Bin-Kee Company 1927-1949

Qing dynasty is the new start time of Chinese enterprises. The development pattern of China's industrial economic, gradually transformed from the increased number and types of enterprises, to the national macro policy and the enterprise microscopic management system. The industrialization of production mode, and the democratization of management system of modern enterprises, is the collection of important substantive characteristics, and it can be said this type of change process is a microcosm of China's social modernization. In the Chinese cities which have already been open port, there were lots of foreign capital enterprise, official enterprises, officer tradesmen managing enterprise joint variety, and commercial enterprises, big business. Thus the basis of modern industrial is solid; also the source of funds and the management way are diversely developed.After the Xinhai Revolution, Shanxi province, which is located in the hinterland of China, whose modern industry foundation was weak, had the late started industrial enterprise. Its traditional closed economy pattern was broken, additionally, foreign goods thrived in Taiyuan. Many local shops which sold foreign goods and the foreign firm's agency appeared in Taiyuan, and then a business district with modern characteristics gradually formed in Kaihua Temple area. Modern commercial profits also caught the attention of the Yanxi-Shan, who is the president of Shanxi. For revitalizing the economy of Shanxi to against a rainy day, Shanxi provincial government embarked on a series of foreign trade agency. The earliest miscellaneous-products business was formed from home-grown manual mill. But with the invention of the steam engine, the big machine production, coal energy drive and labour efficiency, the traditional industry broke original manual workshop mode, with the development of modern industry and gradually formed a new industry.In this case, the Bin-Kee Hardware Shop was found in 1927. In 1933, it was reconstructed based on the investment of local government and was renamed as Bin-Kee Company. In 1936, Bin-Kee Company was enrolled as an affiliated institution of Shanxi Provincial People's Public Enterprises Board. Bin-Kee Company was out of business because of the war reason in 1937. In 1946, Bin-Kee Company prepared for reopening. Also, in the next year, Bin-Kee Company was renamed as Bin-Kee Limited Company, and registered in Shanxi Economic Administration. In the same year, Bin-Kee Limited Company was enrolled as a member of Shanxi Provincial People's Private Enterprises Board. In 1949, Bin-Kee Limited Company closed its business and all of its assets were received by Taiyuan Military Management Bureau. Starting as a small shop of selling simply operating hardware, after nearly 30 years after the ups and downs, Bin-Kee Company gradually developed into a large Bin-Kee Limited Company which integrated the production, supply and sales business, and Bin-Kee Company became one of the government controlled foreign trade organizations of Shanxi Province.As a government-led company, Bin-Kee Company, engaged in foreign trade enterprises, was established in Shanxi province which is the birthplace of prosperous Shanxi Merchants. The management system of Bin-Kee Company presents a duality of traditional and modern characteristics. This is caused by influences of western modern industrial enterprise management system which is brought by technological changes, at the same time, also retained the influences of Shanxi Merchants in some aspects. Due to the change of property right and enterprise organization, the enterprise management of Bin-Kee Company changed from'provincial operated' to 'provincial managed', and the enterprise responsibility of Bin-Kee Company transformed from unlimited to limited. The corporate earnings also gradually changed from the traditional family benefit maximization to the enterprise benefit maximization, also, hiring strategy gradually got rid of the multiple biological geopolitical relations, and paid attention to the quality of employees, skills and position matching. By making compensation hierarchy, diversified marketing mode, to set up the proprietary storage and transportation system and other management strategy, to some extent, Bin-Kee Company has realized the monopoly of foreign trade business of hardware industry in Shanxi region.The research object of this paper is the aforementioned Bin-Kee Company. Utilizing the case study method, our research is based on the historical materials of Bin-Kee Company which are preserved in Taiyuan Archives, Shanxi Province Archives and Tianjin Archives. Our analysis is performed through some aspects such as investment main body, the enterprise internal organization structure, personnel hiring management principle, management pattern. Also, we analyze some specific cases, such as Bin-Kee Company actually participating in the preparation of Feng Lindu Cotton Packaging Factory which is sponsored by Shanxi Provincial People's Public Enterprises Board, and importing the technology and equipment for cotton packaging. From the microscopic view, we find out some different modernization characteristics between the companies in coastal developed areas which are along the river/sea, and companies of foreign trade in Shanxi, during the process of transforming from traditional to modern in the specified period, i.e., the Republic of China. From the macroscopic view, we concludes that, during the period of the Republic of China, Chinese local enterprises management system adapted to the technology progress, is not done according to the western trajectory, but in succession on the basis of traditional management mode of modern management system of the factors in the process of continuously. For the lower level of modernization of the mainland, the modernization of enterprise management more embodied in western key elements of the traditional enterprise management in modern enterprise management mode.In addition, it should be noted that during nearly 30 years' development, Bin Kee Company still cannot completely replace the 'Bin-Kee Hardware Shop' and Bin-Kee Limited Company, whether from the enterprise name or enterprise properties. Through the collation of existing historical materials, it can be found Bin-Kee Company would distinguish its names between 'Bin-Kee Hardware Shop', Bin-Kee Company and Bin-Kee Limited Company, when Bin-Kee Company signing the contract with other trade related companies, exchanging letters of important fairs, or even inside the Bin-Kee Company itself. But in most cases, as an idiomatic way, other names can be commonly replaced by Bin-Kee Company. In this paper, in accordance with the practice of historical documents, Bin-Kee Company is generally used as the unified appellation during our discussions, unless in some special situations that needing the distinction between several appellations. And this is also the reason why this paper is named as Bin-Kee Company.