A comparative study of business ethics and entrepreneurship in the UK and China

By investigating in detail the processes of sense-making in relation to the business ethics by entrepreneurs, this thesis aims to contribute to our understanding of entrepreneurs‘ perceptions of, and approaches to, business ethical issues. The primary research supporting this thesis was executed in two different cultural contexts, namely Nottingham in the UK and Shenyang City in China. This comparative approach was employed to enhance the theoretical contribution by taking into account the influence of institutional environments when considering business and entrepreneurship. The study adheres to the social constructionist approach of Berger and Luckman (1967), and applies the sense-making theory of Weick (1979, 1995, 2001) and discourse analysis in developing an original conceptual framework. Grounded in the qualitative methodology, this study employs unstructured interview methods and also incorporated the elements of reflexivity and ethnographic features. The focus of analysis is on how entrepreneurs from different social-cultural contexts understand, interpret and respond to ethical issues that arise in their relationships with main stakeholders, namely employees, customers, suppliers and government. The analysis of the data provides empirical support for the neoinstitutional theory, which gives increasing attention to institutional change and the voluntaristic role of agency.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Nottingham Trent University

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Lu, T

Language dc:language

en