Overcoming corporate rigidities in the dynamic Chinese market

Companies often bring in what they believed and utilized in the past when they invest in the dynamic market of China, where changing environmental conditions often render existing beliefs and practices irrelevant. Over-generalizing from past situations could become a source of corporate rigidity, which results in a company's inability to anticipate the rapid changes that require evolution in its established systems, products, and market orientation. Companies must overcome corporate rigidities if they are to respond to the huge opportunities in China in a timely manner. In our research, we identified four distinct corporate rigidities—mindset rigidity, strategic rigidity, operational rigidity, and HRM rigidity—to help managers identify and assess the impact of rigidity on their China businesses. We provide four practical strategies for overcoming the four types of corporate rigidities.