What would Confucius have said?

I just received a brand new book from John Wiley and Sons "The Chinese Tao of Business" by University of New Haven Professor of Marketing George T. Haley and Professor of Management Usha C.V. Haley and Singapore Management University Provost Chin Tiong Tan.

Seems a good read at first glance. Flipping through the pages triggered a question for which I hope to get an answer, hopefully in the book itself. It is said in the book that Confucius, the great man and philosopher of Ancient China (born during the Zhou dynasty), emphasized sincerity, honesty and trust. Moreover, it is claimed by the authors that "today, we are probably seeing in China's new reform movements the Confucianization of Communist China that Mao so dreaded."

Later on in the book (but again I only flipped through the pages), the same authors say that " the preservation of intellectual-property rights provides one of the most difficult legal issues facing China."

Now, the question is: How do you reconcile two conflicting stances?: Confucius teaches to cherish honesty and trust while at the same time counterfeit products are everywhere in China (see Shanghai Star). Seems like an oxymoron.

Can't wait to see how the authors reconcile all this. But, you may have some ideas for me!

More on the same topic in Cyberlibris:

Doing Business in China, Ambler, Tim and Witzel, Morgen, Routledge, 2000

Property Rights and Economic Reform in China, Oi, Jean C. and Walder, Andrew G., Stanford University Press, 1999

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Comments

[Usha C. V. Haley]

Thanks for speaking about our book!

At the risk of taking the suspense out of your reading, I can help you with some of this puzzle. The 2 stances are not irreconciliable.

In Confucius' time only the divine emperor had intellectual property (IP) rights -- indeed, the concept of individuals and companies having IP rights remains alien to Chinese culture today, as you point out. The first mention of protection of IP was made in Chinese legal codes in the early 20th century.

Also, to Confucius, moral duty did not extend beyond 5 relationships -- which do not include foreign companies.

As with everything in China, the answers are not simple, but hopefully comprehensible. If not, please let me know.

[Alex]

As Ikujiro Nonaka's research underlines on knowledge creation in Japanese companies, tacit knowledge is more important in Asia than in Europe. It could be another explanation why IP code is not so well recognized in China...what do you think ?

[Usha C. V. Haley]

I think you are right -- tacit knowledge (rather than explicit, professionally organized knowledge) underlies much management in China and other parts of Asia. Managers place more value on understanding context.

In China, IP inventions are patented/coyrighted on a "first-to-file" rather than "first to invent basis". Certain aspects of the business environment encourage this, as we point out in "The Chinese Tao of Business": these include cultural factors, but also strategic factors (such as profit margins) and legal factors (such as copyright laws which do not recognize software.)

[Alex]

Dear Usha,

Thank you for your answer. I imagine that doing business in China must be not very easy...but when it comes to offer products to a market which size is potential 100 million of people, I think companies are making some efforts :-)
I can tell you, I am doing my PhD with one of them.