HUMA PhD Thesis Presentation - State, Market, and Actors in the Consumption Craze for Moutai Liquor

Abstract:

A dramatic consumption craze surrounding the prestigious state-owned liquor brand Moutai has swept across a broad spectrum of Chinese society over the past decade. This phenomenon invites us to examine the evolution of state enterprise institutions and social organizations in China over recent decades.

Adopting institutional theory, this thesis analyzes the Moutai company as a hybrid organization. It reveals the state-owned enterprise not only as an active market participant navigating its own interests within a complex and evolving institutional environment, but also functions as an open system where resources shaped or allocated within the state institution flow beyond its confines into the private sector.

As Moutai liquor has evolved into a popular commodity, a quintessential gift, an investment product, and a status symbol, this state-owned enterprise and its renowned brand have become valuable platforms for various stakeholders to seek benefits from both within and outside the organization, marking a significant departure from previous patterns. The Moutai case thus provides new perspectives for understanding changing patterns of authority control and the agency of different actors within this framework.

Through extensive multi-sited ethnographic studies, this thesis demonstrates that as market and societal diversity increase, the interplay between state and market logics becomes more complex and nuanced.