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Roles of leadership in coping with uncertainty are explored in this paper. Through an in‐depth, empirically (CEOs of top, ASEAN publicly listed corporations) grounded discussion, the authors argued for the presence of a deep cultural divide between Eastern and Western leaders on coping with uncertainty. In the process, the authors devise a two dimensional, organic versus forecastability model of strategy behavior for polarizing East‐West leadership styles. Aspects of the Sun Tzu’s Art of War and 5,000 years old, I Ching are discussed with respect to foreknowledge and foresight respectively.

The purpose of this paper in the editorial review of manuscripts to highlight the emergent aspects of original thinking that provide new perspectives on issues central to management.

A synoptic perspective of a very broad range of topics covered in research by scholars is provided: education, corporate value, quality, corporate social responsibility, risk behavior, managing reputation, expatriation, growth and creativity. In this particular review, the editor emphasizes those facets of the paper that shed original, new light on management. Also, the areas where research provides a theoretical basis for consulting or managerial practice are highlighted to illustrate how research can be of practical relevance.

Some of the insights gained clearly indicate the importance of research. For example, tighter or more rigorous governmental regulations on food quality are unlikely to contribute to the enhancement of firms’ capability in improving food quality. The government needs to do much more than only regulate. Then, there is empirical reaffirmation that guan-xi with government matters: better the relationships, the higher corporate value but only if the firm is in private hands, not for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Then, the Chinese local firms’ nexus with foreign, and international corporations influences their corporate social performance. Even more fascinating, a bank’s risk behavior is dependent on the structural composition of the board of directors. Indeed, research shows that a gender mix in fact lowers the propensity toward taking a high risk. Then, through reflecting upon their deep researches, the authors derive a theoretic framework for coping with reputation loss following a financial restatement. Here, authors showed SOEs to suffer much more in the event of restatement than the privately owned enterprises. Then, in a piece of innovative research of expatriation, authors relate a spectrum of the Chinese cultural values to performance. In a cross-country (civilization) study, the research motivation is: Whether SMEs in China, India and Pakistan are confronting the same environmental challenges? As expected, the answer would be yes in some aspects and no in others. This a significant finding, as the Chinese are raised on a milieu of suppressing one’s emotions: emotional expressiveness can contribute to creativity!

In this paper, the editor highlights some aspects on the original thinking of the authors within this issue of Chinese Management Studies. Also, the editor highlights on how research contained herein is contributing to managerial (consulting) practice.

This paper aims to investigate the economic consequence of the tax reductive strategy on stock price. The authors’ theory, empirically reinforced, suggests managerial tax aggressiveness endangers the corporation through a heightened risk in stock price crashing. Information opacity worsens the situation by reinforcing the relationship. Policymakers should emphasize two aspects: market openness and tighter institutional monitoring. The evidence shown in this paper demonstrates that these two weaken the tax aggressiveness impact on risk of a crashing stock price.

The sample in this paper consists of 9,702 observations from listed firms from 2008 to 2013 in China. The tax rate is manually collected and all the other original data used in this study are sourced from Wind and China Capital Market and Accounting Research databases. Both logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression methods are used to test the hypothesis in this paper.

One key insight is in tax aggressiveness to be strongly correlated with a greater risk of future stock price crashing. The authors also found information opacity to exert a positive moderating effect. That is, the higher the information opacity, the stronger and more positive the correlation between tax aggression and stock price crash risk. However, the market process and an institutional investor have opposite, negative impacts. An open market environment reduces their correlativeness. Similarly, stronger institutional vigilance leads to an attenuation of such a co-relationship.

The findings of this paper have wide policy implications for management and control by authorities of listed corporations. Aggressiveness in management of corporate taxes accentuates the risks borne by stockholders. If so, internally within the corporation, such aggression shown by management, if not proscribed, could be subject to scrutiny, possibly by an independent committee. Externally, this may be countered by the authority in emphasizing three key factors: openness in information sharing, the market environment and tighter institutional monitoring.

This study provides a consequential theory of aggressive management of tax, rigorously analyzed and strongly, empirically supported. Overall, aggressiveness in tax management is related with assumption of higher risks in the crashing of stock price. The relationship is enhanced through information opacity, but reduced via market environment and institutional monitoring.

This paper aims to make a call for the establishment of a new research journal: a likely title for which would be Chinese Public Management. The background to this is clearly set out here for posterity’s sake. The review of selected papers unveils an emerging trend amongst Chinese researchers for undertaking deeper, cluster-based analyses. See, for example, the insights presented in this issue concerning competitiveness in China’s automobile industry.

A diary-like account has been made of the series of recent events that sparked the author’s interest in creating a journal to be known as Chinese Public Management. Why is there currently this focus on empirical research for public policy? From the author’s five years’ work for a serial visiting professorship across China, he has found that there are now well-established, substantial databases dedicated to the subject. Even more importantly – as this paper illustrates – a growing community of scholars has become keen to embark upon an in-depth, quantitative research. Perhaps, for the new journal, we would need an editor concentrating specifically on databases. Furthermore, undertaking scholarly work that is still of practical relevance for guiding authorities in their formulations of public policy will add a whole new dimension to the available research.

There is scope for a new endeavor that documents management research within the public sector in China. This may be seen as a sister journal for “Chinese Management Studies” that focuses on the other, much larger Chinese sector, that is, governmental organizations.

This paper documents the emergence of the necessity for a new journal about management in China.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief yet insightful survey of papers in the first issue of Chinese Management Studies. In the process, the founding Editor focuses on the key concepts and how scholars may further extend and build on the research undertaken.

The Editor provides a snapshot of the research undertaken in the papers selected for this issue. Instead of simply summarizing the work undertaken, the Editor, where it is highly appropriate, incorporates aspects of underlying Chinese culture. For instance, how the Confucian concept of the doctrine of mean – very broad as it is in scope – is supported in research reported here. Also, in contradiction to what authors may have argued on meaningfulness of work per se, to highlight an old Chinese adage: for example, 工字不出头 (gong-zhi-bu-chu-tuo). A literal translation into English will fail to render the true intent of the phrase. What it means is that the Chinese character for “work” implies a much deeper meaning: The horizontal line on top of the vertical limits the potential of future growth. Other concepts are visualized for ease of readers grasping the key concepts.

The series of papers here highlight the significance of research into managerial behaviors (negatively, tax aggression and abuse of power for self-enrichment), meaningfulness of work, reading of timeless Chinese novels, innovation (ZTE) and the knowledge organization, changing and transforming China and of Russian-Chinese (Taiwan) strategic alliances. The insights gained through these intensive research efforts ought to be shared with scholars globally.

The research in this issue has wide practical relevance as in highlighting the critical importance of a range of topics: Jiang Hu organizing theory, managerial behaviors, innovation and knowledge, Russo-Chinese strategic alliances, fit in strategic management and China-in-transition. This paper ties these together for the reader.

Through a review of these papers, the Editor provides insights for scholars on the possibilities for extending the frontiers of research on Chinese management. Where relevant the Editor highlights additionally, perspectives from deeply rooted Chinese beliefs, values and philosophy.