Dragon In a Three-piece Suit (ebook)

Argumento de Dragon In a Three-piece Suit (ebook)

"How have Chinese enterprises responded to the opening of the economy? Doug Guthrie surveyed Chinese managers, finding that many copied Western techniques, in labor markets, product markets, and inter-firm relations. Yet new practices retain the stamp of Chinese tradition. Guthrie uses the case of China to brilliant advantage to show that business practices are shaped by sociological as much as by economic imperatives."--Frank Dobbin, Princeton University

"Dragon in a Three-Piece Suit brings state-of-the-art institutional analysis together with a brilliant empirical study of the real world of economic reforms in China. Combining fieldwork, interviews, and unique quantitative data sources, Guthrie offers the clearest account available of how China's reforms translate into concrete organizational practices. His study is among the best at illuminating how markets and firms work in transitional economies."--Craig Calhoun, New York University

"Guthrie offers a sustained and intelligent treatment of an important topic using new data. The book will be of interest to China specialists (in sociology, political science, and anthropology) and to people who study comparative political economy. Guthrie also goes outside his specialization and draws connections with the literature on organizations and with economic sociology."--Bruce Carruthers, Northwestern University

"Guthrie brings new insights and fresh perspectives to the study of organizational change in China during the process of economic reform. The book is exceptionally well written and moves easily between organizational theory and 'big questions,' on the one hand, and the particularities of Chinese experience on the other."--Barry Naughton, University of California, San Diego

"[Guthrie] provides an admirably clear and detailed exposition of who runs what in reformera industry in China, complete with diagrams. . . . This book is essential reading for anyone interested in China's economic reforms and in transition economies more generally, and it will stand comparison with anything else in the field."--Jackie Sheehan, The Times Higher Education Supplement

"A splendid book. . . . Dragon in a Three-Piece Suit provides a comprehensive examination of an important and timely phenomenon. The question is important. The data are not only unique, they are also remarkably comprehensive. . . . [It is] likely to stimulate both discussion and additional research."--Lisa A. Keister, Contemporary Sociology0List of Figures vii
List of Tables ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xi
1. Firm Practices in China's Transforming Economy: Efficiency or Mimicry? 3
2. Path Dependence in China's Economic Transition 24
3. Formal Rational Bureaucracies in Chinese Firms: Causes and Implications 42
4. Changing Labor Relations in the Period of Market Reform 75
5. The Politics of Price Setting in China's Transition Economy 101
6. Economic Strategies in the Face of Market Reforms 121
7. Institutional Pressure, Rational Choice, and Contractual Relations: Chinese-Foreign Negotiations in the Economic Transition 150
8. The Declining Significance of Connections in China's Economic Transition 175
9. Conclusions and Implications 198
Appendixes
1. Methodology and Sampling 219
2. Interviews and Informants 228
3. Complete Interview Schedule 235
4. Sample Characteristics and Variables 240
Notes 249
References 281
Index 299