Journal article
Entrepreneurial Leadership under Authoritarianism: How a Party Secretary Reformed Intergovernmental Relations in China
China (National University of Singapore. East Asian Institute), v 24(3), pp 1-24
01 Aug 2026
Abstract
This article examines how entrepreneurial leadership can drive local-level administrative reform in Chinas' Party-state bureaucracy. Drawing on a within-case comparison of two city Party secretaries who faced similar structural pressures, it identifies a repertoire of tactics-framing crises strategically, interest-aligned incentive design, speed of implementing pre-emptive measures and resource marshalling with credible commitment-that enabled one leader to reallocate authority and responsibilities between city-and district-government levels, while his predecessor had failed to accomplish this. The findings illuminate the micro-foundations of institutional change in a top-down system, showing how entrepreneurial leadership, enacted through concrete intrastate tactics under structural constraints, delivers reform outcomes in authoritarian contexts.
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Details
- Title
- Entrepreneurial Leadership under Authoritarianism: How a Party Secretary Reformed Intergovernmental Relations in China
- Creators
- Zhenjie Yang - Macao Polytech Univ, Fac Humanities & Social Sci, Macau, Peoples R ChinaLinda Chelan - City University of Hong KongRichardson Dilworth - Drexel Univ, Polit, Philadelphia, PA USA
- Publication Details
- China (National University of Singapore. East Asian Institute), v 24(3), pp 1-24
- Publisher
- Nus Press Pte Ltd
- Number of pages
- 24
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Politics; Center for Public Policy
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001860319900001
- Other Identifier
- 991022207078904721