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Developing theory from strategic management research in China

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Abstract

What are the main approaches to theory development based on strategic management research in China? What are some of the recent efforts in developing theory in this area? What is our recommended approach? To address these questions, this article outlines the three approaches to theory development in China research, articulates the Chinese context within the global economy, and highlights two streams of recent work as examples of following the recommended, integrative approach to theory development.

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Notes

  1. Bruton and Lau (2008) report that in ten leading management journals (not including APJM) during 1996–2005, 305 articles (6.3% of a total of 4,844 articles) addressed Asia management research.

  2. Although some of the 180 empirical papers reviewed by Quer et al. (2007) deal with organizational behavior and human resources, five of the top six categories focus on strategic management topics (Quer et al., 2007: 376–378).

  3. We use the term “strategic management research” broadly. A more accurate but longer label would be “strategy, organization, and international business research.” Given the obvious need for compositional simplicity, in this article, we follow Peng (2005: 124) to use the “strategic management research” label.

  4. Some of this guidance certainly is still useful for today’s military officers, as Sun Tzu is a required reading for officer cadets in Chinese and numerous other military academies (such as West Point).

  5. In a keynote speech made at the Asia Academy of Management (AAOM) conference in Tokyo in December 2006, Mike Peng suggested that “If the AAOM had held its meeting 500 or 1,000 years ago, the official language would have probably been Chinese. If the AAOM would hold its meeting 500 or 1,000 years from now, its official language may become Chinese again—just a bold prediction. But for now, the dominance of English in scientific communication is a given fact in life.”

  6. Similarly, Puffer and McCarthy (2007: 511), two leading Russia management scholars, argue that “We have found it inappropriate to conduct context-free research in Russia since so many of the variables in that transitioning situation appeared to be unique and not currently generalizable” (original italics).

  7. For example, Peng, Zhang, and Li (2007) report that CEO duality—the practice of CEO also serving as chairman of the board—contributes to firm performance among Chinese firms in inland regions, but the relationship is not so strong in coastal regions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, Shaanxi, China

    Yuan Li

  2. School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, Box 830688, SM 43, Richardson, TX, 75083, USA

    Mike W. Peng

Authors
  1. Yuan Li
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  2. Mike W. Peng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mike W. Peng.

Additional information

This research has been supported in part by the Natural Science Foundation of China (70671082, 70121001) and the National Science Foundation of the United States (CAREER SES 0552089). We thank Yuan Lu, Sunny Li Sun, and Eric Tsang for helpful discussions. Portions of this work were presented at the Conference for Strategic Management Research Progress in Beijing, July 2007. All views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding agencies.

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Li, Y., Peng, M.W. Developing theory from strategic management research in China. Asia Pac J Manage 25, 563–572 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-007-9083-y

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