Leadership, Kinship Relations and Organizational Configuration: A Comparative Study of Three Family Businesses in China

CHI, Zhijian (2010) Leadership, Kinship Relations and Organizational Configuration: A Comparative Study of Three Family Businesses in China. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Abstract

An increasing volume of study has addressed the importance of leadership when doing business in China. However, few researchers have associated leadership with kinship relations in Chinese family businesses. This paper, assuming that there is a close relationship between leadership composition and organizational configuration, explores how kinship relations of family businesses influence leadership behaviour and leadership effectiveness in China, and further organizational structure and culture, major components of organizational configuration.

The method of case study is used to conduct this study. The findings of the three case studies are based on a qualitative research, in which 12 semi-structured interviews were carried out in three Chinese family businesses with different leadership composition. The study revealed that different kinship relations constituting the leadership of family businesses do exert some influence on organizational configuration, which can be reflected in the similarities and discrepancies on the structuring of activities and founder centrality, and distinct emphasis on ethical virtues originated from the Confucian ideology. It is hoped that an in-depth study, further a thorough understanding of the effect of leadership composition on organizational configuration, for the good, the bad or neither, might be conducive to the survival, continuity, and improvement of Chinese family businesses.

Item Type: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Depositing User: EP, Services
Date Deposited: 08 Jun 2021 09:54
Last Modified: 21 Mar 2022 16:07
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/23858

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