As a prelude to the empirical study of relationship between socially responsible restructuring and firm’s performance, this chapter presents the macro-economic background and policies, in particular, its impact on economic reform and enterprise restructuring. The important turning points of economic reform and policymaking since 1978 are reviewed to give us with assessment of environment in which enterprises are restructuring and developing, and to identify the progress and constraints in enterprise restructuring and privatization in China. This chapter also analyzes China’s enterprise reform process and its impact on corporate governance and social welfare.
The enterprise reforms in China have three main components; the first component comprises SOE privatization and restructuring to alleviate the problems that are impairing enterprises’ ability to compete. A second component is to improve enterprise behavior by establishing effective corporate governance mechanisms and strengthening financial discipline. A third one is provision of supporting institutions and infrastructure needed for a market based enterprise economy. Key in this regard is the development of social benefit programs to deal with the economy adjustments entailed by reforms, allow enterprises to focus on their commercial objectives, and provide for the longer term needs of the population.
This chapter is organized as following a brief overview of economic background, Sect. 2 examines the main elements and characteristics of enterprise reforms in China, Sect. 3 reviews reforms to bolster enterprise performances and to restructure and privatize the SOE sector; to establish effective corporate governance mechanisms (Sect. 4). Finally in Sect. 5, the social impact of SOE reform and restructuring is also investigated.
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(2009). Enterprise Reform and Restructuring in China. In: Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Restructuring and Firm's Performance. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70896-4_3
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