Research On Co-evolution Of Organizational Change, Organizational Learning And CSR In State-owned Enterprises

The main topic of this dissertation is on the co-evolution of organizational change, organizational learning and corporate social responsibility through the integration of theory and practice. The author analyzes the co-evolution of the above three variables with case study on Northeast China Grid Company.The following four points aroused the author's research interests:Firstly, the events of environmental degradation, people's lives and property infringement, which caused by ignorance of CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility), frequently occur with relation to state-owned enterprises recent years. These events cause the author to rethink profoundly about CSR in state-owned enterprises. Secondly, most of the available literatures on CSR are based on private enterprises in western developed country with market economy. To some extend, they have provided solid foundation and valuable reference to the research on CSR of state-owned enterprises in the background of transition economy in China. However, these studies still cannot explain some issues brought about by Chinese characteristics. Thirdly, most of the literatures on CSR of state-owned enterprises only analyze the specific content and statical methods of CSR about state-owned enterprise. Nontheless, the dynamic reason of formation and path about CSR of state-owned enterprises are short of discuss. Fourthly, the literatures on CSR of state-owned enterprise are abundant in theoretical study, but short of empirical test.According to the above consideration, this dissertation develops the discussion focusing on the core issue of "how organizational change enhances CSR by paradigm's breakthrough of organizational learning" with case study, basing on the international leading research literatures on organizational change, organizational learning and CSR. We have organized this dissertation into 7 chapters.Chapter 1 is introduction. There are three contents in this chapter. The author introduces the background of this research, theoretical and realistic significance. And the author clarifies the focus problem, research goal of this study. This Chapter also puts forward the ideas and content of this research.Chapter 2 is literature review and comment. The author reviews the literature of organizational change, organizational learning and CSR from several aspects of classification, constructs and research development process. So, we can define the concepts and lay a solid foundation for the following research through some comments.Chapter 3 is methods and preliminary framework. The author explains the reason of using single case study in this research from two aspects. The first aspect is that the scientificity of case study is empirical study, and the orhter aspect is applicability and characteristic of single case study. Moreover, the author gives the reason for choosing Northeast China Grid Company as an example of this study. So, the paper also gives a brief description on the general situation and development process of this company. At the same time, the author gathers the co-evolution preliminary framework of organizational change, organizational learning and corporate social responsibility.Chapter 4 is the evolution of state-owned enterprises'change in the background of transition economy. Firstly, the author briefly introduces the background (ie. transition economy) of Chinese state-owned enterprises'change. Then this dissertation analyzes three stages of organizational changes in Northeast China Grid Company. These stages are:(1)China Northeast Electric Power Group; (2)Northeast Company of National Electric Power Group; (3)Northeast China Grid Company. Basing on this backgound, the author analyzes the evolutional path of state-owned enterprises'change. It includes the tendency of the evolution, and also draws the conclusion about the organizational change of state-owned enterprises. And at the end of this chapter, the author shows the characteristics of external forces for organizational change.Chapter 5 is the paradigm breakthrough of state-owned enterprises'learning caused by continuous change. This chapter firstly analyzes the patterns of state-owned enterprise s'learning. Then this chapter analyzes the zoom of organizational learning in three stages of organizational learning in Northeast China Grid Company, which are exploitative learning, transitional learning, and explorative learning. Basing on these studies, the author further studies the issue of paradigm breakthrough about state-owned enterprise's organizational learning.Chapter 6 is the development of state-owned enterprise's CSR caused by continuous change. This chapter firstly analyzes the composition of state-owned enterprises'CSR. Then, the author analyzes the development process of CSR in Northeast China Grid Company. The characteristics of the process is from ensuring power supply to deepen the reform, then finally, to the stage of enhancing core competency. Basing on this analysis, the author profoundly analyzes the enhancing path of state-owned enterprises'CSR, and discusses the CSR changes of state-owned enterprises from unconsciousness to consciousness, from non-economic responsibility to economic responsibility, and from internal responsibility to external responsibility.Chapter 