Developing international organizational change theory using cases from China

This article contributes to international theory development by examining organizational change (OC) in mainland China. Eight case studies of a single type of OC, business process re-engineering (BPR), reveal that Chinese organizations diverged consistently from initially planned changes. Change context is found to influence not only the process of change, but also the content and even the objectives of change. Since specific practices carry implicit values, the congruence with existing values influences OC implementation significantly. Multinational organizations must recognize that a specific practice or policy can represent very different changes in different contexts.

[1]  Garry D. Bruton,et al.  Learning from successful local private firms in China: Establishing legitimacy , 2001 .

[2]  F. Damanpour.  Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis Of Effects Of Determinants and Moderators , 1991 .

[3]  Peter Ping Li,et al.  Toward an integrated theory of multinational evolution: The evidence of Chinese multinational enterprises as latecomers , 2007 .

[4]  Laura B. Cardinal,et al.  RETROSPECTIVE REPORTS IN ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH: A REEXAMINATION OF RECENT EVIDENCE , 1997 .

[5]  Pamela Jordan.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques , 1994 .

[6]  A. Bedeian,et al.  Organizational Change: A Review of Theory and Research in the 1990s , 1999 .

[7]  Globalization and organizational restructuring: A strategic perspective , 2002 .

[8]  A. Jaeger,et al.  Organization Development and National Culture: Where's the Fit? , 1986 .

[9]  Peter Gyngell,et al.  Process Innovation: Reengineering Work through Information Technology , 1994 .

[10]  K. Lewin.  Frontiers in Group Dynamics , 1947 .

[11]  G. Bamossy,et al.  Post-Formation Processes in Eastern and Western European Joint Ventures , 2006 .

[12]  Thomas Y. Choi,et al.  Conceptualizing continuous improvement: Implications for organizational change , 1995 .

[13]  Thomas A. Charles,et al.  What Goals Do Business Leaders Pursue? A Study in Fifteen Countries , 2002 .

[14]  Heather A. Haveman.  Between a rock and a hard place: Organizational change and performance under conditions of fundamental environmental transformation , 1992 .

[15]  Maris G. Martinsons,et al.  Management information systems in the Chinese business culture: An explanatory theory , 1997, Inf. Manag..

[16]  John Amis,et al.  Values and Organizational Change , 2002 .

[17]  Robert M. Davison,et al.  Empowerment or enslavement?: A case of process-based organisational change in Hong Kong , 2002, Inf. Technol. People.

[18]  Resistance to restructuring in Sino‐foreign joint ventures: toward a preliminary model , 2003 .

[19]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[20]  O. Williamson.  The Economics of Organization: The Transaction Cost Approach , 1981, American Journal of Sociology.

[21]  Joe Peppard,et al.  The transfer of culturally-grounded management techniques: The case of business reengineering in Germany , 1997 .

[22]  Richard W. Woodman,et al.  Organizational Change and Development: New Arenas for Inquiry and Action , 1989 .

[23]  A. Pettigrew.  Longitudinal Field Research on Change: Theory and Practice , 1990 .

[24]  W. Burke,et al.  A Causal Model of Organizational Performance and Change , 1992 .

[25]  David A. Buchanan,et al.  The Limitations and Opportunities of Business Process Re-engineering in a Politicized Organizational Climate , 1997 .

[26]  Thomas W. Lee,et al.  Using Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research , 1998 .

[27]  M. Boisot,et al.  From Fiefs to Clans and Network Capitalism: Explaining China's Emerging Economic Order , 1996 .

[28]  G. Hofstede,et al.  Culture′s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values , 1980 .

[29]  John Child,et al.  China's Transition and its Implications for International Business , 2001 .

[30]  Robert J. McQueen,et al.  Is Re-engineering Possible in the Public Sector? A Brazilian Case Study , 1996 .

[31]  Mike W. Peng.  Institutional Transitions and Strategic Choices , 2003 .

[32]  George P. Huber,et al.  Longitudinal Field Research Methods: Studying Processes of Organizational Change. , 1997 .

[33]  K. Lewin.  Frontiers in Group Dynamics , 1947 .

[34]  Jeff Gold,et al.  Management Development , 2004 .

[35]  Maris G. Martinsons.  Radical process innovation using information technology: The theory, the practice and the future of reengineering , 1995 .

[36]  T. Hawkins.  Management Development , 1958, Nature.

[37]  Matthew B. Miles,et al.  Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook , 1994 .

[38]  Mike W. Peng,et al.  Managerial Ties and Firm Performance in a Transition Economy: The Nature of a Micro-Macro Link , 2000 .

