Author Identifier
Date of Award
2026
Keywords
Business Ownership Styles (BOS), Hui zu entrepreneurship, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, ethical governance, trust networks, archival economic history, moral governance
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
School
School of Business and Law
First Supervisor
Ian Austin
Second Supervisor
Peter Galvin
Abstract
This PhD Thesis with publication investigates Hui people (zu) Business Owners Style (BOS) in Ningxia, China as an Indigenous governance system in privately owned enterprises (POEs) in which moral reasoning is institutionalised as organisational infrastructure. The thesis synthesises five thematically linked peer-reviewed articles (2012–2025) into a single program of research addressing how ethical principles are translated into repeatable governance mechanisms, and whether those mechanisms generate durable enterprise outcomes.
Using an ethnological and institutional approach, the study combines longitudinal fieldwork (2012–2025) with archival and historical analysis of commercial governance arrangements extending from Tang–Qing trade and guild systems to contemporary POE structures. Evidence is drawn from extensive interviews and site-based enterprise observation across key commercial locations in Ningxia, supported by documentary and archival materials.
Findings demonstrate that enterprise resilience is produced less through hierarchical control than through codified moral capital embedded in governance design. Across cases and time periods, BOS is expressed through formal mechanisms—such as charter-like rule systems, transparent accountability routines, capability development via apprenticeship and mentorship, and succession innovation—that stabilise decision-making, strengthen trust, and reduce internal transaction costs.
The thesis contributes an empirically grounded model of ethical institutionalism by showing how “conscience” can operate as economic infrastructure within POEs. It extends institutional economics and business ethics by providing a transferable framework for analysing governance, sustainability, and trust-based performance in comparative enterprise research.
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 4th July 2027
Recommended Citation
Brown, R. (2026). Exploring Hui zu business owners styles: An ethnological study of Indigenous privately owned enterprise in Ningxia. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/tbv5-gb08