Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Modern China

A Case Study of the Influence of Christian Ethics on Business Life

By (author) Joy Kooi-Chin Tong

Publication date:

01 February 2012

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780857283535

Inspired by Max Weber’s thesis on the Protestant ethic, ‘Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Modern China’ sets out to understand the role and influence of Christianity on Overseas Chinese businesspeople working in contemporary China. Through its in-depth interviews and participant observations (involving 60 Overseas Chinese entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and the United States), the text discusses how Christianity has come to fulfill an increasingly visible and dynamic function in the country, most notably as a new source of business morality.

Acknowledgments; List of Tables and Figures; Chapter 1 Introduction: Studying Christian Ethics and Business Life in Post-1978 China; Chapter 2 Religion and Economic Life: The Protestant Ethic and Max Weber’s Legacy; Chapter 3 Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Post-1978 China (Shanghai): Business, Faith and Ethics; Chapter 4 Religious Motivation and Entrepreneurial Spirit; Chapter 5 Business–Faith Integration: Three Types; Chapter 6 Communities of Faith: Fellowships for Overseas Chinese Christian Businesspeople in Shanghai; Chapter 7 Female Entrepreneurs: Four Stories; Chapter 8 Conclusion and Research Implications; Bibliography; Index

“Exploring relationships between Christianity and Chinese entrepreneurial endeavors, this meticulously researched study will be an informative, significant and engrossing book for anyone with the slightest interest in religion, economic development and/or contemporary China. I’m sure Weber would have enjoyed it.” —Professor Eileen Barker, London School of Economics