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Market China: an Historical and Institutional Analysis of a Chinese Marketplace and Its Market Environment

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Market China: an Historical and Institutional Analysis of a Chinese Marketplace and Its Market Environment MARKET CHINA: AN HISTORICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF A CHINESE MARKETPLACE AND ITS MARKET ENVIRONMENT by Mark Dodd Jacobs This thesis/dissertation document has been electronically approved by the following individuals: Nee,Victor (Chairperson) Hong,Yongmiao (Minor Member) Strang,David (Minor Member) MARKET CHINA: AN HISTORICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF A CHINESE MARKETPLACE AND ITS MARKET ENVIRONMENT A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Mark Dodd Jacobs August 2010 © 2010 Mark Dodd Jacobs MARKET CHINA: AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF A CHINESE MARKETPLACE AND ITS MARKET ENVIRONMENT Mark Dodd Jacobs, Ph.D. Cornell University 2010 The present study investigates the nature of markets and market development in China. It is made up of an introduction, conclusion, and five additional chapters. Each of the chapters focuses on some aspect of markets, institutions, and/or the interactions of the two as they relate to China, with most dealing principally with the development of markets in a specific part of China, Yiwu, Zhejiang Province. The author invested nearly three years of his life in Yiwu, developing relationships, carrying out interviews, and investigating the nature of market-related change in this part of China. In addition, he also had the opportunity to visit a number of other marketplaces throughout the nation. The works in the volume are the outcome of both his experiences and resulting research, and display the key roles of institutions, identities, particular individuals, and markets, themselves, in defining development. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Mark Jacobs was born in Palo Alto, California. After receiving his primary and secondary school educations in California, Wisconsin, and New Jersey, he entered the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spending his junior year abroad in Taiwan. In December 1985 he received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics. He subsequently attended the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, from which he graduated with an MBA in finance and international business in 1988. After a period of work in Asia, he returned to graduate school, and in 1996 garnered an M.A. in the Social Sciences from National Sun Yat-Sen University, a school in which the primary language of instruction was Chinese. Mark was the first non-native Asian to receive a degree from the school. After another short stint of employment, he enrolled in the Cornell Ph.D. program in Sociology, from which he graduated in June 2010. iii This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Jessica, Reiyah, and anyone else who has helped me along the way. I express great thanks and appreciation to all those involved. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is always difficult to thank enough those from whom assistance is received. I am very grateful, however, to many persons for the help they provided in the writing of this dissertation. First, I want to express my appreciation to the three individuals who participated on my committee: Victor Nee, Yongmiao Hong, and David Strang. Victor Nee, the chair of my committee, in particular, provided much insight and support. Yongmiao and David also helped in their ways as well. Given that my dissertation was largely based on China-based fieldwork, something oftentimes quite problematic to carry out, I required much help from a number of people located at my Yiwu fieldwork site. Some of them include: Wu Weirong, Song Yinghao, Chen Youde, Wu Bocheng, He Jiangxing, Wu Yi, Wang Xuehong, Chen Rulin, Wu Chaohai, Lv Hua, Wu Haiyan, Yu Weiyi, Jin Zulu, He Jiannong, Lou Zirong, Hu Zhilong, Chen Yingnan, Jin Yangcheng, Jin Shanfu, Pan Zhongshan, Hua Lingqun, Chen Yong, Zhang Chen, Daniel Park, Lv Guoliang, Luo Wenkai, and Du Ruipeng. In Hangzhou, the following persons were also extremely helpful: Zheng Zigen, Shi Jinchuan, Yao Xianguo, Xu Zhixiang, Huang Zuhui, Zhang Renshou, Zheng Yongjun, Lv Zhenhua, Qian Yanmin, Su Zhonggen, Zhu Renhua, Zhou Yan, and Mao Huiqing. Others in China I want to thank especially are: Sun Yi, Shen Minggao, Cong Yong, Wang Yixin, Ma Jinlong, and Zhao Haoxing. In addition, I also want to express my gratefulness to all those who agreed to be interviewed and took their valuable time to discuss with me the particulars of Chinese development. Several organizations helped me with the funding of my work. Among these are: the Institute of International Education (Fulbright), the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, v a China Cultural Scholarship (Ministry of Education, People’s Republic of China), as well as funding from Cornell