Learning organization in mainland China: empirical research on its application to Chinese state‐owned enterprises

This paper examines the applicability of the learning organization concept and its measurement in a Chinese context. Based on the theoretical framework proposed by Watkins and Marsick (1993, 1996, 1997), this paper identifies the differences in seven of the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) between traditional state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) versus independent listed companies and companies in service versus manufacturing industries in China. Results indicate that the Chinese version of the DLOQ demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. Service companies exhibit better learning practices than manufacturing companies; however, the independently listed companies failed to show better learning practices than their unlisted counterparts. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

中国企业的学习型组织文化:基于人口统计变量、企业属性、工作满意度和组织绩效的实证分析

By using a Western concept—the instrument called dimensions of learning organization questionnaire (DLOQ), and the data collected from 919 employees in nine companies located in Guangdong Province, China, the present empirical study explores the culture of learning organizations in Chinese business settings. Findings suggest that the DLOQ is applicable to the context of China as well, and those demographic variables, such as age and educational level, together with the types of ownership of Chinese companies, such as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately-owned enterprises (POEs), suggest differences in the culture of learning organizations. Results also indicate that the learning organization culture of a firm has strongly positive impact on employees’ job satisfaction and perceived organizational performance. Two implications should be noted. First, as employees in middle age and with college education show the strongest sense of improving the learning culture, it can be inferred that demographic characters and groups may influence the organization’s learning culture differently. Second, as POEs have a better learning atmosphere than SOEs, it can be inferred that POEs have a stronger competitiveness than SOEs in terms of learning ability and organizational performance. To indigenize the Western construct and instrument of learning organizations, the present study, as an exploratory research, gives substantial knowledge on the subject and seeks to fill the gap in the literature, despite the limitations of cultural nuances and a narrowly-concentrated sample.     

组织学习及其作用机制的实证研究

The organizational learning construct and its effective mechanism are two research issues. This study is based on a survey of 908 managers and employees from 43 companies in different regions of China. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) show that organizational learning in Chinese enterprises is a multi-dimensional construct comprising of inter-organizational learning, organization-level learning, collective learning, individual learning, exploitation learning and exploration learning. The results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) reveal that the unit-level dimensions of organizational learning affect employee’s satisfaction and emotional commitment through the mediation of individual learning. In organizations characterized by high level of organization-level learning and low level of exploitation learning, there is a strong correlation between employees’ satisfaction/emotional commitment and their turnover intention. Hierarchical regression analysis (HRA) also indicates that organizational learning affects perceived organizational financial performance through the full mediation of organizational innovation. Some implications are discussed for organizational learning research and practice. Translated and revised from Guanli Kexue Xuebao 管理科学学报 (Journal of Management Sciences in China), 2007, 10(5): 48–61     

国有企业实施电子商务与管理创新

我国国有企业在实施电子商务过程中尤其要重视管理创新与电子商务相适应。本文主要阐述了电子商务在国有企业的实施产生的对企业管理理念、组织结构、生产管理和营销管理的创新。有一定的借鉴意义和参考作用。     

Internationalization of China's private‐sector MNEs: An analysis of the motivations for foreign affiliate formation

China's private‐sector multinational enterprises (MNEs) are often owned and controlled via offshore holding companies in tax havens. As such, their foreign affiliates are often difficult to identify, and their activities are also not captured in official Chinese outward foreign direct investment data. To date, therefore, there has been comparatively little systematic analysis of these affiliates as they internationalize. Here we address this gap by developing a method that allows us to identify 104 privately owned Chinese MNEs owned via offshore holding companies, as well as their 227 foreign affiliates. We analyze and discuss the motivations for the formation of their foreign affiliates in light of current theory. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

组织文化、组织结构与绩效：中国企业的实证研究

研究中国企业的组织文化、组织结构和绩效之间存在的可能的关系。基于对国内294家企业实证数据的基础上,发现和睦交往型组织文化一定程度上对企业绩效具有负效应；团结一致型组织文化对于企业绩效具有正效应；而组织结构的柔性程度对于企业绩效具有促进作用。     

Organizations as learning systems: The case of the Japanese automobile manufacturing industry

