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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2015

Yongji Xue and Xinyu Liu

The purposes of this paper are to explore how the cluster entrepreneurship of peasant households in the Chinese forest zone develops, and to analyze how the influence of kinship…

Abstract

Purpose

The purposes of this paper are to explore how the cluster entrepreneurship of peasant households in the Chinese forest zone develops, and to analyze how the influence of kinship and geopolitical relations can effectively construct a mechanism for the growth of cluster entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study method was chosen to analyze the growth process of this cluster entrepreneurship (e.g. raising chickens in Zhenghe, planting tea in Anxi and cultivating fruit in Taizhou).

Findings

The authors found that the trust, learning and driving mechanisms of cluster entrepreneurship were influenced by kinship and geopolitical relationships, and were included in the building of the growth mechanism of such cluster entrepreneurship, as has emerged. Further, in the building of this evolution mechanism, three paths of growth were found: financial support, the introduction of technology and the introduction of management.

Originality/value

This paper enriches the understanding of how cluster entrepreneurship develops in the socioeconomic environment of the Chinese forest zone, with particular reference to kinship and geopolitical relations, and how these contribute to the growth mechanism of cluster entrepreneurship, which is important for the management of entrepreneurial activities in that habitat.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Michael Goldman

Most of the literature on the World Bank struggles to understand precisely how effective are the Bank’s projects and policies, emphasizing at the same time as reaffirming certain…

1801

Abstract

Most of the literature on the World Bank struggles to understand precisely how effective are the Bank’s projects and policies, emphasizing at the same time as reaffirming certain universal parameters with which to measure the good and the bad. This article, by contrast, argues for a different way of seeing the World Bank, that is, for scholarship that interrogates the political rationalities which underlie these distinctions and categories and which make these parameters and measures viable, necessary, and enduring. Indeed, most writings – including the innumerable self‐evaluations carried out by the Bank – simultaneously note the enormity of the Bank’s past misdeeds as well as its unique position as the only global institution up to the monumental task of translating global truths into global plans of action. Because of its unique role as the global development expert, the Bank is always two steps ahead of the pack, always re‐assessing and re‐tooling for improvement in ways that most national and international institutions cannot. Who else can respond so quickly to catastrophes around the globe – appearing one month in Thailand, the next in Argentina, and, in a bomb’s flash, in Afghanistan and Iraq? In a world in which global crises routinely erupt and “require” global experts of development to resolve them, the Bank and its affiliates in the World Bank Group have no rivals. But, rather than ask why the Bank’s responses are ultimately insufficient or flawed, we must first ask how problems get defined in terms of global crises and their solutions in terms of global development institutions in the first place? How did these ideas and institutions become so influential? What power dynamics do they embody?

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 25 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 12 no. 4/5/6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2022

Alistair Mutch

It has been argued that scholars in management and organization studies (MOS) need to take the peasantry into account in their work. This study aims to address the complexity…

Abstract

Purpose

It has been argued that scholars in management and organization studies (MOS) need to take the peasantry into account in their work. This study aims to address the complexity revealed by these arguments, suggesting that one needs clearer definitions and an appreciation of the complexities of historical development if one is to gain appreciation of the impaction of agriculture more generally on MOS.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses historical material to develop a conceptual argument that challenges the homogenous nature of the peasantry. It uses a detailed contrast between two peasant groups in 19th and early 20th century Scotland to suggest divergent patterns of development.

Findings

Paying closer attention to definitions and historical development indicates that, as well as the survival of so-called archaic practices alongside highly developed agriculture, the main impact of agriculture on MOS might be the legitimacy it accords, as a cultural resource, to particular forms of organizing. While the issues outlined by previous authors are significant, they need to be discussed with more care to avoid a scattergun approach to analysis.

Originality/value

This study points to the neglect of agriculture more broadly and not just the peasantry, in MOS. It suggests the need to look at not only the economic impact but also the cultural resonance of agriculture in ideas about legitimate forms of organization. It also demonstrates the value and necessity of paying close attention to history in the analyses.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2009

Biliang Luo and Bo Fu

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the institutional evolution of China's farmland property rights deformity with its internal logic, analyze its property rights deformity…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the institutional evolution of China's farmland property rights deformity with its internal logic, analyze its property rights deformity and the invasions of these rights under the family operation background, and puts forward fundamental suggestions for reforming farmland property rights in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The concept of “public domain” raised by Barzel in 1989 is used and extended to analyze China's farmland system.

Findings

There exist five sorts of public domain and two apparent characteristics of property rights deformity: the unclear final controlling rights for some valuable attributes of goods of the “public domain”; and the “public domain” deliberately created by the government. The public domain caused by technical factors and owner's real capability are herein excluded.

Originality/value

China's past and present farmland system is a result of the government's compulsory system arrangements instead of market evolution. The expansion of public domains III and V has directly shrunk peasants' residual property rights. The concept of “public domain” is developed to reveal the essence of China's farmland property rights deformity.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1985

John M. Gowdy

Neo‐classical utility theory has withstood several decades of sustained criticism. Its success has been due (1) to the ability of the theory to represent an essentially…

Abstract

Neo‐classical utility theory has withstood several decades of sustained criticism. Its success has been due (1) to the ability of the theory to represent an essentially non‐analytical process by analytical methods, and (2) to the fact that the theory was developed for, and applied to, advanced market economies where the simplifying assumptions are most appropriate. It is argued below that the neo‐classical formulation is inappropriate in societies where agrarian traditions predominate and that, consequently, economic policies based on such an approach have frequently been misdirected.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 12 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2012

Shairul Mashreque

This paper is about the dynamics of rural development in Bangladesh. The purpose of this paper is to epitomize the scenario of manipulative design in the presence of three…

769

Abstract

Purpose

This paper is about the dynamics of rural development in Bangladesh. The purpose of this paper is to epitomize the scenario of manipulative design in the presence of three influential policy actors, such as bureaucracy, political leadership and tycoons.

