Time: August 16th, 2013

Topic: Institutional Entrepreneurs, Institutional Capital, and the Evolvement of Institutions

Lecturer: ZHOU Yangmin

Commentators: ZHU Junsheng, ZHOU Kecheng, LIU Feng

In this session, the speaker Professor ZHOU Yangmin stated that entrepreneurs should take caution in speaking out and achieving the corporate social responsibilities by promoting social advancement and pushing forward institutional reforms. Professor ZHOU also illustrated the definition and institutional managing strategies of institutional capitals, and institutional entrepreneurs, and proposed the micro-mechanism of the evolvement of institutions.

Commentator Professor ZHU Junsheng thought we should consider the political environment of entrepreneurs before criticizing entrepreneurs and institutional management, and emphasis should be given to the political institutions. He also suggested entrepreneurs should take efforts in self-improvement, which is also a pragmatic way to improve the institutions.

Commentator Professor ZHOU Kecheng thought there was cost calculation in the behaviors of corporates and individuals. He suggested that contributions could be made to the institutional reforms even without disclosing the market performance information by entrepreneurs. And he claimed that entrepreneurs could participation in the political agenda in many ways including silently acting.

Commentator Professor LIU Feng thought we should not be too picky with entrepreneurs’ social responsibilities as people were used to judge entrepreneurs in an irrational way. He suggested that the foundation of justice and politics should be built upon rationality.

Commentator Professor SHENG Hong agreed to Douglass North’s classification of institutions. He proposed that this classification should be referred to in the analysis of institutional entrepreneurs. This classification also illustrated people’s attitude towards institutional innovations. He claimed that the Cynicism expressions in the public discourse were a method to protect and uphold the principles of constitutionalism and institutional innovations.