Management and Organizations in the Chinese Context: An Overview

In this introductory chapter, we will provide an overview of the extant research on management and organizations in the Chinese context. This research focus is a relatively recent phenomenon since modern China was closed to the outside world until 1979. However, this overview goes beyond China as a location. We use the term ‘Chinese context’ deliberately so that our review is not confined to organizations in mainland China. The term ‘Chinese context’ refers to the location as well as to the social, cultural and institutional context within which firms are embedded or operating. Our literature review suggested that research in this context would extend beyond the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to include firms operating in Taiwan and Hong Kong and overseas Chinese firms in Southeast Asia. We refer to these areas as Greater China for convenience. Similarly, our definition would also include research on European firms in China or Chinese firms in Europe. Therefore, our review in this chapter will focus on different types of firms operating in the PRC as well as in other Greater China areas. A distinction is also made between Chinese firms (private or state-owned) and multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in the Chinese context.