Stakeholder Orientation and Organizational Performance in an Emerging Market

Journal of General Management, Forthcoming.

34 Pages Posted: 15 Jan 2010 Last revised: 23 Oct 2014

See all articles by Xinming He

Xinming He

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Xiaoxiang Zhang

University of Newcastle (Australia) - Newcastle Business School

Xiaoqing Li

University of Newcastle (Australia) - Newcastle Business School

Jenifer Piesse

University of Stellbosch; King's College London - Department of Management

Date Written: January 14, 2010

Abstract

There has been research that studies Chinese firms’ stakeholder orientation but fails to identify Chinese firms’ specific stakeholder groups. In addition, little research in this line has been conducted so far to reflect recent Chinese constitutional transition. This study seeks to fill these gaps. It extends previous studies assuming that a fixed set of stakeholders is suitable for firms in different countries context, and identifies Chinese firms’ key stakeholder groups by adopting the descriptive approach of stakeholder theory. Based on this identification, the authors further examine how these stakeholder orientations influence organizational performance and how they interact. Interviews with managers from 107 firms show that customer, employee, shareholder, supplier, and competitors are perceived as Chinese firms’ most important stakeholders; empirical studies using data collected from 307 Chinese firms reveal that orientations towards these stakeholders enhance organizational performance. Moreover, there are synergy effects existing among customer orientation, supplier orientation, and competitor orientation, and between customer orientation and competitor orientation, while shareholder orientation has significant hindering effects upon competitor orientation as a reflection of recent institutional changes taking place in China.

Keywords: Stakeholder theory, Institution-based view, market orientation, performance, China

Suggested Citation

He, Xinming and Zhang, Xiaoxiang and Li, Xiaoqing and Piesse, Jenifer, Stakeholder Orientation and Organizational Performance in an Emerging Market (January 14, 2010). Journal of General Management, Forthcoming., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1536504

Xinming He (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Xiaoxiang Zhang

University of Newcastle (Australia) - Newcastle Business School ( email )

City Campus East – 231
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne NE1 8ST, NE1 8ST
United Kingdom

Xiaoqing Li

University of Newcastle (Australia) - Newcastle Business School ( email )

City Campus East – 231
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne NE1 8ST, NE1 8ST
United Kingdom

Jenifer Piesse

University of Stellbosch

Stellenbosch, Western Cape
South Africa

King's College London - Department of Management ( email )

Virginia Woolf Building
22 Kingsway
London, England WC2B 6NR
United Kingdom

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