Since the publication of earlier editions of this book, China's political and economic landscapes have changed dramatically, with the rise of new leadership, evolving alliances, tariff wars, educational policies and technological advancements. Focusing on Chinese-American ventures, this expanded and revised edition chronicles the investments that have marked China's astonishing growth in the 21st century. Adding another dimension to the exploration of Chinese-American commerce, this edition discusses China's roots in Confucian identity and its effect on modern business culture. Case studies of American businesses that have been successful in China are included. Reflecting upon the changing nature of Chinese consumerism and international corporate behavior, the authors close with specific suggestions for those interested in doing business in China.
If Amazon can't win in China, can anyone? When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos visited China in 2007, he expected that one day soon China would be a double-digit percentage of Amazon's sales. Yet, by 2019, Amazon, the most powerful and successful ecommerce company in the world, had quit China. In Winning in China: 8 Stories of Success and Failure in the World's Largest Economy, Wharton experts Lele Sang and Karl Ulrich explore the success and failure of several well-known companies, including Hyundai, LinkedIn, Sequoia Capital, and InMobi, as more and more businesses look to reap profits from the demand of 1.4 billion people. Sang, Global Fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Ulrich, Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Wharton School, answer four critical questions: Which factors explain the success (or failure) of foreign companies entering China?What challenges and pitfalls can a company entering China expect to encounter? How can a prospective entrant realistically assess its chances? Which managerial decisions are critical, and which approaches are most effective? Sang and Ulrich answer these questions by examining the stories of eight well-known and respected companies that have entered China. They study: How Norwegian Cruise Line's entry into China displays how cultural differences can boost or sink different companies; How Intel, one of the oldest, most respected firms in Silicon Valley, thrived in a country that seems to favor agile upstarts; How Zegna, the Italian luxury brand, has emerged as another surprising success story and how it plans to navigate new headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic.Through these engaging and illuminating stories, Sang and Ulrich offer a framework and path for organizations looking for a way to successfully enter the world's largest economy. History can be a teacher, and China, a country with 3,500 years of written history, has much to teach.
As more and more American businesses have set up operations in China, American business owners have had to concern themselves with respecting how Chinese values and beliefs and how China's changing economic and political climates relate to the business world. American businesses that have been successful in China, such as General Electric, Children's Television Workshop, Holiday Inn, DaimlerChrysler and the Foxboro Company, to name just a few, know how important a consideration for Chinese culture is in business operations. Their efforts in China are profiled in this work to serve as case studies for others interested in doing business in China. This book also examines the Chinese worldview, a fusion of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and communism, and the effects of globalization on business ventures. It also considers the changing nature of Chinese consumerism, highlighting significant differences between urban and rural populations and a distinctive generational divide. It ends by offering some general conclusions as well as suggestions for those interested in doing business in China.
"An entertaining, fact-filled journey through the past two decades of Chinese and American business interaction.... Stross's chapters on the adoption of modern management practices in China shine for their detailed analysis and ... their extremely thorough use of primary Chinese-language newspaper and magazine documentation.... [His] two chapters on Americans and their expatriate lives in China are also well written and complete." --China Review International, Spring 1994
This work is about strategies American companies should use when doing business with China. It demonstrates the benefits of co-operation, such as the path breaking 2005 deal between IBM's consumer computer division and China's Legend, resulting in the creation of China's Lenovo Computer Company. The authors review other examples of U.S.-Chinese joint ventures and present new strategies for how American and Chinese firms can work together in areas and ways that are presently untapped. Chinese companies are moving into position now to quickly emerge as giant multinationals that displace or acquire Fortune 1000 companies sooner than many anticipate. That is why this is such an important and compelling work that will become a "must read" for corporate executives concerned about their existing and future business in China. A western company without a carefully laid out "China Strategy" will find it increasingly difficult to remain profitable in other markets. And the "China Strategies" of most American companies have not been as successful as "Chinas Strategy" of dealing with its competitors. So, how can a foreign company profit from Chinas emerging global economic dominance? Western companies and governments that focus on strategies that fulfil the needs of China and Chinese trading partners, will have advantages over their competitors who do not. This controversial book reveals the key fallacies American political and business leaders face in the relationship between American and Chinese styles of capitalism and government. Collaborating profitably with emerging, giant, global Chinese corporations may be a more rewarding strategy than ignoring them or trying to compete with them.
