The influence of ideologies on Chinese management characteristics and its relevance in cross-cultural management between China and the European Union. A conceptual paper

Abstract

In this paper, the authors give an introduction to the four most important ideologies impacting culture and the way of thinking in China today, i.e. Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism and Buddhism. First, the authors provide an overview of the historical period where these ideologies originate from, and explain how their concepts were interpreted by the social elite. In the next chapters, they examine each of the ideologies separately. Confucianism is the best known Chinese ideology worldwide, in relation with business it is mostly dealing with questions of business ethics, while Daoism addresses behavioral questions and Legalism examines the methods of leadership from a rather totalitarian point of view, all of them specifically related to Chinese management. Buddhist economics deals with comprehensive economic questions, but it can be used for developing more sustainable management practices. Although the authors examine their current impact on management in China, this paper logically paves the way for further research areas such as the impact of Buddhist economics on Chinese management, or the correlation between the embeddedness of these ideologies and a leader’s preferred managerial role or management style.