A Study of Management Attitudes in Chinese State-Owned Enterprises,Collectives and Joint Ventures

Since 1978 China has introduced a series of reforms that has gradually moved its economy away from planning and towards more market-based resource allocation. State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have been permitted to set market prices, retain profits after tax and employ factors of production much more freely than before. Private-sector firms have been allowed, and joint ventures with foreign firms encouraged. At the same time, continued political intervention in the management of enterprises may be dulling incentives for management to operate commercially. This study reports the results of research based on structured interviews with senior managers in 16 corporatized and non-corporatized SOEs, collective enterprises and joint ventures in Shanghai and Nanjing. The fieldwork was undertaken between October and December 1995, to shed light on the extent to which management attitudes had changed in recent years following the reforms, and to confirm whether there were noticeable differences in attitudes between managements in the various types of enterprises. The research also considers the current relationship between plant management and government bureaus, and management attitudes towards privatization.