Youmin Xi

Replying to management challenges

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address several challenges faced by organizational management in the contemporary context, and how managers can better reply to management challenges by integrating oriental and occidental philosophy and wisdom.Design/methodology/approach – The paper first describes the characteristics of the contemporary management context and identifies challenges that managers are likely to encounter. The paper then investigates how oriental and occidental philosophy and wisdom reply to these management challenges, whilst also considering the relative advantages and disadvantages of both traditions. Based on the complementarity of these two traditions, the paper finally proposes a framework that integrates both oriental and occidental wisdom by HeXie Management Theory to better respond to management challenges.Findings – The contemporary organizational environment is characterized by four key salient components: complexity, change, ambiguity, and uncertainty (CCAU). Managers ar...

A Chinese view on rebuilding the integrity of management research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the indigenous He‐Xie management theory (HXMT) through the lens of a holistic perspective from Chinese philosophical wisdom.Design/methodology/approach – The paper revisited the challenges faced by orthodox management theories, proposing management scholars should borrow Eastern philosophical intelligence for problem solving when considering the tradition of Chinese culture on human orientation and its intelligence on tolerating and coping with ambiguity, uncertainty, and complexity. By tracing back the core concept of harmony in Confucianism, the paper identified the mechanisms for achieving harmony by differentiating further the general understanding of harmony and its original meaning in Chinese characters. The theoretical framework of HXMT was introduced then by integrating both evolutionism and constructivism perspectives.Findings – The theoretical explaining power of HXMT is rooted in the time‐honored philosophies of Asia. HXMT got its gene from tr...

Ambidextrous organization in harmony

Purpose – This paper is a follow‐up to the authors first introductive article on the emerging He‐Xie management theory (HXMT), aiming to help readers better understand the concept of He‐Xie as well as the value of HXMT through several selected cases. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the value of HXMT in helping achieve the objectives of an ambidextrous organization in harmony.Design/methodology/approach – The potential value and explaining power of HXMT in helping achieve effective management in organizations is explored through three diversified cases in Chinese contexts. The research is implemented through analyzing the three core constructs of HXMT, i.e. HeXie theme (HT), He principle (HP) and Xie principle (XP) and HeXie coupling (HC), as well as the consistence and alignment of them in the three cases.Findings – In all cases, the authors found the existence of HC throughout various organizational development stages. In various organizational contexts, HT could be observed in guiding manage...

Promoting Management Education in China Through Developing Practice-Based Management Theories: An Interview With Practitioner-Scholar Youmin Xi

For nearly 30 years, Youmin Xi, professor of management at Xi’an Jiaotong University, who serves concurrently as the executive president of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and pro-vice chancellor of the University of Liverpool, has been trying to find a way to best integrate management practices and management research in the East and West based on his multiple roles as a management researcher, educator, and practitioner. Being the first recipient of the PhD degree of management engineering in China, Xi has personally witnessed and lived through the development of China’s management education. In this interview, Xi believes management theories and practice can support one another and collaborate to improve management education in China. He also believes what he has been doing in developing HeXie Management Theory, a practice-based management theory, could offer educators and practitioners in the West some food for thought.

A grounded theory study on leader authority formation process in China

Purpose n n n n nThis study aims to focus on the authority formation process of Chinese enterprise leaders, with the purpose of finding out how an ordinary newly established firm leader develops into a real top leader and achieves the status of legitimacy in a well-known enterprise. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nBased on constructivist grounded theory, this paper investigates the formation mechanism of entrepreneurial authority in China by using the rich data of Liu Chuan-zhi’s leader activities. n n n n nFindings n n n n nIn the “evolution” path of authority formation, leaders continually consolidate and improve their authority through two classes of exceptional management activities: “emergency rescue” and “promotion activities”. The successful realization of exceptional management activities benefits from a leader’s management experience accumulation and relationship maintenance with the government. In the “design” path of authority formation, leaders consolidate and improve their authority by exercising their position of power. Leaders’ legitimacy is reflected by making strategic decision and demonstrating discretion of position power. Additionally, passing on an inspiring leader’s thoughts and ideas to an organization’s members is accomplished through the construction of organization culture, institutionalization and convention. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nFirst, the findings are based on only Liu Chuan-zhi’s case. The authors still need more cases to compare and develop the findings and seek theoretical saturation in a broader sense. Second, the qualitative analysis is based on secondary data and future research could consider the introduction of interviews, video and other types of research data. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nUnder the parallel paths which are “evolution” and “design”, the dynamic leader authority formation model in China is founded.

When does perceived leader regulatory-focused modeling lead to subordinate creativity? The moderating role of job complexity

This study identified job complexity as a moderator that influences the relationship between perceived leader regulatory-focused modeling and followers creativity. Using a sample of 340 employees and their supervisors from five Chinese companies, the authors found that (1) perceived leader role modeling (promotion-focused/prevention-focused) is related to followers creativity and (2) job complexity moderates the relationship between perceived leader regulatory-focused modeling and creativity. The authors discussed implications of these results for research and practice.

Understanding the categories of leader traits in socialization: the case of Haier group’s CEO in China

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this study is to explore the categories of leader traits, their generation and their relationships in leaders’ socialization. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nThe authors take the case study method, which is the most suitable method to answer research questions on why and how to fulfill the study purpose on the basis of the case of Ruimin Zhang. n n n n nFindings n n n n nLeader traits are classified into four categories with respect to socialization, namely, root trait, driving trait, thinking trait and affair trait. The root trait and the driving trait form from the leader’s insight with the impact of key events, mutually promote and consolidate each other, and together derive the thinking trait and the affair trait on the basis of critical events, culture, family, education, etc. The thinking trait is the premise of the affair trait to be expressed in leadership behavior. The root trait and the driving trait together determine a leader’s growth direction and efficiency and can distinguish leaders from non-leaders. The thinking trait and the affair trait together determine the pattern and effectiveness of leadership behavior and can distinguish effective leadership from ineffective leadership. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nThis study transcends prior integral leader trait research by categorizing leader traits from the socialization perspective, makes a clear delineation on the interrelationships among categories of leader traits, analyzes their holistic functions on the leaders, reveals the formation and relationship mechanism of leader traits and identifies the types of leader traits that can work as the standards for distinguishing effective leaders from ineffective leaders or non-leaders. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis study promotes the development of the leader trait theory in the classification, formations, relationships and overall effect of leader traits.

Mastering Chinese business model by conducting indigenous management research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the topic of the Chinese business model and provide a brief introduction to the papers in this special issue. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the importance of studying business model in the Chinese market and summarises the eight papers in this issue. Findings – The papers in this special issue address what the business model is in China, how it influences organizational outcomes, and how to build the business model in the Chinese market. These papers may be germane to both researchers and practitioners concerned with managing business model in China. For scholars, these papers broaden the understanding of business model and extend the theoretical boundaries of the business model from the Western to the Eastern context. For practitioners doing business in China, these papers give implications on how to build business models in China as well as what institutional and technological factors should be considered when designing their business models. Research limitations/implications – Further investigation is needed into the interaction among Chinese firms’ activities on business model design and operation and the institutional, technological, and market environment. Originality/value – Overall, these papers make remarkable contributions to our understanding of Chinese business model. The topics of these studies are various and the methods are also multiplex. Several interesting Chinese business models are addressed such as Bandit business model and “a company þ farmers”.