Making sense of business leadership vis-à-vis china’s reform and transition

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the contemporary paradigm of business leadership vis-à-vis China’s reform and transitional context.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs an evidence-based approach to explore the business leadership issues influenced by economic reform and within the context of societal transition in China. A qualitative research method was adopted based on in-depth interviews with a number of middle managers from a variety of Chinese enterprises, including state-owned, domestic-private and foreign-invested enterprises. Content analysis of several rounds of interviews added depth to the data analysis.

Findings

The findings complement existing thoughts and illustrate concepts, issues, and characteristics not yet emphasized in mainstream literature. General patterns and associated characteristics of business leadership in China, as well as specific patterns associated with different forms of enterprise ownerships, are identified.

Research limitations/implications

The study makes a timely and necessary contribution that enriches context-specific understandings of business leadership against the backdrop of surrounding economic, social, and cultural changes.

Practical implications

The study enriches understandings of commonalities and differences in leadership across the globe, facilitating working collaboratively to achieve common goals in a global community.

Originality/value

The study offers new insights into business leadership by linking contextual, personal, and cognitional factors together and demonstrates some unique characteristics of leadership styles in transitional economies like China.