China's State-Owned Enterprises
Leadership, Reform, and Internationalization

An original study of the role of leadership in state-owned enterprises in economic reform in China.

Wendy Leutert (Author)

9781009486521, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 November 2024

230 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

'This title is an engaging read on the Chinese economy and governance. It is highly recommended, accessible to most audiences, and suitable as an undergraduate textbook.' D. Li, CHOICE

Why do Chinese state-owned enterprises routinely respond to central-level goals and policies in different ways, and why do their reform trajectories often vary significantly across firms and over time? This book introduces a leadership approach to studying the politics, process, and outcomes of economic reform in China's public sector. Using a series of in-depth case studies, Wendy Leutert analyses the exercise and effects of leadership in Chinese state-owned enterprises. She uncovers the 'intra-organizational politics of reform': the daily dynamics of cooperation and conflict between leaders and their subordinates inside public-sector organizations. She also identifies common tactics that Chinese state-owned enterprise leaders use to execute their agendas and ways their subordinates respond. Updating and expanding existing knowledge, this book highlights the growing global consequences of leadership in Chinese state-owned enterprises and why leadership remains vital for understanding China today.

1. Reform and leadership
2. A leadership approach
3. Enterprise reforms since 1978: evolving constraints and space for leadership
4. Reform through leadership in China infrastructure
5. China's national champions: leadership and reform on a global stage
6. Leader–subordinate dynamics in Chinese SOEs
7. Rethinking the domestic politics of reform as SOE leadership goes global
Appendix 1: Methodology and research design
Appendix 2: Cited participant observation and interviews in CI
Appendix 3: List of interviewees
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP]