Nis Høyrup Christensen

Presentation

The main focus of my research is the transformation of market institutions in China, how and why it happens, and its consequences on firm and policy levels. An increasingly important feature of this transformation of market institutions relates to China’s exposure to international norms and business practices. The internationalization of Chinese business brings the institutional legacies to the fore, i.e. the particular ways of organizing businesses and administration, the norms they follow, and the logics they apply. I have for instance done research on China’s ability to shape markets (renewable energy) through institutionalization of new logics and state interferences in the form of subsidies. Of particular interest is the potential conflicts between Chinese and international institutions, or how they are adapted or transformed as they interact.

My theoretical ambition is to develop neoinstitutional theories by exposing them to the particular Chinese context characterized by a strong state dominated setting. This provides new insights into the development of organizational fields, possibilities for institutional entrepreneurs, and the creation and elaboration of institutional logics.

Based on my on-going attempt to understand if, how, and why China’s economy functions differently from western market economies, I engage in dialogue with businesses, organizations, and ministries and disseminate widely through public lectures and news media.

Primary research areas

• Chinese state capitalism 
• Chinese market policies and state subsidies
• Renewable energy in China
• Foreign companies in China
• EU – China trade and investment policies
• Neo-institutional theory