Design/methodology/approach

Political economy approach has been followed, by and large, to epitomize the dimension of exploitation and manipulation at the micro level. Secondary data were used for the purpose. Also, the author used his understanding of the dynamics of rural development.

Findings

Under the circumstances, it seems difficult for the incumbents on the supply side to break the “political vicious circle” protecting the rights of the peasants through projected safety nets against the domineering political and economic forces. When such forces coalesce to render distribution process all but skewed, the market as a socially construed mechanism functions to drain the surplus from the rural to the metropolitan areas. A similar situation exists in India, where sweeping changes of the social action by action from above were squandered, despite repeated ideological assertions of the policy makers for developing a socialistic pattern of economy. This is due largely to the lack of explicit political commitment and the domination of the propertied class over political leadership. Elitist orientation of bureaucracy, with its close linkage with the local elite, is responsible for making things worse. On the one hand, the hidden subsidies on food and other inputs are phased out in rural Bangladesh. On the other hand, a major percentage of aid funds earmarked for poverty alleviation is absorbed in paying high salaries to project consultants – both local and foreign – and defraying the cost of contracting the project/sub‐projects through underhand deals with bureaucratic incumbents. Only a small percentage is spent on the target beneficiaries.

Originality/value

The research is original, intended to address the issues that have not been addressed before. The author has tried to fill the gap in the state of knowledge about rural socio‐political formation, with emphasis on what is wrong with malfeasance in governance, which accounts for much triangular manipulation and corruption.

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2018

Zhenghe Zhang and Yawen Lu

In the 69 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially the 40 years since the reform and opening-up, the relationship between urban and rural areas has…

1106

Abstract

Purpose

In the 69 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially the 40 years since the reform and opening-up, the relationship between urban and rural areas has undergone profound change. When the deepening reform of the urban-rural relationship is entering a critical period, it is necessary to reassess the evolution of the urban-rural relationship in China and draw a picture for that relationship in the future. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper combs the policies on the urban and rural development since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and analyzes macro data on the industries, population, personal income, and other aspects.

Findings

The study found that this urbanism affects individuals’ lives and the choices of society through the will of the state, and then provides feedback at the whole level of social values.

Originality/value

This paper divides the evolution of China’s urban-rural relationship into two major stages – nurturing cities with rural areas and leading rural areas with cities, which are then subdivided into five periods. The features of the relationship between the urban and rural areas in different periods are analyzed, and the future development of urban-rural relations is also considered.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2022

Shouying Liu and Baojin Wang

The decline in the share of agriculture in both output and employment is a central feature of structural transformation. The authors present the distinct features between…

Abstract

Purpose

The decline in the share of agriculture in both output and employment is a central feature of structural transformation. The authors present the distinct features between developed and developing countries in the process of agricultural share decline and dig into the real changes that occurred in the agricultural sector during the rapid decline in the agricultural share.

Design/methodology/approach

Taking the declining share of agriculture as a clue, the authors depict heterogeneous characteristics in the declining share of agriculture in developed and developing countries. Secondly, by criticizing the factor substitution hypothesis, the authors argue that the essence of agricultural transformation is the process of agricultural industrialization characterized by the combination, reconstruction, and continual changes of agricultural production factors. Finally, based on the theory of agricultural industrialization, this paper analyzes the combination of factors in different stages of declining agricultural share in typical economies.

Findings

In this paper, the authors find that the rapid decline in agricultural employment share is accompanied by an increase in the returns to agricultural production in developed economies. In contrast, the decline in agricultural employment share in developing economies lags, and agricultural production efficiency is way much poorer than that of developed economies. Taking the United States and Japan as examples, the authors find that the agricultural sector underwent agricultural industrialization, featured by reconstruction and upgrades of production factors combination.

Originality/value

The authors systematically reveal why huge changes occurred in the agricultural sector in developed economies during structural transformation, and also provide further thoughts and lessons for developing countries to accomplish agricultural modernization.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 March 2012

Tian Li and Veronica Gustafsson

Taking entrepreneurial opportunity identification activity as a starting point, the purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the differences within the social background…

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Abstract

Purpose

Taking entrepreneurial opportunity identification activity as a starting point, the purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the differences within the social background of the Chinese nascent entrepreneurs and to illuminate differences in the success of their economic activities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study will analyze the impact of the nascent entrepreneurs' social class identity and prior experience affiliation on entrepreneurial opportunity identification and the moderation effect of opportunity identification modes. The empirical study was conducted with the data from the “Chinese Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (CPSED)” project, especially targeting new technology venture samples.

Findings

The findings indicate that the social class identity and prior experience affiliation of nascent entrepreneurs (pre‐determined factors) have a significant impact on the innovativeness of their entrepreneurial identification. Because they determine opportunity identification results, these pre‐determined factors play a much more important role than the mode of the opportunity identification.

Originality/value

The findings provide a theoretical contribution to the transitional study with the unique data of the CPSED project. This study could be taken as the comparison for transnational cooperation and provides suggestions to government and entrepreneurship supporting agencies.

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