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Taking the Path Less Traveled: How Responsible Leadership Addresses a Grand Challenge in Public Health, a Case Study from China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2023

Zhi-Xue Zhang Open the ORCID record for Zhi-Xue Zhang [Opens in a new window] ,
Xiwei Yi  and
Yuntao Dong
Zhi-Xue Zhang*
Affiliation:
Peking University, China
Xiwei Yi
Affiliation:
Peking University, China
Yuntao Dong
Affiliation:
Peking University, China
*
Corresponding author: Zhi-Xue Zhang (zxzhang@gsm.pku.edu.cn)
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Abstract

This study unpacks how responsible leadership driven by a social mission can accomplish both social objectives and financial goals to support an organization's survival. We focus on a social enterprise in the healthcare industry in China and examine how it balances its social mission and economic goals by enlarging the capacity of medical institutions and providing high-quality services to a high number of patients. Through our analysis of the case firm, we reveal the motivation and actions of an entrepreneur in establishing a socially responsible firm and the social implications of responsible leadership in operating such an enterprise. We provide an important supplement and extension to the work of Smith and Besharov (2019) by demonstrating how a responsible leader in China manages the process of balancing social and economic goals. We further contribute to the understanding of how a socially responsible firm can improve the healthcare industry and the reform of China's healthcare.

Keywords

Chinese healthcare industrygrand challengemedical allianceresponsible leadershipsocial mission
Type
Article
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , August 2023 , pp. 838 - 855
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The International Association for Chinese Management Research

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Footnotes

ACCEPTED BY Deputy Editor Johann Peter Murmann

References

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