The conventional wisdom that only large corporations can do business in China is a thing of the past. Small- and medium-sized businesses today enjoy the same opportunities in China once granted only to large, multinational conglomerates. In Selling to China, author Stanley Chao helps all businesses learn effective ways to deal with Chinese businesspeople and private and state-owned companies; analyze whether certain products or services are viable for the Chinese market; understand the psyche of the Mao Generation Chinese who are now Chinas business owners, executives, and government leaders; and develop low-cost, market-entry strategies Filled with clear, tangible steps and applicable personal anecdotes, Selling to China bridges the gap between Western and Chinese cultures, languages, and histories to help businesses enter the Chinese marketplace.
This volume explores commercial relations between the United States and China from the eighteenth century until 1949, fleshing out with facts the romantic and shadowy image of "the China trade." These nine chapters by specialists in the field have developed from papers they presented at a conference supported by the national Committee on American-East Asian Relations. The work begins with an Introduction by John K. Fairbank, then moves on to analysis of the old China trade up to the American Civil War, centering on traditional Chinese exports of tea and silk. A second section deals with American imports into China--cotton textiles and textile-related goods, cigarettes, kerosene. Finally, the impact of the trade on both countries is assessed and the operations of American-owned and multinational companies in China are examined. For both the United States and China, the economic importance of the trade proves to have been less than the legend might suggest.
An insider’s guide to doing business in the fastest growing market in the world—China! Did you know? —Americans have bought $185 billion worth of Chinese goods. —China’s economy is growing at an astounding rate of 9 percent a year. —The trade gap between the U.S. and China has been growing by more than 25 percent per year. Whether you work for a company doing business in China, or are an entrepreneur looking to export your goods and services, An American’s Guide to Doing Business in China teaches you the practicalities and the pitfalls of dealing with this complex market. While there are undeniable opportunities in the Chinese market, there is also a great deal of hype—and very real political and cultural differences that make doing business in China extremely challenging. Written by an industry expert with more than two decades of experience, An American’s Guide to Doing Business in China is an authoritative and accessible guide covering all aspects of doing business in China, including: • Finding manufacturing partners • Negotiating contracts and agreements • Choosing a location and hiring employees This practical work also teaches you how to navigate Chinese culture and customs, market and advertise to Chinese consumers, and find the hottest opportunities. An American’s Guide to Doing Business in China is what you need to succeed in the world’s biggest market.
When China opened its doors to the West in the late 1970s, Western businesses jumped at the chance to sell their products to the most populous nation in the world. Boardrooms everywhere buzzed with excitement?a Coke for every citizen, a television for every family, a personal computer for every office. At no other time have the institutions of Western capitalism tried to do business with a communist state to the extent that they did in China under Deng Xiaoping. Yet, over the decade leading up to the bloody events in and around Tiananmen Square, that experiment produced growing disappointment on both sides, and a vision of capturing the world's largest market faded.Picked as one of Fortune Magazine's "75 Smartest Books We Know," this updated version of Beijing Jeep, traces the history of the stormy romance between American business and Chinese communism through the experiences of American Motors and its operation in China, Beijing Jeep, a closely watched joint venture often visited by American politicians and Chinese leaders. Jim Mann explains how some of the world's savviest executives completely misjudged the business climate and recounts how the Chinese, who acquired valuable new technology at virtually no expense to themselves, ultimately outcapitalized the capitalists. And, in a new epilogue, Mann revisits and updates the events which constituted the main issues of the first edition.Elegantly written, brilliantly reported, Beijing Jeep is a cautionary tale about the West's age-old quest to do business in the Middle Kingdom.
