The Future of Chinese Management Research: A Theory of Chinese Management versus A Chinese Theory of Management

Two approaches to the evolution of Chinese scholarship are possible. The first – developing a theory of Chinese management – focuses on applying and refining theories developed elsewhere in a Chinese context. In this sense, the emergence of the Chinese economy represents an important natural experiment for the test and refinement of general management theories. The second – developing a Chinese theory of management – focuses on creating explanations for the existence of Chinese management phenomena that are uniquely Chinese. This approach rejects a research agenda created by Western scholars in favour of a research agenda created by Chinese scholars in order to understand Chinese phenomena. The implications of choosing either of these approaches for the future of Chinese management research and possible relationships between them are discussed.