EPISODE SUMMARY
!! Special Episode with a chance of winning a prize !!
Welcome to China Business Cast Episode 115! It is me – Lina Bartuseviciute – the Lithuanian co-host with you today and I will be talking to a business professor Dr. Peter J. Peverelli on this episode.
What is unique about this particular business professor is that he also runs his own business and has been actively involved for over 40 years in cross-cultural high-level negotiations for M&A and business development outside of their native markets. So we will be trying to see how his research and academic perspective can aid foreigners trying to find their way in China.
Chinese corporate culture and identity are rather popular subjects in business schools globally. It is often researched as a tool for PR activities or marketing, and I was looking for existing theoretical works in this field a few years ago, when my company was developing a service of building ‘China Company Profile’.
Then I stumbled upon two of Peter’s books “Chinese Entrepreneurship” and “Chinese Corporate Identity” and found a true gem. Peter looks at ‘corporate identity’ through a psychological perspective and asks how do the people in a company shape a company’s identity, and how does a company shape the people’s identity. What does it mean for decision-makers when having to make a decision? What are the psychological needs of a business entity in China?
We will be discussing Dr. Peverelli’s books during the episode, and sharing stories of how his theories were created and how they played out in our business practices, hoping to show you how you can apply the theoretical knowledge in your day-to-day cross-cultural business activities.
!! And most importantly – this week our episode is quite special as we are offering you to win a precious prize!!
We are inviting all the listeners to submit a question to Peter before May 1, 2021. Please add Lina on WeChat or on LinkedIn and send in your question. One lucky listener will be chosen, their question will be answered by Peter and they will be awarded a special prize – one of Peter’s books, with a personal hand-written note and an autograph, delivered by post.
- We hope you’ll enjoy - Let’s tune in!
EPISODE NOTES
The first book we will discuss is about Chinese Corporate Identity. Peter looks at Chinese corporate identity as an extension of social identity, i.e. as it is bestowed onto the individual by the social group. We will analyze a case described in a book “Lukang: the construction of a state-owned enterprise”, pg. 42-78, where CEO leader of a State-Owned Enterprise is at the same time responsible for shaping the company’s identity in a context of a city: providing jobs to people, who are enjoying a certain level of prestige, and ensuring business results; but also he is responsible to deliver results on a national scale: because his company generates a substantial amount of foreign currency for China.
It is just one person, but because he assumes the two identities (national-level vs. city-level), he experiences pressure to meet demands of different social groups, which sometimes have conflicting interests. We will discuss why it’s important to think about it when engaging your business partners and how a foreign company should apply this knowledge in business life.
The second book we will discuss is about Chinese Entrepreneurship. His book analyzes 7 cases of entrepreneurs, researching how their social capital shaped their entrepreneurial journey and their stories. We will analyze one case in particular “Real Estate Entrepreneur Wang”, pg. 61-71, where Peter deconstructs the story of success of Ms. Wang’s real estate development in Beijing. Ms. Wang gets the rights to develop a residential estate in Beijing by promising to manage the estate and provide for the needs of the residents. She identifies transportation as one of the key needs, and therefore gives up some land and develops a public bus route; she identifies education as another key need of the residents and therefore opens a set of schools (a kindergarten, a primary and a middle school).
Because she positions herself as a responsible entrepreneur committed to redefine the way the citizens of China’s capital live, she gains support from local governments and gains required approvals. We will discuss the importance of seeing the bigger picture and serving the needs of different stakeholders for the long-term success of your business and how you can apply this to your business operations in China.
Peter’s unique story of a cross-cultural life and a cross-disciplinary career
Identity construction processes based on social inclusions
The concept of “guanxi” and how to build business processes based on visualized social inclusions
Collaborating with semi-governmental organizations to achieve your goals in China
How to educate a client as a business consultant?
An opportunity to win Dr. Peter J. Peverelli’s book
Episode Mentions:
Reach out to Dr. Peverelli via [email protected] or LinkedIn
Cross-cultural Human Rights Centre: https://crossculturalhumanrightscentre.com
Peter’s blog on Chinese Food and Culture https://chinafoodingredients.com
Peter Peverelli, Song, Jiwen. “Chinese Entrepreneurship: A Social Capital Approach”, 2012. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783642282058
Peter Peverelli “Chinese Corporate Identity”, 2006. https://www.routledge.com/Chinese-Corporate-Identity/Peverelli/p/book/9780415546768
Find your host Lina on LinkedIN or on WeChat: Lina-LITAO
Find your host Simon on LinkedIN or on WeChat: sraadt
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