Towards research for shaping Chinese policy and selected papers

Purpose This paper aims to make a call for the establishment of a new research journal: a likely title for which would be Chinese Public Management . The background to this is clearly set out here for posterity’s sake. The review of selected papers unveils an emerging trend amongst Chinese researchers for undertaking deeper, cluster-based analyses. See, for example, the insights presented in this issue concerning competitiveness in China’s automobile industry. Design/methodology/approach A diary-like account has been made of the series of recent events that sparked the author’s interest in creating a journal to be known as Chinese Public Management . Why is there currently this focus on empirical research for public policy? From the author’s five years’ work for a serial visiting professorship across China, he has found that there are now well-established, substantial databases dedicated to the subject. Even more importantly – as this paper illustrates – a growing community of scholars has become keen to embark upon an in-depth, quantitative research. Perhaps, for the new journal, we would need an editor concentrating specifically on databases. Furthermore, undertaking scholarly work that is still of practical relevance for guiding authorities in their formulations of public policy will add a whole new dimension to the available research. Findings There is scope for a new endeavor that documents management research within the public sector in China. This may be seen as a sister journal for “ Chinese Management Studies ” that focuses on the other, much larger Chinese sector, that is, governmental organizations. Originality/value This paper documents the emergence of the necessity for a new journal about management in China.