Building Organizations as Communities: A Multicase Study of Community Institutional Logic at Chinese Firms

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe fact that many Chinese business organizations incorporate social function units into their structures as well as social services into their practice has surprisingly received insufficient attention in organization studies. To theorize an organizational model that resembles community building in many aspects, we conduct case studies on this phenomenon and explain it from a new perspective, focusing on community arrangement within organizations. Our study draws on theoretical insights from institutional logic perspectives and builds a new conceptual schema through which to view organizations as communities. In our case studies of five firms in four cities, we find that, despite changes in the larger society, these Chinese firms built and maintained a model for organizations that communities can be embedded in organizations of various scales and in various industries. This community model of organizations offers new theoretical insights into organizations more broadly and has practical implications for improving the quality of employees’ work life.