ABSTRACT
In the early 1980s, the Chinese market was filled with opportunities for entrepreneurs due to the inefficiencies of a centrally planned economy that was unable to meet pent-up demand in the market. This chapter examines the main models of entrepreneurship in China. It focuses on particular patterns in how private enterprises are configured and have emerged. The chapter explores the network-based models of entrepreneurship that developed in the coastal provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong in the early period of opening up and reform. The chapter then explains innovation-based models of entrepreneurship that have developed in recent years as the Chinese government has supported a shift away from low-cost manufacturing, construction and mining. It also focuses on new models of social entrepreneurship that have sprung up to deal with social issues resulting from China's uneven economic growth which has resulted in growing inequality between rich and poor.
