Collective financing among Chinese entrepreneurs and department store retailing in China

Andrew C. Godley, Haiming Hang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Chinese entrepreneurship in department store retailing differed from that seen in other emerging economies before 1940. Rather than the leading examples of the format being owned by advanced economy firms, in China a small group of Cantonese entrepreneurs established what became known as the ‘Big Four’ department stores in Shanghai. By 1940 the ‘Big Four’ department stores were among the most famous stores in China, and among the biggest businesses in China. None of these Chinese entrepreneurs had any prior experience in department store retailing. Rather this article explains how their success in department store retailing was dependent on a business model that enabled these Chinese entrepreneurs to act as informal investment bankers (or ‘shadow’ banks) for the thousands of overseas Chinese wanting to invest surplus savings in mainland China, so creating large indigenous business groups.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)364-377
Number of pages14
JournalBusiness History
Volume58
Issue number3
Early online date1 Feb 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Apr 2016

Keywords

  • business groups
  • China
  • collective financing
  • department store
  • entrepreneurship
  • Retailing
  • shadow banking

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