Can China Lead? Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth
by Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby and F. Warren McFarlan ’55
Harvard Business Review Press, February 2014
A lack of accountability, transparency, and ease of operation in China — combined with growing evidence of high-level corruption — has made domestic and foreign businesspeople increasingly wary of the “China model.” These issues are deeply rooted in Chinese history and the country’s political system. The authors contend that the country’s dynamic private sector, which could be a source of sustainable growth, is constrained by political favoritism toward state-owned corporations. Disruptive innovation, research and development are limited by concerns about intellectual property protection. Most significant is the question of China’s political future. Can China Lead? asserts that China is at an inflection point that cannot be ignored. An understanding of the forces that shape China’s business landscape is crucial to establishing — and maintaining — a successful enterprise in China.
F. Warren McFarlan is Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School, as well as the Albert H. Gordon Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus. He is concurrently a guest professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management, and co-director of the school’s China Business Case Center. He served on Milton’s board of trustees from 2001 to 2014.