Abstract

"Patriotic Entrepreneurship: On Jian Zhang's Entrepreneurial Journey in China"

Bingbing Ge, Lancaster University (b.ge1@lancaster.ac.uk)

This paper looks into the entrepreneurial journey of Jian Zhang, a renowned Chinese entrepreneur between 1853-1926, and how his entrepreneurial opportunity can be explored through both the time and his aim to support the country. Through his journey, we look beyond the needs of the generally discussed topics in entrepreneurship, including financial needs and reputational considerations, to investigate the deeper and wider impact of context on the opportunity-finding and outcomes of entrepreneurship.
Jian Zhang started his business, Da Sheng Cotton Mill (Nan Tong, China), post first Sino-Japanese War in 1895, which he considered as the way to save the country and people. His enterprises expanded from industry to social services, including schools, libraries, and care homes, servicing a wide range of communities in Nantong. He influenced both the political and the economic development of China in the critical war-stricken times and is documented as the ‘Father of Modern Industry’ in China.
This research benefits from well-preserved documentation of and on Jian, which is rare in the region. We combine rich archives, including his and others’ published books on Jian’s entrepreneurial journey and eight volumes of preserved Jian’s letters, and field trips to various remaining sites in NanTong (China) to reconstruct and explain the phenomenon of what we consider patriotic entrepreneurship. Through this, we posit that entrepreneurship has a wider and stronger impact, as posited in the current research. Context and agencies of entrepreneurs have a significant societal impact.