Managerial Leadership in Chinese Industrial Enterprises

The management literature is now replete with observations, commentary, and empirical research on continuing reforms of state-owned industrial enterprises in the People's Republic of China. The foundation work of Tung (1982) is complemented by an increasing number and variety of responsible contributions whose predominant concerns include management development (Warner, 1985), value comparisons (Lai and Lam, 1985; Shenkar and Ronen, 1987), structural arrangements (Warner and Nyaw, 1986), negotiating patterns and business style (Frankenstein, 1986), and broader political-economic perspectives (Bachman, 1988; Petras, 1988). Among these books and articles, however, there is some inclination to focus attention on changes occurring in Chinese institutions as a result of recent reforms. This is the case even though Chinese society retains an underlying conservatism resulting in a pattern of "ups and downs" or "speed-ups and slow-downs" as it adjusts and readjusts on the political, economic, and business scenes (Henley and Nyaw, 1986b; Petras, 1988). The massacre in Beijing at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, and subsequent reactionary treatment of student leaders and sympathizers of the "democracy" movement, are dramatic and most unfortunate cases-in-point. Facing sanctions and criticisms from other nations of the world for its handling of this internal turmoil, China's communist leadership has had to reassess the country's economic reforms in the context of emerging sociopolitical developments. But even as another period of adjustment unfolds, the continuing strength and enduring influence of China's politically-based institutions and in-