Dancing with Change: An Co-evolutionary Perspective for Private Entrepreneurship during China’s Institutional Transitions

  • Yuli Zhang
  • Bing Ren
  • Guochen Du
  • Jun Yang
Part of the Palgrave Macmillan Asian Business Series book series (PAMABS)

Abstract

The role of entrepreneurship has long been acknowledged in creating new business and driving national and regional economic growth (Schumpeter, 1934; Reynolds, 1997). Studies have examined entrepreneurial activities with respect to country variance (Busenitz, Gomez, and Spencer, 2000). Hoskisson, Eden, Lau, and Wright (2000) suggest that the institutional perspective is the most applicable paradigm for explaining the behaviour of enterprise and the economic phenomenon in emerging economies such as China (Hoskisson, Eden, Lau, and Wright, 2000). Under the institutional perspective, both formal and informal institutions will generate significant influence on entrepreneurial behaviours and businesses’ growth (North, 1990; Scott, 2001). With the recent economic liberalization, the adoption of a free-market system, and the encouragement for creation of private enterprises, China has given an increasingly important role to private entrepreneurship in revitalizing the economy and in facilitating the economic transition (Chow and Fung, 1996; Yang and Li, 2008).

Keywords

Entrepreneurial Activity Institutional Environment Private Firm Entrepreneurial Orientation Chinese Communist Party 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Ahlstrom, D., and Bruton, G. D. 2001. Learning from successful local private firms in china: Establishing legitimacy. Academy of Management Executive, 15: 72–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. —. 2010. Rapid institutional shifts and the Co-evolution of entrepreneurial firms in transition economies. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, May: 531–54.Google Scholar
  3. Aldrich, H. E. 1979. Organizations and environments. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
  4. Aldrich, H. E., and C. M. Fiol. 1994. Fools Rush in? The institutional context of industry creation. Academy of Management Review, 19: 545–670.Google Scholar
  5. Aldrich, H. E. and M. A. Martinez. 2001. Many are called, but few are chosen: An evolutionary perspective for the study of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, June: 41–56.Google Scholar
  6. Baum, J. A. C., and C. Oliver. 1991. Institutional linkages and organizational mortality. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36: 187–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Beck, U., and E. Beck-Gernsheim. 2002. Individualization: Institutionalized individualism and its social and political consequences. London: Sage.Google Scholar
  8. Boisot, M., and J. Child. 1996. From fiefs to clans and network capitalism: Explaining China’s emerging economic order. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41: 600–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Bruton, G. D., and D. Ahlstrom. 2003. An institutional view of china’s venture capital industry explaining the differences between China and the West. Journal of Business Venturing, 18: 233–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Bruton, G. D., Ahlstrom, D., Obloj, K. 2008. Entrepreneurship in emerging economies: where are we today and where should the research go in the future. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 1–14.Google Scholar
  11. Busenitz, L. W., C. Gomez, and J. W. Spencer. 2000. Country institutional profiles: Unlocking entrepreneurial phenomena. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 994–1003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Chang W., and I. C. MacMillan. 1991. A review of entrepreneurial development in the People’s Republic of China. Journal of Business Venturing, 6: 375–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Chow, C. K. W., and M. K. Y. Fung. 1996. Firm dynamics and industrialization in the Chinese economy in transition: Implications for small business policy. Journal of Business Venturing, 11: 489–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Child, J., Y. Lu and T. Tsai. 2007. Institutional entrepreneurship in building an environmental protection system for the People’s Republic of China. Organization Studies, 28(7): 1013–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. China Private Firms Survey (2000) in Ding, L., and Y. Bao (eds.), China Private Economy Annual Report. Beijing: Huawen Printing House.Google Scholar
  16. Davidsson, P., M. B. Low and M. Wright. 2001. Low and Macmillan ten years on: Achievements and future directions for entrepreneurship research. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 25(4): 5–15.Google Scholar
  17. Davis, L., and D. C. North. 1971. Institutional change and American economic growth. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. DiMaggio, P. J., and W. W. Powell. 1983. The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48: 147–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Gartner, W. 1985. A conceptual framework for describing the phenomenon of new venture creation. Academy of Management Review, 10: 698–706.Google Scholar
