Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

‘Newness’ in social entrepreneurship discourses: the concept of ‘danwei’ in the Chinese experience

Curtis, T. (2011) ‘Newness’ in social entrepreneurship discourses: the concept of ‘danwei’ in the Chinese experience. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship. 2(2), pp. 198-217. 1942-0676.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: It has been suggested that the concept of danwei functions as a key structural element within Chinese urban society (R. Sévigny, S. Chen, and E.Y. Chen, 2009, Personal experience of schizophrenia and the role of danwei: a case study on 1990's Beijing, Cult Med Psychiatry, 33, 86–111). However, the relevance of the danwei to social entrepreneurship in China has not yet been identified let alone fully mapped out. Instead, the discourse relating to social entrepreneurship in China has typically been driven by Anglo-American models of entrepreneurship that emphasize novelty, whilst marginalizing the more established traditions of social movements within Chinese society. This has potentially significant implications for the concept, and project, of social entrepreneurship in China. In addition, western notions of social entrepreneurship can be enriched by the consideration of ‘oriental’ categories ofthought. This paper shows how the concept of social entrepreneurship tends to ‘evolve in its specific environment’ (J. Defourny and S.-Y. Kim, 2011, Emerging models of social enterprise in Eastern Asia: a cross-country analysis, Social enterprise journal, 7 (1), 86–111) and suggests that the evolution of the discourse and meanings of social entrepreneurship is rarely politically neutral or uncontested.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Social enterprise, danwei, China
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions > HC94 By region or country > HC427.95 China
H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory > HB615 Entrepreneurship. Risk and uncertainty. Property
Creators: Curtis, Tim
Publisher: Routledge
Northamptonshire and East Midlands: Health
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society > Social Work
Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Applied Social Studies & Sociology
Date: 28 October 2011
Date Type: Publication
Page Range: pp. 198-217
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Social Entrepreneurship
Volume: 2
Number: 2
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19420676.2011.621444
ISSN: 1942-0676
Status: Published / Disseminated
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/6498

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