Mao and Markets

Mao and Markets explains how the organizational practices, personnel systems, political campaigns, and state structures created under Mao laid enduring foundations for Chinese enterprise after market reforms. The book argues that many features of contemporary Chinese business are rooted in Communist Party legacies: work units, cadre rotation, accountability mechanisms, and mass mobilization techniques were repurposed to manage firms, coordinate production, and enforce discipline. Based on company histories, interviews, and archival research, the authors show how party networks, state ownership models, and local political ties shaped corporate strategy, governance, and competitive behavior, producing a distinctive hybrid of state guided capitalism that blends market incentives with political organization and social control.