De Gruyter Handbook of Chinese Entrepreneurship

The impact of entrepreneurship on China’s rise to become the world’s second largest economy after the country started to reform and open itself up to the world over four decades ago is well documented. However, a lot has changed over recent years. Firstly, the first generation of Chinese entrepreneurs has gradually retired. Newer generations of entrepreneurs growing up in the reform era and with weaker imprints of the legacy system of a planned economy have stood up to carry forward the beacon of entrepreneurship. Secondly, many entrepreneurial ventures with humble origins are now established organizations, some of which have grown to become national champions. Such success comes with the challenges of managing complacency, complexity, and sustained competitive advantage. Thirdly, state-owned enterprises, once dubbed ‘the dying dinosaurs’, have recently made a strong come back in many sectors together with the government’s use of a stronger visible hand in managing the economy. The narrative of ‘the state enterprises are advancing whilst the private sector is receding’ reflects the uncertainty of the policy regime and business environment in the country. And finally, China has been a clear beneficiary of globalization and has performed strongly among low-income countries in terms of catching up with advanced economies.

However, the tide of globalization has recently turned, and sustainable development goals have taken the central stage. In China, a rapidly ageing population and a resource-hungry, export-led growth model has gradually run its course amid the country’s effort to avoid the middle-income trap. Once again, China is looking to the ingenuity of its entrepreneurs to find solutions.

In response to all the above-mentioned changes, Chinese entrepreneurs stand the test of time. They have continuously found new ways in seeking both opportunity and advantage. They have contributed to the global economy with ideas of business model innovation in fintech, smart manufacturing, platform-based business, and more. They continue to revitalize themselves to stay in tune with fast-changing business environments, and they are responding to grand societal challenges in earnest. All of this has happened in an entrepreneurial ecosystem that continuously evolves and reshapes itself. The drama of Chinese entrepreneurial action is as fascinating as ever, and the lessons―successful or not―that Chinese firms offer to the country and beyond are of great relevance to those who are following in their footsteps in pursuit of the entrepreneurial dream.

This handbook looks at the complex dynamics and changing nature of entrepreneurship in China. It provides overviews of up-to-date research in four important areas: how Chinese entrepreneurs exercise their ability to seek and seize market opportunities in the face of uncertainty; how entrepreneurial firms in China facilitate the continuous leveraging of opportunities; how entrepreneurial ecosystems are evolving to support the entrepreneurial actions of both individuals and organisations; and how entrepreneurship is exercised as an instrument to address pressing societal challenges.

Jun Li is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Huddersfield Business School, University of Huddersfield, UK. He holds a PhD from Lancaster University and has previously worked at the University of Essex, the University of Bedfordshire, Birmingham City University, and Chinese Academy of Science. He has held visiting professor appointments in several reputable Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Jilin University, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Jianghan University, and Shantou University. Professor Li is the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies and on the editorial board of Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy and Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies. He was a guest editor of six special issues for five ABS-listed journals and has served as a Board Trustee of Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (2017-2020) and a board member of Chinese Economic Association (UK/Europe)(2008-2022). He was the President of Chinese Economic Association (UK/Europe) in 2011-2012. Professor Li’s current main research interests centre on entrepreneurship, resilience, and wellbeing; small business productivity; age and entrepreneurship; and open innovation.

Yuli Zhang is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and a doctoral advisor at Nankai University. Professor Zhang is the founding director of the Research Center of Entrepreneurship at Nankai University, and currently serves as the Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship School at Nankai University. He is also the Academic Director of the Nankai Business School. He is a member of the Management Division of the Science and Technology Commission of the Ministry of Education, and the National Steering Committee on Employment and Entrepreneurship for College Graduates. Professor Zhang received his PhD in Business Management from Nankai University. His current research and teaching interests include entrepreneurship management, firm growth, and management education. He is the principal investigator for two key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and has published more than 100 papers in leading academic journals, including Journal of Business Venturing and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. Professor Zhang has played a pivotal role in the country’s development of entrepreneurship research and education. For his outstanding achievements and contributions, he has been sponsored by the “Changjiang Scholars Program” of the Ministry of Education, and has received special government allowances from the State Council. He has also received the Fudan Award for Outstanding Contribution to Management in 2016.

Ting Zhang is an Associate Professor of the Department of Finance and Economics at the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business, Harry Y. Wright Chair, Associate Director of the Jacob France Institute, Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellow of the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), Councilor-at-Large for the North America Regional Science Council, President-elect of the Northeast Regional Science Association, and an appointed member of the Maryland Governor’s Office of Equal Pay Commission. Dr. Zhang is also an editorial board member of Small Business Economics, a guest editor of journals Entrepreneurship & Regional Development and Review of Regional Research, an associate editor of Journal of Urban Management. Her research interests include human capital, employment and businesses, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. Dr. Zhang has been a Principal Investigator and lead economist for many workforce-related national, state, and local grants, with a total over $9 million USD, including grants from US Department of Labor (USDOL), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Department of Education, the Gates Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, Abell Foundation, Maryland Department of Labor, Maryland Department of Disability, Maryland Department of Human Services, etc.

Qu Jingjing is an Associate Professor at the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Deputy Director of the Big Data Special Committee of Shanghai Open Information Technology Association. She obtained a PhD in entrepreneurship from the University of Essex in the UK. Her main research interests include the well-being of entrepreneurs, technological innovation and entrepreneurship, and the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence. She has published more than ten papers in journals and conferences such as Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development and Academy of Management (AOM). Her primary focus in the field of entrepreneurship is on the relationship between work stress and happiness among entrepreneurs, particularly their resilience, abilities, psychological feelings and their impact on entrepreneurial success in the face of special situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. She also pays attention to emerging entrepreneurial research topics, such as entrepreneurial models and innovation paths under open-source ecology.