Transnational or Social Capital?: Returned Scholars as Private Entrepreneurs

Abstract

What is the impact of internationalization on the development of the private sector in China? China's planned entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) built enormous pressure in China to expand the private sector (Lardy 2002), particularly in areas such as the privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private foreign trade companies. Similarly, many new private firms are run by mainland entrepreneurs who returned from studying and/or working overseas (Ben 2002, Wei 2002), a phenomenon that combines privatization and internationalization. Returned entrepreneurs bring back global networks, knowledge of overseas markets, foreign technologies, and international management experience. Their strategic perspectives may reflect overseas business attitudes more than domestic views about management. They can, therefore, have advantages over people who have not gone overseas.