[39]  Nancy K. Napier,et al.  Managing organizational diversity: Observations from cross‐border acquisitions , 1993 .

[40]  K. Zhou,et al.  Organizational changes in emerging economies: drivers and consequences , 2006 .

[41]  T. Davenport.  Need radical innovation and continuous improvement? Integrate process reengineering and TQM , 1993 .

[42]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[43]  A. Strauss,et al.  The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research aldine de gruyter , 1968 .

[44]  John Child,et al.  Organizations As Adaptive Systems in Complex Environments: the Case of China , 1999 .

[45]  Keith Grint,et al.  Reengineering History: Social Resonances and Business Process Reengineering , 1994 .

[46]  J. Pearce,et al.  Guanxi: Connections As Substitutes for Formal Institutional Support , 1996 .

[47]  B. Gray,et al.  Bargaining Power, Management Control, and Performance in United States-China Joint Ventures: A Compa , 1994 .

[48]  T. Gladwin.  Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values , 1981 .

[49]  K. Eisenhardt.  Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review , 1989 .

[50]  A. Pettigrew,et al.  Studying Organizational Change and Development: Challenges for Future Research , 2001 .

[51]  Yasar F. Jarrar,et al.  Business process re-engineering: Learning from organizational experience , 1999 .

[52]  Glen R. Burrows,et al.  Knowledge management in China , 2005, CACM.

[53]  S. Ross.  The Economic Theory of Agency: The Principal's Problem , 1973 .

[54]  S. Vance,et al.  The Corporate Director: A Critical Evaluation , 1969 .

[55]  Samsung: Re-engineering Korean style , 1995 .

[56]  M. Barringer,et al.  A Theoretical Exploration of the Adoption and Design of Flexible Benefit Plans: A Case of Human Resource Innovation , 1998 .

[57]  Ying Ki Kwong,et al.  B2B e-Commerce in emerging economies: i-metal.com's non-ferrous metals exchange in China , 2001, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[58]  H. Ngo,et al.  Organization Development and Firm Performance: A Comparison of Multinational and Local Firms , 2001 .

[59]  L. Greiner.  Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow , 1997 .

[60]  I. Taplin.  Strategic change and organisational restructuring: How managers negotiate change initiatives , 2006 .

[61]  M. Bond,et al.  The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth , 1988 .

[62]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[63]  Timothy J. Galpin,et al.  The Human Side of Change: A Practical Guide to Organization Redesign , 1996 .

[64]  John J. Mauriel,et al.  A Framework for Linking Culture and Improvement Initiatives in Organizations , 2000 .

[65]  Shuhe Li,et al.  The Road to Capitalism: Competition and Institutional Change in China , 2000 .

[66]  Maris G. Martinsons.  Electronic commerce in China: emerging success stories , 2002, Inf. Manag..

[67]  Paul S. Goodman,et al.  Creating Long-Term Organizational Change. , 1982 .

[68]  Maris G. Martinsons.  Relationship‐based e‐commerce: theory and evidence from China , 2008, Inf. Syst. J..

[69]  Enid Mumford,et al.  Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution , 1995 .

[70]  R. Gorsuch,et al.  Beliefs, attitudes, and values , 1968 .

[71]  Robert Vogel,et al.  Case Study GROUP SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN HONG KONG: An Action Research Project , 2000 .

[72]  Susan J. Fox-Wolfgramm,et al.  Organizational Adaptation to Institutional Change: A Comparative Study of First-Order Change in Prospector and Defender Banks , 1998 .

[73]  Edwin M. Bartee,et al.  Organizational Development: Theory, Practice, and Research , 1979 .

[74]  Q. Huy.  Time, Temporal Capability, and Planned Change , 2001 .

[75]  Michael Hammer,et al.  Reengineering Work: Don’t Automate, Obliterate , 1990 .

[76]  Jianmin Sun,et al.  Organization development and change in Chinese state‐owned enterprises: a human resource perspective , 2000 .

[77]  A. V. D. Ven,et al.  Explaining Development and Change in Organizations , 1995 .

[78]  Nan Zhou,et al.  Institutional Forces and Organizational Culture in China: Effects on Change Schemas, Firm Commitment and Job Satisfaction , 2002 .

[79]  Elina M. Antila.  The role of HR managers in international mergers and acquisitions: a multiple case study , 2006 .

[80]  Shaomin Li,et al.  The Great Leap Forward: The Transition from Relation-Based Governance to Rule-Based Governance , 2004 .