This study examines how university curriculum reforms that increase course selection flexibility influence entrepreneurial outcomes. Departing from traditional emphasis on educational attainment, we explore how institutional changes in education shape entrepreneurial tendencies among alumni. Leveraging a reform that removed constraints on course selection at a major university, we find that increased educational choice significantly fosters entrepreneurship. Our analysis reveals partial support for the moderating effects of individual, family, and spatial factors: the positive impact of these reforms is contingent on the type of electives and courses taken, with stronger effects observed among alumni with entrepreneurial parents, those born in urban areas, and those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. These groups leverage specific course patterns to align their educational choices with entrepreneurial aspirations, enhancing their likelihood of pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. However, these findings also underscore the potential for educational reforms to exacerbate inequalities, disproportionately benefiting those with preexisting advantages. By integrating insights on institutional changes, course-taking patterns, and individual moderators, this study advances understanding of the interplay between education and entrepreneurship, offering implications for designing more equitable educational policies.

This editorial essay describes what is phenomenon-based research and why it is important to conduct indigenous Chinese management research. Grounded in the Chinese context, the author identifies emerging new organizational phenomena in the digital age that calls for new theoretical explanations and empirical validation. Adopting an evolution of theories perspective, the author outlines the various paths that can move a new theory explaining an indigenous phenomenon toward becoming a universal theory that can transcend time and space.

This editorial essay introduces three approaches for advancing management research through contextualization in Chinese management research. While the Chinese context offers fertile ground for theoretical contributions, scholars often struggle to effectively leverage contextual elements to extend existing theories. I address this gap by presenting three approaches: the counter-intuitive approach, which challenges established assumptions by identifying relationships that contradict conventional wisdom; the contrasting approach, which reveals paradoxical or opposing effects of organizational phenomena across different contextual conditions; and the theory integration approach, which combines different theoretical perspectives to create richer understanding of organizational phenomena. Using published works on guanxi and social networks as examples, I demonstrate how these approaches help scholars articulate why the Chinese context matters theoretically. These approaches provide researchers with tools to move beyond simply testing Western theories in China toward making substantive theoretical contributions that extend and enrich existing management theories through contextualization.

The institutional logics perspective provides a powerful theoretical lens that emphasizes how meanings and practices are intertwined in relatively enduring configurations that can profoundly shape organizational behavior across space and time. In this article, we propose the need for a broader research agenda on the dynamics of institutional logics in the Chinese context, particularly in three aspects. We begin by elaborating on the distinct configuration of logics in China, where state logic is more dominant and often directs other logics, thus shaping organizational behavior differently than its Western counterpart. We then argue for the need to examine (1) the change of logics per se, leveraging China’ market transition, which provides a unique opportunity to observe how existing configurations of logics undergo transformational change and regain coherence; (2) the governance of logics, focusing on the influence of social evaluators and command posts; and (3) the diffusion of the China Model, a distinct configuration of logics and orders, to other countries through the Chinese state’s political and economic campaigns.

Since the 1980s, state capacity has been a major explanation for countries leaving the middle-income trap. However, this literature is unable to explain the failed experiences of countries with relatively high state capacity. This was the case of Chile after the unsuccessful enaction of a series of policies in the mid-2010s to upgrade the country’s position in the lithium value chain. To understand this failure, we combine the literature on developmental states and the literature on business power. We use the concept of institutional business power to understand how business actions erode state capacities leading to countries’ persistent inability to leave the middle-income trap. In the case of Chile, despite the relatively high levels of state capacity, previous processes of deregulation and privatization in the country configured a situation favorable to business’ monopolization of information and technical knowledge about lithium production and innovation processes that directly affected the capacity of the state to regulate the sector, let alone implement policies designed to upgrade the industry. The article highlights the need to investigate further the role of not just the state, but of the private sector in either facilitating or blocking value chain upgrading in countries caught in the middle-income trap.

Recent digital developments provide new opportunities for entrepreneurs to market and present themselves. For solo entrepreneurs, where the business and entrepreneur coincide, self-presentation strategies on social media may be particularly relevant. Using regression analysis, we investigate the personal and business-related characteristics of solo entrepreneurs who typically rely heavily on social media for self-presentation. Data are used from a unique survey conducted among solo entrepreneurs in Austria. At the conceptual level, the impression management theory of Goffman from the 1950s creates the theoretical background, and our paper links three fields of research: social media use, impression management, and aspects relating to solo self-employment. The empirical analysis reveals that the typical solo entrepreneur who attaches great importance to social media use for self-presentation purposes is a female entrepreneur running a young business (younger than 5 years) in the retail industry, with good mental health but relatively poor financial health.

Grounded in institutional theory, this study delves into the heterogeneous responses of politically connected top executives (PCTEs) to uniform institutional requirements for corporate environmental responsibility (CER). Specifically, we scrutinized the moderating role of organizational visibility in shaping the association between PCTEs and both environmentally responsible and irresponsible practices. Analyzing data from listed Chinese firms in heavily polluting industries spanning from 2010 to 2018, the findings indicate that PCTEs contribute to an increase in firms’ environmentally responsible activities and a decrease in their environmentally irresponsible activities. Notably, the impact on environmentally responsible activities is significant only for privately controlled PCTEs. Furthermore, the moderating influence of organizational visibility is validated. The implications of these findings for the broader research on political connections and CER are thoroughly discussed.

Family dynamics can significantly influence entrepreneurship, yet the temporal complexities of this relationship remain inadequately explored. This special issue addresses this gap by emphasizing the intricate interplay between internal family evolvability such as generational transitions and identity shifts, cultural continuity, and external adaptability to rapidly changing economic, institutional, and technological contexts in China. We introduce a dual tuning model that highlights how entrepreneurial and family firms (FFs) strategically synchronize their internal and external temporal rhythms to manage conflicts and optimize performance. This lead article reviews existing literature, articulates the dual tuning model, and synthesizes insights from the articles in this special issue to illuminate how Chinese FFs navigate tensions between evolving internal dynamics and external market demands. We conclude by identifying promising future research avenues that leverage this temporal perspective to deepen our understanding of family dynamics and entrepreneurship in China.

This article provides a brief Introduction to this special Journal of Benefit–Cost Analysis issue dedicated to comments filed by former presidents of the Society for Benefit Cost Analysis and editors of this journal on the Office of Management and Budget’s draft Circular A–4 on regulatory impact analysis guidelines.