China’s economic rise on the global stage has been impressive. Entrepreneurship has played an important role in this growth and will in all likelihood contribute to the country’s continued development.
In the past, Chinese leaders have used GEM data to inform entrepreneurial policies. For example, Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) - the percentage of the 18-64 population who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a new business - was one of the core indicators used by the Chinese government to monitor the country’s skills development.
A new group of motivated and talented academics from the School of Entrepreneurship and Management (SEM) at ShanghaiTech University will assume leadership of GEM China. In the below Q and A, GEM China Team members Yu Yang, Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of SEM; Xiaoyu Zhou, Assistant Professor; and Guangwei Li, Assistant Professor; share analysis on the state of entrepreneurship in China and the goals for the new team.
Can you describe what you perceive to be the strengths of China's entrepreneurial ecosystem?
YY, XZ and GL: The people and the institutions. The Chinese people are known for their industriousness and stamina, but less known for their entrepreneurial spirits. Since modern China opened its door in the 1980s, numerous individuals in the country have improved their lives through hard work and entrepreneurship. After the 1980s and in recent years, strong institutional forces, such as state and local governmental policies, provided safeguards for entrepreneurial activities. Since 2018, for example, the Chinese central government has issued a series of policies and invested a substantial number of resources to support technology-based entrepreneurship. Many parts of China have established a "Future Science and Technology City" to attract science- and technology-minded entrepreneurs and to accelerate the commercialization of scientific and technological innovation.
On the flip side, what are some weaknesses?
YY, XZ and GL: Entrepreneurship education. Despite the generally strong institutional support, there is historically a lack of quality education in entrepreneurship. To address this issue, universities have started to offer entrepreneurship courses that are typically more theory-focused. A growing number of venture capital and private equities firms, as well as incubators and pitch competitions, are offering similar training courses, but focused much more on practice. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether and how these formal and informal training programs have helped students or entrepreneurs to achieve their objectives.
What was the motivation for joining GEM and can you tell us about the GEM China Team?
YY, XZ and GL: The School of Entrepreneurship and Management (SEM) at ShanghaiTech University is a very young school. With the support from Shanghai municipal government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, our school started in 2014. The average age of faculty members is under 40. This year, eight of us, coming from academic disciplines in economics, finance, management, marketing and psychology, are joining GEM as the sole research team representing China. We bring global perspectives as we have doctorates from China, Canada, US and UK. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to advancing global knowledge on entrepreneurship.
Our three principal motivations for joining the GEM are:
1. Learning from the best. All members of our team are active researchers interested in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. We would love to learn and contribute to the largest and most influential entrepreneurship study in the world.
2. Developing unique research agenda. We understand that GEM allows room for each team’s unique interests. We are keen to set up a longitudinal study with a nationally representative sample answering entrepreneurship research questions particular to the Chinese context.
3. Strengthening our school brand. The SEM is still a relatively new school. We are also fast-growing. Participating in GEM will help us better position ourselves in the Chinese business school market.
What are you and your colleagues hoping to learn by being part of GEM?
YY, XZ and GL: We expect to learn from our international counterparts how to systematically track and investigate entrepreneurial activities at a national level. In addition, we would like to contribute back to this international community with what we know and can learn in China from working with GEM.
A number of influential observers have concluded that globalization has come to an end. We disagree. We see GEM as yet another testimony that globalization is alive and well. A tradition such as GEM will continue to promote mutual understanding of the world. Our time is only beginning.
How do you envision stakeholders benefiting from the research insights?
YY, XZ and GL: Our stakeholders are mainly our students, university and community. Once we complete our study during the first year, we plan to publish our findings widely so that all our stakeholders will be able to develop a deeper appreciation of China’s current position in entrepreneurial activities, particularly compared to our peers around the world. We believe strongly that our stakeholders will learn a great deal of insights from the findings and adjust their course of action accordingly.