China's State-Owned Enterprises

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

Delving into the daily leadership dynamics of Chinese state-owned enterprises, Wendy Leutert reveals leader tactics and subordinate responses and how they shape economic reform outcomes. Grounded in extensive fieldwork, this book underscores the increasing global significance of leadership in in Chinese state-owned enterprises.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.