7 is conclusion and enlightenment. Firstly, this chapter combines the framework of the co-evolution of organizational change, organizational learning and CSR in state-owned enterprises. Then, the author contribute the following works: (1)giving extended discussion about accumulation effect of exploitative learning; (2) promoting factors of paradigm breakthrough of organization learning; (3)drawing the conclusion about common development between non-economic CSR and economic CSR; (4)putting forward endogenous view on social responsibility; (5)analyzing the possibility of organizational change caused by internal forces occurring in state-owned enterprises. (6)giving the limitations and the future directions of this research.We get following 5 conclusions in this research:(1) The organizational change of state-own enterprise has the feature of external causes. Firstly, it is affected by the background of economic transition. Secondly, it is determined by the nature of state-owned enterprise. Thirdly, state-owned enterprise especially big one can be participant in the policy setting in some extent. There are 3 reasons. The first reason is:state-owned enterprise is directly influenced by the policy, especially when the Chinese economy is from the planned economy to the market economy. In the whole trasition stage of economy, stage-owened enterprise will be guided by the national policy to make change. The second reason is:state-owned enterprise, especial the large state-owned enterprise, occupy the strategic position and hold the economic lifeline. So, the nation must control the business activities of state-owned enterprise, and also guide the change of state-owned enterprise. The third reason is:state-owned enterprise is responsible for the policy making. On the one hand, state-owned enterprise can influence the national policy making to some extend, on the other hand, the decision of state-owned enterprise must conform to the economic object and the political object in the short and long term.(2) Organizational change of state-owned enterprise is a progressive process, doesn't come into being overnight. The economic transitions are all progressive evolutional process in most emerging economics. Moreover, the organizational change of state-own enterprise has the feature of external causes by government. These further determine that organizational change of state-owned enterprise is a progressive process. In fact, in the background of economic transformation, state-owned enterprise chooses to a gradual approach to the personnel system reform and management regulations reform with own situation.(3) Organizational learning of state-owned enterprise includes 3 stages. The first is exploitative learning. The second is transitional learning, which contains exploitative learning and explorative learning. And the third is explorative learning. The accumulation of exploitative learning and explorative learning is help to the achievement of the explorative learning. Finally, explorative learning can replace the exploitative learning. Now, explorative learning has been the dominant position in the organizational learning paradigm of state-owned enterprise. The situation suggest that the organizational learning ability of state-owned enterprise has been promoted accompanied by the change of organization.(4) From the perspective of social responsibility'undertakeing ability, the social responsibility could be divided into 2 types:the basic responsibility and the extension responsibility. The basic responsibility of state-owned enterprise is mandatory. And the extension responsibility is a voluntary responsibility. State-owned enterprise must fulfill the the basic responsibility. However, only the large state-owned enterprises should undertake the extension responsibility. The other state-owned enterprises also can undertake the extension responsibility, if they have the ability and the willing to undertake these responsibilities.(5) In the state-owned enterprise, the ability and the way of organizational learning is the key factor of the achievement of social responsibility. In the early stage of state-owned enterprise reform, the way of organizational learning is exploitative learning. With the development of reform, state-owned enterprise gradually change to explorative learning in the base of exploitative learning. However, state-owned enterprise only continues and modifies the situation about the achievement of social responsibility in this stage. In turn, state-owned enterprise can undertame the social responsibility more and more, with the promotion of organizational learning ability and the organization reform. State-owned enterprise gradually change to the external responsibility from the internal responsibility, ie, from the economic responsibility of consumer and stakeholder to the non-economic responsibility of staff. The breakthrough of organizational learning paradigm in state-owned enterprise can gradually promote the achievement ability of social responsibility. In the early stage, state-owned enterprise only achieves the basic social responsibility by the way of exploitative learning. However, by the way of explorative learning, state-owned enterprise can undertake the social responsibility actively. The process can prove that the ability and the way of organizational learning is the key factor of the achievement of social responsibility.