University’s Center for the Study of Economy and Society, its Einaudi Center, and its East Asian Studies Program. I want to thank them for the assistance they offered. I would also like to acknowledge the support of various others who helped me as well. In addition to my committee members, a number of persons read over portions of the paper and offered their helpful comments. In particular, I‘d like to thank Richard Quinney, Burt Adams, Tim Bartley, Paul Lee, Yang Cao, Shin-kap Han, Mike Lounsbury, Gloria Morse, John Morse, Ray Aldag, and David Ahlstrom. Also of invaluable support were various friends and family members, including Dave and Becky Brynelson, Brian Feeny, Laura Brynelson, Jim Larson, the Morse Family, Alexei Waters, LaVerda Pence, Walter and Mary York, Charles and Doris Roan, and Wilson Tao. Also thanks to Sue Meyer and Danielle Adams for their administrative help. Most of all I’d like to acknowledge the help and love of my parents (on both sides), my wife, Jessica, and my daughter, Reiyah. Without them, finishing this work would have been impossible, and I thank them with all my heart. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Biographical Sketch…………………………………………………………......Page iii Dedication…………………………………………………….…………………Page iv Acknowledgements…………………………………………………...…...…..Page v-vi List of Tables……………………………………………………….......………..Page ix Chronology of China’s Dynasties………………………………………......…...Page x List of Chinese Phrases……...……………………………………………..Pages xi-xiv Introduction………………………………………………………………………Page 1 Chapter One…………………………………………………………………….Page 37 Catalyzing Markets in China: The Roles of Path Dependence, Institutional Diversity, and Institutional Entrepreneurship in Fostering Contemporary Market Forms Chapter Two……………………………………………………………………Page 67 Meaning and the Institutionalization of Transition: An Application of Discourse Analysis to Two Processes of Organizational Development in China vii Chapter Three………………………………………………………………….Page 131 Extending Linkages Between Organizational Analysis and Social Structure: A Case Study of the Celebrity Construction of a Chinese Marketplace Chapter Four…………………………………………………………………...Page 188 The Role of Institutional Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Stimulating Normative Change: A Case of Public Organizational Innovation in China Chapter Five………………………………………………………..………….Page 232 The Emergence of Privately Defined Corporate Codes of Practice in China: An Empirical Study into the Processes of Workplace Standard Institutionalization Conclusion…………………………………………………...………………...Page 252 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: List of Articles Used in Theorizations…………………….…Pages 86-91 Table 2.2: Sunan and Wenzhou Local Institutional Logics……..…..…Pages 99-100 Table 2.3: Higher-Order Institutional Logics: 1978-2005……………Pages 113-116 Table 3.1: Results of Three Clothing Marketplace Interviews……..…Pages 149-156 ix A CHRONOLOGY OF CHINA’S DYNASTIES* Name of Dynasty Years of Existence Xia 1994-1523 B.C. or 2205-1766 B.C. Shang 1523-1027 or 1766-1122 Zhou 1027 or 1122-256 Qin 221-206 or 209 Han 206 B.C.-220 A.D. Three Kingdoms 220-280 A.D. Jin 265-420 Northern and Southern 420-589 Sui 581-618 or 589-618 Tang 618-907 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 907-960 or 979 Song 960-1279 Liao 907-1124 or 947-1125 Jin 1115 or 1126-1234 Yuan 1260 or 1271-1368 Ming 1368-1644 Qing 1644-1911 Republic of China 1911-1949 People’s Republic of China 1949-Present * As perhaps is already evident, for many of the dates there is significant debate. One reason for this is because many of the transitions were not instantaneous, but rather occurred over an extended period of time. Still, the dates here, while frequently approximate, offer some sense of the various changes taking place. Sources: Meskill, 1973 and Fairbank and Reischauer, 1978. x LIST OF CHINESE PHRASES Transliteration Chinese Character Meaning moshi 模式 model Sunan 苏南 Area of Jiangsu Province Wenzhou 温州 City in Zhejiang Province Zhejiang 浙江 Zhejiang Province hukou 户口 Residence Registration shengchan dadui 生产大队 Brigade gongshe 公社 Commune yi gong bu nong 以工补农 Develop Industry to Help Out Agriculture yi gong jian nong 以工建农 Develop Industry to Build Agriculture jian dao cha 剪刀差 Exploitation of Underdeveloped Areas by Developed Ones ziben zhuyi de 资本主义的黑样板 Dark Template of heiyangban Capitalism fan geming fubi 反革命复辟 Counter-revolutionary Reassertion of Power gua hu 挂户 The use of another company’s standing to xi register one’s own company renmin minzhu 人民主义专政 Populist Dictatorship zhuanzheng makesi liening zhuyi 马克思列宁主义毛泽 Marxism, Leninism, and maozedong sixiang 东思想 the Thought of Mao Zedong nanxun 南巡 “Southern Tour” zhengfu 政府 Government jihua 计划 Planning xingzheng 行政 Administration guanli 管理 Management zhili 治理 Govern fangshou 放手 Let Loose Zhonghua Quanguo 中华全国总工会 All-China Federation Zonggonghui of Trade Union Chen Youde 陈有得 Yiwu Greater Trade Union Chairperson Choucheng Zhen 稠城镇 Choucheng Township Guanxi 关系
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