Can China Lead?: Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth

by Regina M. Abrami, William Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan

It’s time to rethink the way we think about China.In this thought-provoking book, noted China experts from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School assert that while China has experienced remarkable economic growth in recent decades (nearly 10 percent for more than thirty years), it now faces major challenges-tests that could shift the country’s political and economic trajectory.A lack of accountability, transparency, and ease of operating in China-combined with growing evidence of high-level corruption-has made domestic and foreign businesspeople increasingly wary of the “China model.” These issues have deep roots in Chinese history and the country’s political system.Regina M. Abrami of the Wharton School and William C. Kirby and F. Warren McFarlan of Harvard Business School contend that the country’s dynamic private sector could be a source of sustainable growth, but it is constrained by political favoritism toward state-owned corporations. Disruptive innovation, research, and development are limited by concerns about intellectual property protection. Most significant of all is the question of China’s political does a system that has overseen dramatic transformations in recent years now have the capacity to transform itself?Based on a new and popular course taught by the authors at Harvard Business School, this book draws on more than thirty Harvard Business School case studies on Chinese and foreign companies doing business in the region, including Sealed Air, China Merchants Bank, China Mobile, Wanxiang Group, Microsoft, UFIDA, and others.Can China Lead? asserts that China is at an inflection point that cannot be ignored. An understanding of the forces that continue to shape its business landscape is crucial to establishing-and maintaining-a successful enterprise in China.

Genres: China, Nonfiction, History

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2014

Reviews

[Alan Tsuei · Rating 2 out of 5]

外國學者寫的大陸觀察，想講述從中國近代到今天紅共治國的演進過程，很可惜作者不僅對中國近代史了解的程度有限，更因紅共的資料大多不對外公開而落入了只有觀察而無實質見解的冏境，對完全不了解大陸的外國朋友來說可能有些許科普之用，但真要深入了解就效果有限了…

[Laura Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for my MBA program. Decent read-ability. Ultimately I didn't feel that the authors were successful truly making their point on why China can't lead.

[Abdulrazaq Balogun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read, China his ambitious but still got lots to do if they want to lead

[Yue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some contents towards the drawback of China development model are fairly good. But the question is not been answered fully. Many problems exist in almost every counties.

[James Mi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new. Hope to find something insightful but disappointed. If you want to know the history of China, this is the book.

[Jesse Morrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

"A frog in a well cannot discuss the ocean." ~Chuang Tzu

A professor from Wharton and two from HBS attempt to approach China's geopolitical and macroeconomic status from the view of Business School Case Studies...

This is a novel approach. On a visceral level, I tend to agree with their conclusions. However, I find their assumptions and their methodology wanting. This could be a very interesting complementary method of analysis, but on its own they are but Chuang Tzu's frog.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insightful book about modern China by three experienced educators. I largely agree with their conclusions about the opportunities and challenges facing China. But far from a great book. The authors' experience is largely academic rather than practical, and there are a number of small, careless factual errors that suggest the book was written hastily.

[Abraham Yuen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors have fair and board coverage of the challenges that China is facing. The key argument is about the 're-balancing'. As the authors are targeting to business people so their focus is not in depth about the China's future (but they have done good coverage on the macro environment) but what the key issues a corporate leaders should ask / alert when doing business in PRC

[Low Keng onn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is analytical , well researched and provides an opinion on china. Can it lead? read the book and you would gain an insight to the views of the authors.

[Yi · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is for foreigners who are not familiar with China and wants to understand more about the country.

It provide little extra values for people who are well connected with the country.