From Shallow Waters to Deep Dives: Indigenous Theorizing on Chinese Family Enterprises

Call for Papers

From Shallow Waters to Deep Dives: Indigenous Theorizing on Chinese Family Enterprises

Journal:Entrepreneurship & Regional Development

Manuscript deadline: 1 September 2026

This special issue calls for research that treats Chinese family enterprises as a context for building indigenous theory, rather than just applying Western frameworks like SEW, agency, stewardship, or RBV. It asks how Chinese cultural, institutional, demographic, and geopolitical specificities (e.g., Confucian values, guanxi, patriarchy, One-Child Policy, regional heterogeneity, geopolitical turbulence) reshape core assumptions about succession, governance, resources, entrepreneurship, and continuity in family firms.

Special Issue Editors

• Bingbing Ge, Lancaster University Management School, UK

• Hanqing “Chevy” Fang, Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA

• Alfredo De Massis, D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara; IMD; Lancaster University; Zhejiang University

• Junsheng Dou, Zhejiang University, China

• Winnie Qian Peng, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

Indicative themes

• Indigenous theorizing rooted in Chinese culture and institutions (e.g., Confucian ethics, guanxi, dynastic continuity).

• Entrepreneurship as constraint and renewal under filial obligation, demographic legacies, and stigma (e.g., Fu Er Dai, One-Child Policy).

• History-informed and “innovation through tradition” perspectives on Chinese family firms.

• Regional heterogeneity in policies, institutions, and development models within China.

• Purpose, family offices, multi-firm portfolios, and transgenerational prosperity in Chinese business families.

• Gender and patriarchal paradoxes in Confucian contexts.

• ESG/CSR and communal orientation rooted in Confucian ethics and long-term orientation.

• Geopolitical turbulence, institutional hybridity, and resilience strategies of Chinese family firms.

Workshop & submission process

• Short abstracts should be emailed to Bingbing Ge.

• An optional ERD Special Issue Workshop will be held at Zhejiang University (hybrid), where authors can submit extended abstracts (3,000–5,000 words) or full papers by 1 February 2026 to receive developmental feedback; workshop participation does not guarantee publication, and is not required to submit to the SI.

• Full papers must be submitted via the ERD online system, selecting the SI title in the dropdown.

• ServiceSetu Academics — Premier Platform for Academic Opportunities & Research Collaboration

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