A Yin/Yang Perspective on the 2008 Global Financial Crisis
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2012.00824.x |
| Author | Michael Young,Ji Li,Yang Xin,Zhenyao Cai,Jun Huang,Alicia S. M. Leung |
| Published date | 01 March 2012 |
| Date | 01 March 2012 |
Viewpoint
AYin/Yang Perspective on the 2008 Global
Financial Crisis
Ji Li, Alicia S. M. Leung, Michael Young, Yang Xin, Zhenyao Cai and
Jun Huang1
Department of Management, Wing Lung Bank Building for Business Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University,
Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, and 1Department of Logistics & Marketing, College of Economics and
Management, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Email: john0227@hotmail.com; jili@hkbu.edu.hk
Whereas western philosophy is reductionist and
emphasizes causal relationships, Chinese philoso-
phy is integrative and emphasizes balance. These
basic differences in philosophical perspectives
underpin how Chinese managers and policymak-
ers view organizations and economic systems dif-
ferently from their western counterparts (Chen,
2002; Fang and Faure, 2011). The emphasis on
balance is apparent in the ancient Chinese philo-
sophical concept of Yin and Yang. In this view-
point paper, we draw on the Yin/Yang theoretical
lens to provide an alternative viewpoint of the
2008 global financial crisis and the Chinese
banking system’s reaction to it. In keeping with
the Yin/Yang emphasis on balance, we argue that
Chinese banks stressed early prevention before an
imbalance occurred and reacted more quickly
once the crisis erupted. For these reasons, the
Chinese financial system has behaved very differ-
ently both before and after the onset of the 2008
financial crisis. In contrast to the implosion of
some western financial institutions, none of the
Chinese banks had any serious financial difficul-
ties during the crisis and Chinese banks have con-
tinued to perform well in terms of profits and
stock price. We put forward the position that part
of this difference in performance may be due to
differences in philosophical approaches to crisis
management.
This perspective – which is novel to mainstream
management research – stands in contrast to the
proffered explanations of the financial crisis that
draw on western philosophical traditions. Under-
standing of the Chinese perspective provides
organizational leaders with more knowledge on
issues of crisis control and management, which in
turn can help to maintain the stability of organi-
zations and economic systems. Furthermore, as
China is expected to play an increasingly impor-
tant role in the world economy, understanding of
its major philosophical traditions and how they
affect the economy is becoming ever more impor-
tant. The popular graphical depiction of the Yin/
Yang interface is depicted in Figure 1.
Yin and Yang: harmony and balance
The Yin/Yang perspective has dominated Chinese
philosophy, politics, government, medicine, lit-
erature and the arts throughout Chinese history.
Tsou Yen (305–240 BC) is thought to have
founded the ‘Yin/Yang school’ during the Zhou
dynasty although the foundations for Yin and
Yang had been developed by various philosophers
long before. References to Yin and Yang can be
found in many important Chinese classics, includ-
ing those of Confucianism, such as the I-Ching (or
Book of Changes), such Daoist classics as the
Dao-De-Ching and such military classics as Sun
Tzu (Gu, 1993). According to the Yin/Yang per-
spective, all objects and events are the products of
two sets of elements: the Yin elements and the
Yang elements. The Yang elements are often char-
acterized as hot, bright and masculine, while the
Yin elements are characterized as cold, dark and
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British Journal of Management, Vol. 23, S119–S125 (2012)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8551.2012.00824.x
© 2012 The Author(s)
British Journal of Management © 2012 British Academy of Management. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd,
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA, 02148, USA.
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