From “fat pigs” and “red hats” to a “new social stratum”

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the development and implementation of enterprise policy in China, and the emergence of intermediaries and local strategies designed to encourage SME development.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on interviews and workshops held with local and national government in 2003 and 2006, and informed by reference to and analysis of the policy and academic literature.FindingsThe dynamics and nature of local implementation of national enterprise legislation are mapped out, indicating an interactive dynamic between central government directive, local government adoption and response, and localised dynamics of enterprise and economic development. This “three‐way” model provides a nuanced explanation of local implementation of national enterprise legislation.Practical implicationsThe framework can be used at the municipal level to understand how national enterprise legislation can be implemented. The framework also points to wider patterns of local implementation of national government legislation.Originality/valueThe paper provides a detailed model of local policy implementation, using the SME Promotion Law as a specific case of legislation.

Effective policy mixes in entrepreneurial ecosystems: a configurational analysis in China

“…Since the Reform and Opening-up in 1978, China has moved from a closed, centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented one, based on the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the growth of the private sector and small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and a focus on the innovative performance of start-ups (Li, 2011;Paulet & Rowley, 2017b;Rowley & Cooke, 2010;Warner & Rowley, 2011). In particular, the Chinese government has made great efforts to legitimate and incentivize entrepreneurship, including the Provisional Regulations on Private Enterprises in 1988, which recognized private enterprises as profit-making businesses in the form of individual enterprises, partnerships, or limited liability companies, and the SME Promotion Law in 2002, which recognized the role of SMEs in scientific and technological development (Atherton, 2008). As a result, China has jumped from a relatively small economy to the world's second-largest, with entrepreneurship being a major driver (Bruton et al, 2018).…”