Mastering Chinese business model by conducting indigenous management research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the topic of the Chinese business model and provide a brief introduction to the papers in this special issue. Design/methodology/approach The paper explores the importance of studying business model in the Chinese market and summarises the eight papers in this issue. Findings The papers in this special issue address what the business model is in China, how it influences organizational outcomes, and how to build the business model in the Chinese market. These papers may be germane to both researchers and practitioners concerned with managing business model in China. For scholars, these papers broaden the understanding of business model and extend the theoretical boundaries of the business model from the Western to the Eastern context. For practitioners doing business in China, these papers give implications on how to build business models in China as well as what institutional and technological factors should be considered when designing their business models. Research limitations/implications Further investigation is needed into the interaction among Chinese firms' activities on business model design and operation and the institutional, technological, and market environment. Originality/value Overall, these papers make remarkable contributions to our understanding of Chinese business model. The topics of these studies are various and the methods are also multiplex. Several interesting Chinese business models are addressed such as Bandit business model and “a company + farmers”.