This study sought to apply frameworks of organizational learning to companies in the Japanese automobile manufacturing industry and, in the process, to ascertain if Japanese automobile companies exhibit characteristics of high- versus low-learning organizations. Of particular interest are the effects of Japanese culture on organizational behavior. A basis for empirical testing of concepts of organizational learning to establish an explanation as to why some companies are more effective in succeeding in the global market according to accepted measures of success is provided. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

个人组织价值观匹配对组织承诺的影响——不同所有制企业的差异

近几年来,个人组织匹配(person-organizationfit)越来越受到组织研究者的关注,国外研究证实了个人组织匹配会对组织承诺、员工满意度等个人行为产生积极的影响。然而对于我国这样一个经济环境相对复杂的国家来说,在解释员工行为的时候,需要考虑企业所有制的差异对员工行为造成的影响。本文通过对不同所有制企业中管理者个人与组织价值观的匹配程度对组织承诺影响的对比研究,探讨企业所有制形式不同而造成的企业文化差异,及这种差异对管理者的组织承诺的影响。     

Organizational Learning in China: The Role of Returners

ABSTRACT

The Chinese authorities have launched a range of policies and incentives at the national and regional level to attract citizens who have studied and worked abroad to return in order to contribute to upgrading the competitiveness of the Chinese economy, particularly in light of China's entrance to the World Trade Organization. In other words, the returners are expected to stimulate organizational learning in existing organizations and in new companies. This article provides an overview of what has been done to date and points out that simply increasing the number of returners is not enough to achieve organizational learning. Drawing on research findings about the barriers to organizational learning from returned expatriate managers in international companies, the article develops recommendations for government policies, corporate strategies, and Chinese returners.     

组织学习量表的开发

组织学习的定义与量表呈现多元化,基于国内外主要组织学习定义与量表的系统研究,整合界定了一个组织学习定义,并适用该定义,参照Churchill的量表开发程序,开发了一个组织学习量表,新开发量表包括发现、获取、比较、反思、纠错、记忆六个测量维度和18个测量项目,以两组中国企业样本数据进行了实证检验,结果表明具有较好的信度与效度。     

Dos and don'ts for Chinese companies investing in the United States: Lessons from Huawei and Haier

The implementation of the Chinese government's “Go Global” policy in 2000 has led to an unprecedented surge in Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). While Asia remains a favorite destination, the 2008–09 global financial crisis has presented opportunities for Chinese companies interested in cross‐border mergers and acquisitions in the United States. Chinese companies are keen on the United States because of access to the world's largest market and technology. However, Chinese companies have had to deal with difficulties ranging from regulatory hurdles and cultural differences. Given that the majority of OFDI is still carried out by state‐owned enterprises (SOEs), the primary obstacle for Chinese investors at the federal level is the Committee of Foreign Investment to the United States. This has proven to be an insurmountable obstacle so far for Chinese telecom company Huawei. However, the US investment environment is not all gloom and doom for Chinese companies. There are success stories too like Haier, which has managed to overcome cultural differences. This article aims to do a comparative study of Huawei and Haier and highlight the lessons the companies offer for Chinese companies interested in investing in the United States. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Business ethics and a state–owned enterprise in China

Since China's Reform Era began in 1979, corporations of all shapes and sizes mushroomed in the economic landscape. Among these companies, a few have distinguished themselves by their unique corporate cultures and financial performance. The Chinese state–owned enterprises (SOEs) are notorious for their inefficiency, conservatism, bloated bureaucracy, and obsoleteness. However, a few good SOEs stand out as corporations of excellence with commitment to business ethics. Very little study has been done on SOE corporate cultures and business ethics, especially in the western literature. This paper provides an insight into one such organisation – the Double Star Group of Qingdao. This paper includes the results of an empirical survey on Double Star's employees' perception of its corporate culture and business ethics.     

Does it transfer? The effects of pre-internationalization experience on post-entry organizational learning in entrepreneurial Chinese firms

Although organizational learning plays a critical role in the internationalization of firms, researchers have largely focused on learning that occurs after a firm’s international entry (“learning by doing”). Few studies have discussed how a firm’s experiences prior to international entry affect its organizational learning after entry. Using a sample of Chinese internationalizers, we argue that pre-entry characteristics will influence organizational learning after international entry. We argue and show that prior experience with international companies in the domestic market is transferable and does affect an organization’s post-entry learning through a mechanism called analogical reasoning or “learning by analogy.”     

