour l'étude des réseaux et de l'économie en transition.This paper addresses the micro and macro link in studying transitional economy by examining how entrepreneurs mobilize their personal social networks embedded in various institutions to secure business resources. The results show that, by and large, network members working in government/party agencies play an essential role in obtaining important resources, such as those for government contact and market information/funding. The results also show that entrepreneurs utilize different members of their networks for different types of resources. Implications to the study of networks and transitional economy are discussed.

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.

Private Entrepreneurs in China: Social Entrepreneurs or Social Menaces?

Many think that private entrepreneurs are capable of creating partnerships with central and local government, business, churches, charities and other local and national institutions. There is a considerable amount of research about how private entrepreneurs make different social contributions whereas scholars and politicians define them as social entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, this paper argues that private entrepreneurs in China have been traditionally discriminated and continue to be regarded as social menaces in the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s regime though they really acted as social entrepreneurs for a short time during modern China. Chinese leadership, from the founding of the PRC to the reforms and opening-up, has seen private entrepreneurs as social menaces - a threat to the authority rather than social entrepreneurs - a dedication to changing the systems and patterns of society.

Mapping the evolution and transformation of the new private entrepreneurs in China

Given the fact that the new private entrepreneurs (NPEs) are playing an increasingly important role in Chinese politics and economy, this article maps the historical evolution of the NPEs through analyzing five main private business groups, including small individual businessmen, price speculators, land speculators, enterprise investors and high-tech investors. The article also examines six major ways that the NPEs have sought to protect their private property and improve their moral reputation, ranging from obtaining the Communist Party membership, congressional seat and an official position within a government branch, to relying on the law, participating in the local election process, and contributing to charitable causes. In so doing, they have increased their influence in the Chinese political, social, and economic spheres.

Back-Alley Banking: Private Entrepreneurs in China. Kellee S. Tsai

Previous articleNext article No AccessReviewsBack-Alley Banking: Private Entrepreneurs in China. Kellee S. Tsai Sally SargesonSally Sargeson Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The China Journal Volume 51Jan., 2004 Published on behalf of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/3182160 Views: 18Total views on this site Copyright 2004 The China JournalPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Private entrepreneurs in China and Vietnam: social and political functioning of strategic groups

With this book, Thomas Heberer has written the first in-depth analysis of in China and Vietnam. Key question raised is the role played by entrepreneurs in the process of the recent astonishing political and economic change. Based on a survey among several hundreds of these entrepreneurs, the author convincingly argues that this strategic group has a strong desire for a true say in political decision making. As a body, a strategic group, they have indeed through various means come to exercise an important function in political development and change. It so becomes clear that over the past decades private entrepreneurs have grown into a primary leading, definitely distinct social group in terms of income and social status with considerable influence on all levels of society.