In many countries, business practitioners, policy makers, pundits and laypeople want to know how strong China really is in business. In the preceding century, the overall tone of business comments on China was filled with fanfare and ovation. However, despite economic performance and seemingly inexorable growth, some global data in areas such as labour productivity and digital competitiveness, show a different and more nuanced picture. This collection provides a multi-level reality check on the Chinese economy, firm performance and managerial ties. Given that China must transform its economy and business that can pull global talent together to produce high-end technologies for radically innovative products and services, this book proposes two questions. First, can China restructure its economy from a low-cost growth model to a high value-added innovative model without incurring major structural inertia? Second, can Chinese firms outperform competitors in global high value markets without relying on state initiatives, central funding mechanisms and public R&D institutions? This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal, Asia Pacific Business Review.

This dissertation, "Social Relations of Foreign Firms in China: a Focus on Trust, Network Ties and Social Capital" by Juan, Julie, Li, 李娟, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of this thesis entitled "Social Relations of Foreign Firms in China: A Focus on Trust, Network Ties and Social Capital" Submitted by Julie Juan Li for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong in June 2006 Business relationships often have a strong non-economic element. Social relations have been recognized as a central mechanism in the co-ordination of both intra-and inter-firm activities. For foreign firms who are operating in unfamiliar environment, social relations are particularly crucial for their growth and survival. Despite its significance, our understanding of social relations in foreign firm is rather uninformed. For example, how can foreign firms actively build trust? How do foreign firms form managerial networks with local partners? Furthermore, how do foreign firms leverage the social capital inherent in networks to facilitate organizational activities such as knowledge acquisition? This thesis aims to shed some light on these intriguing questions. The first study examines the roles of three strategies-localization, communication, and control-and their combinations in trust building. On the basis of a survey of 138 international ijoint ventures operating in China, we find that localization, communication, and control are important drivers of the development of local senior managers' trust in overseas headquarters. Furthermore, the joint use of localization and communication represents a potent strategic combination for trust building. However, a localization strategy coupled with intense control hinders trust development. The second study investigates how firms' strategic orientations influence the formation of two types of managerial networks, as well as the impact of managerial networking on firm performance. Analysis of survey data from 181 foreign-invested enterprises in China supports that a market orientation fosters both types of network building. Technology-oriented firms are more likely to cultivate managerial ties with top managers at other firms but less likely to establish networks with government officials. In contrast, entrepreneurial firms tend to develop vertical networks with government officials but have no intention to deepen their horizontal networks with other firms. Competitive intensity moderates the relationships between strategic orientations and managerial ties. Finally, managerial networking has a positive impact on FIE performance. The third study examines the influence of social capital and contracts on the acquisition of two types of knowledge. Using survey data from 168 foreign subsidiaries operating in China, we find that the cognitive dimension positively affects both types of knowledge acquisition. The relational dimension has a stronger impact on tacit knowledge acquisition than explicit knowledge acquisition. However, the structural dimension of social capital only influences the acquisition of explicit knowledge. Furthermore, legal contracts only help acquire explicit iiknowledge, but the joint use of contracts and social capital has a productive effect on both tacit and explicit knowledge acquisition. In addition, the positive effects of social capital on tacit knowledge are constrained by greater cultural distance. Overall, our studies provide important implications for f

Today, with a new leadership in place, the People’s Republic of China enters a challenging new phase as an emerging economic superpower. The Chinese economy has dramatically changed over the three decades since Deng Xiaoping launched his economic reforms in 1978. It has been transformed from a command economy dominated by state-owned enterprises to a market socialist economy with a wide range of ownership forms, both public and private. In turn, its managers and management have correspondingly undergone a major sea-change. This edited collection attempts to demystify Chinese management, highlighting recent research into these significant changes and their implications in a wide range of business enterprises both in China and overseas. It points to the strategic challenges and issues in terms of realizing the managerial version of the ‘Chinese Dream’. The topics covered include business schools in China, corporate social responsibility, financial services, impression management, international human resource management, international competitive strategy choices, internationalization of firms and the role of science parks. The book was originally published as a special issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.

One of the most important outcomes of market reforms in China over the past 20 years has been the emergence of a significant domestic private sector, which now accounts for almost a third of China's GDP and is by far the country's most important source of employment growth. This book is the first in-depth analysis of the management and operation of these domestic private firms, which are defined as companies or organizations created by PRC citizens, including township enterprises and collectives. The book provides a comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspective on the factors important to the successful operation and growth of these firms. It begins with a review of the literature on the topic in three different disciplines - economics, sociology, and management - each followed by several chapters covering recent developments in these areas. Featuring contributions by distinguished scholars and China experts, the work concludes with an insightful chapter on the future of China's public sector in the global economy.

A central dilemma of social network research is conflicting results on whether strong ties are more important than weak ties. This study proposes that "ownership type" is a key contingent factor for resolving the strong tie versus weak tie dilemma. The main purpose of this study is to examine the effects of managers' network ties on entrepreneurial economy hotels and to test whether the comparative effects of managers' strong ties versus weak ties differ among firms of different ownership types. Based on a survey of 230 general managers of economy hotels in China, the overall regression results show that the uses of network ties are positively related to firm performance. The subgroup analysis suggests that ownership type is a contingent factor for the strong tie and weak tie paradox. For private firms, the uses of weak ties (UWT) are positively related to firm performance; for joint ventures, the uses of strong ties (UWT) are positively related to firm performance; for SOEs, the uses of weak ties were negatively related to firm performance. These results are consistent with hypotheses derived from agency theory and institutional theory. Theoretically, this study provides new insights to resolve the paradox of social network theory regarding the relative importance of strong ties and weak ties and proved ownership type to be a new contingent factor. Practically, managers are encouraged to use a networking strategy to improve firm performance, but firms of different ownership types should use different networking strategies.