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance of Chinese High-Tech Firms： The Mediating Role of Organizational Learning and Moderating Role of Firm Life Cycle

The evidence about how entrepreneurial orientation （EO） affects firms＇ performance remains inconclusive. This study joins the research by incorporating organizational learning （OL） as a micro-macro link and by extending empirical work to the largely underexplored context of Chinese high-tech industries. Results from a survey of 252 Chinese high-tech firms demonstrate： （1） entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to firm performance; （2） organizational learning is also positively related to firm performance; （3） organizational learning partly mediates the positive impact of entrepreneurial orientation on firm performance; and （4） high-tech companies in the start-up and growth stage are likely to demonstrate stronger linkages in the EO-OL-performance relationship than in mature stage, which shows that the EO-OL-performance relationship is moderated by firms＇ life cycle.     

控股股东对上市公司股权集中度影响的实证分析

控股股东与上市公司股权集中度之间关系的实证分析结果表明,国有企业性质的控股股东所控制的上市公司股权集中度显著高于民营企业性质的控股股东所控制的上市公司股权集中度。进一步区分不同身份的国有控股股东进行分析发现:政府身份的控股股东所控制的上市公司层级与股权集中度之间存在显著倒"U"型曲线关系;国有企业集团控制的上市公司层级与股权集中度之间呈显著正"U"型关系;民营企业性质的控股股东所控制的上市公司层级与股权集中度之间存在显著正相关关系。     

加入WTO:我国零售服务业如何“与狼共舞”

入世后，中国零售服务业将在几年之内全面开放，外资零售企业逐渐进入中国已是大势所趋。面对全球零售“巨 头”咄咄逼人的势头，我国零售服务业与国外大型商业集团的激烈竞争将不可避免。根据我国零售服务业对外开放现状 和我国零售服务业存在的主要问题，必须采取对策，才能在激烈的市场竞争中立于不败之地。     

中国企业的组织学习与创新能力——基于问卷调查的实证研究

在目前竞争日益激烈,变化日新月异的外部环境下,一个企业的组织学习能力已成为其能否生存的必备条件之一。但关于组织学习的文献大多都局限在发达国家中的一些大型企业。而即便在西方与日本,对于组织学习的定义还存在着明显的分歧。中国作为世界上最大的制造业和服务提供国,受到了越来越多的关注,理解中国企业中组织学习活动已经成为研究组织学习和创新能力之间关系的一个新起点。本研究通过问卷对不同行业典型企业的中层和普通管理人员及大量员工进行调查,得出一系列中国企业有关组织学习和创新能力的特征。研究发现中国企业组织学习与创新能力同企业所在行业特征和企业的所有权结构、业务特征等因素相关,但很难显示出文化特异性的迹象。这一研究对于今后在研究中通过控制以上变量,以问卷以外的访谈方式,更好地进行研究设计,挖掘跨国家、跨地域和跨文化特征具有重要的意义。     

经营性国有资产的监管体系设计

如何对经营性国有资产进行监管关系到国有资产保值增值目标的实现,现有国有资产监管机制存在各种缺陷。为保证国有企业及国有控股企业所控制经营性国有资产得到合理的使用,完善经营性国有资产监管的组织体系和方法体系非常必要。     

Performance of domestic and foreign-invested enterprises in China

Despite increasing attention paid to China's enterprise reform since the late 1970s, relatively little is known about the performance of reformed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and newly formed private firms vis-à-vis foreign firms in China. In this study, we examine the performance of domestic Chinese firms in various ownership categories versus foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) based on two nation-wide surveys conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics in 1998 and 2002. We found that both domestic non-state-owned firms and foreign-invested enterprises performed better than state-owned enterprises. Meanwhile, three categories of Chinese firms—privately owned, collectively owned, and shareholding—had higher performance levels than the foreign-invested enterprises.     

中国企业跨国并购商业文化整合模型研究

基于商业文化的视角,本文运用文化的层次理论,系统地分析了中西商业文化在文化的核心层、中间层和表层的差异,在此基础上提出了中国企业跨国并购商业文化整合的"学习适应"和"自我保持"模型,指出了在我国企业跨国并购商业文化整合过程中具体应该"学习适应"和"自我保持"的内容,旨在为中国企业跨国并购商业文化的整合提供有益的参考与借鉴。