  20. —. 1988. Who Is an Entrepreneur? is the wrong question. American Journal of Small Business, 12(4): 11–32.Google Scholar
  21. Garud, R., and S. M. Hardy. 2007. Institutional Entrepreneurship as Embedded Agency: An Introduction to the Special Issue. Organization Studies, 28(7): 957–969.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Ginsberg, A. 1994. Minding the competition: From mapping to mastery. Strategic Management Journal, Winter Special Issue (15): 152–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Greenwood, R., and R. Suddaby. 2006. Institutional entrepreneurship in mature fields: the big five accounting firms. Academic Management Journal (49): 27–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Gwartney, J., and R. Lawson. 2006. Economic freedom of the world: Annual report. Access to www.freetheworld.com
  25. Hannan, M. T. and G. R Carroll. 1992. Dynamics of organizational populations: Density, legitimation, and competition. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  26. Hannan, M. T., and J. Freeman. 1989. Organizational ecology. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
  27. Henrekson, M. 2007. Entrepreneurship and institutions. Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal, 28: 717.Google Scholar
  28. Hoskisson, R. E., L. Eden, C. M. Lau, and M. Wright. 2000. Strategy in emerging economies. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 249–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Kostova, T. 1997. Country institutional profiles: Concept and measurement. Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, 180–9.Google Scholar
  30. Krug, B., and H. Hendrischke. 2007. Framing China: Transformation and institutional change through co-evolution. Management and Organization Review, 4(1): 81–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Kshetri, N. 2009. Entrepreneurship in Post-socialist Economies: A typology and institutional contexts for market entrepreneurship. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 7: 236–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Lewin, A. Y., and H. W. Volberda. 1999. Prolegomena on co-evolution: A framework for research on strategy and new organizational forms. Organization Science, 10: 519–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Lewin, A. Y., C. P. Long and T. N. Carroll. 1999. The co-evolution of new organizational forms. Organization Science, 10: 535–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Li, D., J. Feng and H. Jiang. 2006. Institutional entrepreneurs. American Economic Review, 96(2): 358–62CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Li, H. Y., and Y. Zhang. 2007. The role of managers’ political networking and functional experience in new venture performance: Evidence from China’s Transition Economy. Strategic Management Journal, 28: 791–804.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Low, M. B., and I. C. MacMillan. 1988. Entrepreneurship: Past research and future challenges. Journal of Management, 14: 139–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Merrifield, B. D. 1991. A modern Marshall plan for evolving economies. Journal of Business Venturing, 6: 231–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Meyer, J., and B. Rowan. 1977. Institutionalized organizations: Formal structures as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83: 340–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Naughton, B. 1994. Growing out of the plan, 1972–1992. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  40. Nee, V. 1992. Organizational dynamics of market transition: Hybrid forms, property rights, and mixed economy in China. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37: 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Nelson, R. R. 1993. A Retrospective. In R. R. Nelson (ed.), National innovation systems, 505–24. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  42. Newman, K. L. 2000. Organizational transformation during institutional upheaval. Academy of Management Review, 25: 602–19.Google Scholar
  43. North, D. C. 1990. Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Oliver, C. 1991. Strategic responses to institutional processes. Academy of Management Review, 16: 145–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. —. 1997a. Sustainable competitive advantage: Combining institutional and resource-based views. Strategic Management Journal, 18: 697–713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. —. 1997b. The influence of institutional and task environment relationships on organizational performance: The Canadian construction industry. Journal of Management Studies, 34(1): 99–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Park, S., and Y. Luo. 2001. Guanxi and organizational dynamics: Organizational networking in Chinese firms. Strategic Management Journal, 22: 455–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Peng, M. W. 2001. How entrepreneurs create wealth in transition economies. Academy of Management Executive, 15: 95–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. —. 2003. Institutional transitions and strategic choices. Academy of Management Review, 28: 275–96.Google Scholar
