Corporate Political Strategies of Private Chinese Firms

Corporate political strategy (CPS) is often devised by business firms to influence government policy toward directions favorable to the business. The book differentiates between the individuals (entrepreneurs vs. officials) and the institutions (firms vs. government) so as to better understand exactly who are the actual parties engaged in the exchange and how the exchange is conducted. The book would be of considerable interest to those interested in Chinese corporate world.

This book is about how Chinese entrepreneurs deal with China’s most important institution-the government-in their struggle to survive and even prosper in China’s transitional economy. It takes an "inside look" at several private firms in China and provides a first-hand account, as well as the underlying rationale and decision considerations, of their corporate political strategy. The book is based firmly on solid academic research but actually written with both practitioners and scholars in mind. It offers candid and insightful quotes and observations from the owners and executives of China’s private firms with regards to their dealing with the government.

This book advances a typology of corporate political strategies based on the respective motivations of the business (the entrepreneurs and their firms) and the government (the government institutions and individual officials) as well as the modes of their interactions. Eight different types of political strategies by China’s private firms are identified and illustrated with real-life examples, ranging from one-night-stand, situational shopper, good ole friend, patronage seeker, model volunteer, institutional improviser, direct participator, to red hat insider. The book also dissects a living case and traces the development of one particular private firm, from its humble start-up to present day glory, which fittingly illustrates the evolution and dynamics of the various types of political strategies the firm employed at different stages of its growth.

For anyone who wants to understand China’s private firms and the Chinese government, thus be able to deal with them more effectively, this book is a must-read.