New Varieties of State Capitalism: Strategic and Governance Implications

Abstract

We analyze the new varieties of state capitalism in the 21st century and explore their implications in terms of both strategic and governance outcomes. We begin by discussing how the current theoretical perspectives conceptualize state-owned enterprises' strategic behavior. Then we introduce a stylized distinction between four broad, new varieties of state capitalism-wholly owned state-owned enterprises, the state as a majority investor, the state as a minority investor, and the state as a strategic supporter of specific sectors-and survey each type within the different theoretical perspectives. Last, we examine firm performance for each type of state capitalism relative to private firms and contingent on country-level institutional contingencies. This article contributes to existing debates on comparative capitalisms and the current role of the state.

Editorial

“…While some studies have been critical, others have found that, in a competitive setting and under effective regulation, SOEs are generally just as efficient as private forprofit enterprises (Mühlenkamp, 2013). Recent studies of social enterprises have produced a similar result (Musacchio et al, 2015).…”

Mapping the business systems of 61 major economies: a taxonomy and implications for varieties of capitalism and business systems research

“…Recent works on state-led capitalism have recognized this issue and have started to provide for subcategories (Musacchio et al, 2015). Given the emphasis on ownership patterns, this may provide for a useful classification with respect to corporate governance outcomes.…”

Theories of the (state-owned) firm

“…The new SOEs of the 21st century are not necessarily the same as the SOEs of the 20th century (Bremmer, 2010;Economist, 2012b). In other words, while most SOEs of the 20th century were the classic, Bstate-owned and state-controlled^firms, in the 21st century tremendous diversity exists among the SOE population (Bruton et al, 2015;CuervoCazurra, Inkpen, Musacchio, & Ramaswamy, 2014;Musacchio, Lazzarini, & Aguilera, 2015). Some of the new SOEs have substantial private participation in management and shareholding (Jiang, Peng, Yang, & Mutlu, 2015).…”