The long march of Chinese co-operatives: towards market economy, participation and sustainable development

Andrea Bernardi, Mattia Miani

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This work presents a history of the co-operative firm in China from its origins in the early twenth century. The aim is to describe how in its evolution, the Chinese Co-operative Movement has diverged from the western notion of a co-operative. To understand the similarities and the divergence, we will consider a number of economic and cultural factors, including the etymology of the Chinese and English words for ‘co-operative’, the Confucian culture and the influence of the political contingencies. We argue that contemporary Chinese economic transition would benefit from the presence of a strong, western style, co-operative sector but that the contribution of the co-operative sector towards sustainability cannot take place unless a civil society develops as well.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)330-355
Number of pages26
JournalAsia Pacific Business Review
Volume20
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2014

Keywords

  • China
  • Confucianism
  • civil society
  • co-operative
  • human development
  • sustainability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Business and International Management

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