PhD student in Management
Biography
KoenRutten started his academic trajectory within the humanities. A long-time fascination with China, brought on by a three week stay in Hong Kong led him to take his undergrads in Chinese Language and Culture at Leiden University. Seeking to better understand the drivers and implications of China's economic development, he proceeded to earn a graduate degree in strategic management at the Rotterdam School of Management. He spent the last semester of his graduate program in Taipei (Taiwan) as an exchange student at Taiwan's National Political University (Chengchidaxue). During this time, he was engaged by Taiwanese green-tech start-up MINIWIZ, where he spent a year gaining valuable experience as business development manager. However, his desire to better understand the process of Chinese socio-economic development led him back to academia, initially working as research assistant at the Asia Research Centre at Copenhagen Business School (a position he now holds on a part-time basis) and now as a PhD student in the Department of Management at LSE. The department's distinct and comprehensive approach to management has encouraged him to undertake in-depth inquiries into sociological and institutional themes within the study of economic activity, although the focus on China remains.
Research interests
Koen's PhD research is a thorough examination and appraisal of China's Innovation System.The empirical focus is on telecommunications, a sector which has received considerable attention both within and outside China. Theoretically, the research ponders the implications of the particular industrial structure and institutional arrangements for entrepreneurial activity. In doing so, the project aims to determine the sector's long term potential for sustainable and substantial growth. Because arrangements within the telecommunications sector are in many ways representative of those within China's backbone strategic industries, the insights from this research are of direct significance for the greater Chinese economy. Other interests of Koen include the development of China's large state-owned enterprises (the so-called 'national team'), on which he continues to do research with Prof. Brødsgaard from Copenhagen Business School; the economics and politics of national economic institutions; and the social implications ofeconomic development.
Supervisors
Publications and papers
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with Prof. Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard (CBS), 'China's National Champions: Business group or political enterprise?',Management and Organization Review, (under review).
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'Social welfare in China', Copenhagen Discussion Paper no. 32, March 2010.