Organisational change and development of reformed Chinese township and village enterprises

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the organisational changes (OCs) and the development of Chinese reformed township and village enterprises (RTVEs), their marketing and R&D strategies, and the impact of changes in terms of overall performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study methodology involving semi‐structured interviews is adopted. The unit chosen is the Guotai International Group (GTIG) in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China, in which the organisational changes over a period of over 40 years are analysed.

Findings

OCs in Chinese RTVEs are found to be driven by a combination of local government plans and market forces. Considering the hybrid nature of the organisation and ownership structures, changes in Chinese RTVEs follow a very much “top‐down” approach.

Research limitations/implications

The findings imply that managers appointed by the state in RTVEs usually lack the necessary skills in marketing and business management, and can be resistant to organisational changes, such as the willingness to undertake risks. As a result, RTVEs may become stuck in a cycle of low‐cost, low‐tech products, inhibiting any breakthrough in developing their own quality brands.

Originality/value

This is one of few papers studying change over a long span of time to arrive at research findings that will be useful to academic researchers in their future work. The qualitative findings from this paper would also enrich the literatures on organisational change in Chinese RTVEs.

Citation

Chen, W., Woods, A. and Singh, S. (2013), "Organisational change and development of reformed Chinese township and village enterprises", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 353-369. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534811311328399