  50. Peng, M. W., and P. S. Heath. 1996. The growth of the firm in planned economies in transition: Institutions, organizations, and strategic choice. Academy of Management Review, 21: 492–528.Google Scholar
  51. Peng, M. W., and Y. Luo. 2000. Managerial ties and firm performance in a transition economy: The nature of a micro-macro link. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 486–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Puffer, S., D. McCarthy and M. Boisot. 2010. Entrepreneurship in Russia and China: The impact of formal institutional voids. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, May: 441–67.Google Scholar
  53. Ren, Bing, and Jingting Zhang. 2011. Entrepreneurial orientation, family resource pools and institutional influence in Chinese family business entrepreneurial performance: The case of Dawu Business Group. China Management Studies, 6(1):21–56.Google Scholar
  54. Reynolds, P. D. 1997. New and Small Firms in Expanding Markets. Small Business Economics, 9: 79–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Schumpeter, J. A. 1934. The theory of economic development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
  56. —. 1947. The creative response in economic history. Journal of Economic History, 7(2): 149–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. Scott, W. R. 2001. Institutions and organizations (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
  58. Scott, W. R., and J. W. Meyer. 1983. The organization of societal sectors. In J. W. Meyer and W. R. Scott. (eds.), Organizational environments: Ritual and rationality, 129–53. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
  59. Shane, S., and S. Venkataraman. 2000. The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Journal, 25(1): 217–26.Google Scholar
  60. Shenkar, O., and M. A. von Glinow. 1994. Paradoxes of organizational theory and research: Using the case of china to illustrate national contingency. Management Science, 40: 56–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  61. Smallbone, W. 2001. The distinctiveness of entrepreneurship in transition economies. Small Business Economics, 16(4): 249–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  62. Tan, J. 1996. Regulatory environment and strategic orientations in a transitional economy: A study of Chinese private enterprises. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Fall: 31–46.Google Scholar
  63. —. 2005. Venturing in turbulent water: A historical perspective of economic reform and entrepreneurial transformation. Journal of Business Venturing, 20: 689–704.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  64. Tan, J., and R. J. Litschert. 1994. Environment-strategy relationship and its performance implications: An empirical study of Chinese electronics industry. Strategic Management Journal, 15: 1–20.Google Scholar
  65. Tan, J., and D. Tan. 2005. Environment-strategy co-evolution and co-alignment: A staged model of Chinese SOEs under transition. Strategic Management Journal, 26: 141–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Tan, J., J. Yang and V. Rajaram. 2009. Particularistic and system trust among small and medium enterprises: A comparative study in China’s transition economy. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(6): 544–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Timmons, J. A. 1999. New venture creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st century. (5th Edition). Boston: Irwin McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
  68. Tsang, E. W. K. 1996. In search of legitimacy: The private entrepreneur in China. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Fall: 21–30.Google Scholar
  69. Yang, K. 2004. Institutional holes and entrepreneurship in China. Sociological Review, 52(3): 371–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  70. Yang, J. Y., and J. T. Li. 2008. The development of entrepreneurship in China. Asia Pacific Journal Management, 25: 335–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  71. Xin, K. R., and J. L. Pearce. 1996. Guanxi: Connections as substitutes for formal institutional support. Academy of Management Journal, 39: 1641–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  72. Zimmerman, M. A., and G. J. Zeitz. 2002. Beyond survival: Achieving new venture growth by building legitimacy. Academy of Management Review, 27: 414–31.Google Scholar
  73. Zucker, L. G. 1987. Institutional theories of organization. Annual Review Sociology, 13: 443–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Yuli Zhang, Bing Ren, Guochen Du, and Jun Yang 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Yuli Zhang
  • Bing Ren
  • Guochen Du
  • Jun Yang

There are no affiliations available

Personalised recommendations