Collaborative Participation: The Role Of State-owned Enterprises In The Construction Of Service-oriented Government

Providing good public service has become Chinese government's policy goal since the beginning of the century. Building a service-oriented government is a multi-participant, interactive process led by government, however, in this process, it is necessary that other active participants to interact with the government. According to the Ternary Social Structure theory, social and market forces are the main power in interacting with government. Currently participation of individual citizens and social organizations are stressed more often than that of market participants. Based on this observation, this dissertation argues that enterprises, as a key market player, should be involved in providing good public service. Since the state-owned enterprises (hereinafter "SOEs") occupy a prominent position in the Chinese market economy and the SOEs have their own particularities, they are the main social force in the construction of a service-oriented government, and have already established cooperative relations with the government.This dissertation analyses the role of SOEs through three aspects in building a service-oriented government.Firstly, based on the logic of two-way interaction, the role SOEs played in the construction of service-oriented government is discussed. Two-way interaction theory emphasizes the role of social participants on improving China's good public service. Apart from individual citizens and social organizations such as the third sector, enterprises are also one of the main force and should play an active role in improving the level of China's public service. In fact, as a part of the social organism, the enterprises, especially SOEs, have the obligation to take part in this process as active public service providers based on their economic strength and technological superiority. Since the separation from the government, the SOEs have been significantly enhanced their own strength, and have gradually established their independent status. For this reason, the SOEs should intend to cooperate with the government in providing and improving good public service, so as to reflect their own value and unique role. Secondly, the function of SOEs in providing good public service will be discussed from the perspective of enterprise's social responsibility. There is an universal consensus that enterprises should bear some social responsibility in their due course. The SOEs should show a more active attitude in this area and play a greater role. This is also OCED's requirement for SOEs. This dissertation starts from this argument and suggests that participation in providing good public service is one way for SOEs to fulfill their social responsibility. SOEs are all engaged in changing the mode of economic growth and industrial structure, focusing on environmental protection and sustainable development, improving the level of social security of their workers, and reducing unemployment of the whole society. All of these are in line with their long-term development goals and the maximization of their interests, which in turn, strikes a chord with the aim of government. At the same time, these actions are helpful in changing the old bad image as cold profit-seekers who neglect citizens' common interests during the early years of the opening and reform, and therefore reshaping a new image of SOEs, and obtaining necessary social capital for their future development.Thirdly, the role of SOEs will be analyzed from the perspective of their unique nature of SOEs in China. China's SOEs are the economic base of the country's socialist economy and the SOEs' uniqueness lies in their being state-owned. Although market-oriented reform has changed the SOEs' mode of operation, the nature of SOEs has not been changed subsequently. This fact determines that SOEs have a responsibility in assisting the government to carry out macro economic adjustment, realizing the government's macro-economy management, executing state-directed economic policy, implementing national strategy, and providing public goods. The unique nature of the SOEs determines that SOEs should participate in providing public goods and improving the level of public service more actively in order to help to achieve the government's strategic goal, fulfill the SOEs' responsibility to the country and the people, and to repay the society and people using their strength accumulated through their own development.Starting from the logic above, this dissertation is composed of six parts: In the Introduction, the theme is suggested and explained. After retrospection of existing related research results, the framework of this article is established, and the basic concepts, research targets, and research items are laid out. In chapter I, the scope of research objective is defined, that is to say, this paper will focus on the relationship between the SOEs and the government, the extent to which SOEs get involved, as well as the role and their function of SOEs in building service-oriented government.. In chapter II, the theoretical grounds of constructing a service-oriented government will be analyzed. The two-way interaction principle, the theory of enterprise's social responsibility as well as the unique nature of SOEs are the three theory pillars on the issue of SOEs' participation in improving the level of public service. In chapter III, the author tries to answer the question that what should SOEs learn from the western society in terms of participating in improving the level of public service, including the basic conditions of western SOEs and their contribution, as well as other valuable experience. In chapters IV and V, the ways by which SOEs improve the level of public service are investigated. Chapter IV is mainly concerned about the methods by which SOEs could help government to improve the level of public service, such as providing financial support, social security, employment, and public goods. In chapter V, the validity of SOEs' experience learned from the western societies where some market-oriented public service provision methods were taken, such as outsourcing contracts, user fees, franchising, voucher system, etc. In chapter VI, a few typical cases of Chinese enterprises participation in building a service-oriented government will be explored, and the patterns of their participation will be theorized, such as the all-round cooperation model, the directional support model, etc. Finally, the conclusion is suggested. In the government-led construction of a service-oriented government, the cooperation and interaction between the SOEs and the government will be the positive factor to the Ternary Social Structure formed by the Chinese government, the market and the social structure.This article tries to bring some creative ideas in the following areas:1 .Cooperation on an autonomous condition between SOEs and government: China's SOEs were not an independent system before reform and opening, and the functions of the government and enterprises were mixed up. During reform and opening time, the functions of the government and enterprises have been separated, and SOEs have got a surprising development. In the new historic period, improving public service become an important historic task of Chinese government. To realizing this task, it is really necessary for government to cooperate with other social powers. The SOEs should cooperate with government doesn't means that SOEs should undertake much social and public service just as before. SOEs have a responsibility to provide public service or help the government to improve public service, however, the government is still the leading role, and SOEs is an assistant but necessary role. The most important thing is that SOEs have their own autonomy in the process of cooperation. This is a new relationship which no one discussed and analyzed before. The author suggests a theoretical model and analyzes its availability in reality.2.Factor the corporate social responsibility into the construction of service-oriented government, thinking that SOEs' active participation in building a service-oriented government is a demand of being a qualified corporate citizen and a way to fulfill its social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility as a new concept has been gradually recognized by Chinese enterprises and this dissertation will conduct some analysis of theory underpinning SOEs' participation in the construction of a service-oriented government.3.Summarized two models which SOEs participate in building a service-oriented government, i.e. the all-round cooperation model and the directional support model. All-round cooperation model means that SOEs cooperate with the government (especially the local governments) to provide a wide range of public services. The directional support model refers to a way by which the SOEs provide public services related to business and based on their own business strength.4.Analyzed the problem of the SOEs' participation in improving the level of public service from the "two-way interaction" perspective. Most of previous studies argue that government and social organization are the two main forces which push Chinese public service system ahead. However, the enterprise, has been distinguished as a new agent to build this system in this study. Hence, the government, enterprises, and other social forces such as NGOs will become the three big powers whose aim to promote to build a new better public service system through the "two-way interaction" model.