The emergence of the private entrepreneur in reform era China: re-birth of an earlier tradition, or a more recent product of development and change?

Andrew Atherton (Lead / Corresponding author), Alex Newman

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    13 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A private sector that now dominates economic activity has emerged in China since 1978, even though many of the essential institutions for market competition have been lacking or are under-developed. We find that there is no evidence that this upsurge of entrepreneurship is a re-birth of an earlier tradition. Instead, the dynamics of entrepreneurial emergence can be attributed to reforms and institutional changes that have occurred since 1949, both before and after the introduction of economic reforms in late 1978. We find that these institutional changes have been evolutionary, adapting to, as well as shaping, emerging forms of economic activity, including entrepreneurship. Our conclusion is that these dynamics of adaptation and evolution produce ‘rule ambiguities’ within the institutional framework that create opportunities for entrepreneurs as well as making these opportunities vulnerable to further institutional change.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)319-344
    Number of pages26
    JournalBusiness History
    Volume58
    Issue number3
    Early online date21 Jan 2016
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016

    Keywords

    • China
    • entrepreneurship
    • institutional adaptation
    • private sector
    • rule ambiguities

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Business and International Management
    • Business, Management and Accounting (miscellaneous)
    • History

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The emergence of the private entrepreneur in reform era China: re-birth of an earlier tradition, or a more recent product of development and change?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this