My PhD thesis aims to unravel the work ethics, employment relations and technology adoption of workers in Chinese high-tech sector under China’s state technationalist agenda, by adopting ethnography and semi-structured interviews in firms in Chinese high-tech manufacturing and services sectors.
Chapter 1 introduces the research background of this study. It primarily covers the concept, historical development, and current status of China’s state technationalist agenda.
Chapter 2 identifies the gaps in existing research related to China’s state technationalist agenda and proposes three specific research questions for this thesis. This chapter begins by reviewing the existing literature on China’s state technationalist agenda. Based on the findings from prior research, it delves into a discussion of the “state-capital-technology-labour” nexus that exists under this agenda. Finally, it identifies the research gaps, noting the current focus on the “labour-technology” relationship and the relative neglect of the “labour-state” and “labour-capital” relationships.
Chapter 3 justifies the rationale for the research methodology. This chapter first explains the reasoning behind selecting two sub-sectors of high-tech industries—manufacturing and services—for qualitative comparative analysis. It then introduces the basic profiles of the cases selected within each sub-sector. Finally, it provides a detailed description of the data collection, including on-site fieldwork and in-depth interviews, as well as the analysis process based on the grounded theory.
Chapter 4 investigates the work ethics of employees in high-tech industries under China’s state technationalist agenda. This study addresses research question 1 of this thesis and seeks to fill the gap in current research concerning the “labour-state” relationship. The chapter focuses on addressing a puzzle: how plural types of work ethic are shaped by dynamics between production and social reproduction in contemporary Chinese workplace? This study employs a dialectical approach to unearth several (un)ambiguous forms of work ethic in China’s high-tech companies.
Chapter 5 examines the employment relations of employees in high-tech industries under China’s state technationalist agenda. This study corresponds to research question 2 of this thesis and attempts to address the current research neglect of the “labour-capital” relationship. This chapter investigates how, amidst the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) driven by the rapid flow and integration of capital under this agenda, daily interactions among employees at different hierarchical levels exacerbated post-integration tensions and confrontations. Drawing upon concepts from Goffman’s dramaturgical theory, this study constructs a processual model of integration failure in corporate post-merger process.
Chapter 6 explores the technology adoption by employees in high-tech industries under China’s state technationalist agenda. This study addresses research question 3 of this thesis and aims to expand and supplement the existing research on “labour-technology.” The chapter focuses on investigating how employees reconceptualize the nature of work tasks after technology is integrated into the workplace under this agenda. Taking the perspective of the very workers and professional groups performing those tasks, the study offers a view of the dynamic shifting of meanings and boundaries of tasks following AI implementation and automation in the workplace.
Chapter 7 discusses the findings of this research. This chapter deliberates on the specific conclusions drawn, their value and contributions to theory and practice, as well as the limitations of the study and the implications for future research.
Chapter 8 provides a summary of this study.