Lost in Transition: The Reality of Reform in a Local SOE in Modernising China

Abstract

China's SOE restructuring has always been an important challenge in the country's economic reform. However, despite a growing literature dealing with the macro perspective of China's SOE reform and the large national champions in the country, there have been few attempts to focus on the smaller local SOEs and their employees who also endured all these massive economic and social changes. This study, based on interviewing employees of a once successful small SOE in Suzhou China about their dramatic work-life changes provides another angle to examine China's SOE reform. It also presents the impacts of the reform measures on a company and, more importantly, on its employees, by allowing the employees to make their own interpretation on the SOE reform and the changes. By doing so, it brings recognition to the employees of China's local SOEs who seemed to be ignored in past studies and connects the macroeconomic policies and reform measures in China's transitional period to a more concrete discussion of the actual individuals involved.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2011
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Leo Mccann (Supervisor) & John Hassard (Supervisor)