From Differential Mode of Association to Tianxia Worldview:A Study on Chinese Entrepreneurial Spirit

China has made significant strides in economic and social development since reform and opening up over the past four decades.This process has been influenced by the exceptional innovation and entrepreneurship of Chinese business leaders,as well as their profound sentiments of compassion for the world and their country.It is of great significance to foster and promote an entrepreneurial spirit with distinctive Chinese characteristics.Not only is such spirit essential to the high-quality development of enterprises and the economy,but it is also a critical impetus for achieving Chinese modernization.Nevertheless,there is still a paucity of adequate theoretical discourse on the cultural origins and entrepreneurial spirit of outstanding Chinese business leaders.This paper employs the classical grounded theory method to conduct a 10-year follow-up research on 11 representative entrepreneurs and their enterprises.The results indicate that these entrepreneurs exhibit an evolving worldview along the paths of“self-cultivation and moral conduct”,“assisting employees to achieve”,“multilateral symbiosis”,and“the oneness of existence”when interacting with themselves,employees,partners,the general public,and all things in nature.Such entrepreneurial spirit is embodied in this paper as the“Tianxia(all-under-heaven)worldview”.Through theoretical construction,this study defines the concept of“Tianxia worldview”and extensively examines the distinctions and connections between the broadminded“Tianxia worldview”and the kinship-centered“differential mode of association”in terms of internal structure,value orientation,and applicable groups.It is posited that the transition from the former to the latter is a continuous process of transcendence and evolution of the individual mindset.This study has theoretical significance in the context of advancing the research on the Chinese entrepreneurial spirit,transcending the constraints of the management approach based on the“differential mode of association”,and enhancing the research on social responsibility from the perspective of“benefit corporations”.It also has practical value in overcoming the trust dilemma and development impediment of family businesses,ensuring that enterprises consciously fulfill their social responsibilities in a broader social context,and achieving common prosperity and progress for both enterprises and society.