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Journal of Economic Regulation, 2023, 14(3): 51-62 DOI: 10.17835/2078-5429.2023.14.3.051-062
LABOR PRODUCTIVITY OF CHINESE INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES:
ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS
YONGJING SHI,
Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia, e-mail: yushi@sfedu.ru
Citation: Shi Y. (2023). Labor productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises: Issues and solutions. Journal of Economic Regulation 14(3): 51-62. DOI: 10.17835/2078-5429.2023.14.3.051-062
Although the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises has increased to a certain extent in recent years, its growth rate faces the pressure of slowing down and its level is still lower than that of developed countries and some developing countries. At this background, this report focused on studying labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises, which could help them understand comprehensively the current situation of their labour productivity and take countermeasures to improve their labour productivity. Through relevant analysis of Chinese industrial enterprises' labour productivity by collecting the data mainly from the CEIC Data and NBSC, this report found that the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises has shown an overall upward trend since the founding of China, but the growth rate has been unstable and there have been periodic fluctuations. The main factors that affect their labour productivity include human capital, technological innovation, management innovation, market environment and institutional environment. In order to improve their labour productivity, Chinese industrial enterprises were suggested to strengthen human capital investment and cultivation, promote technological innovation and transformation, optimise management innovation and organisational structure, and improve the market and institutional environment.
Keywords: labour productivity, enterprise, China
JEL: E24, J24, O47
МЕРЫ ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ПРОИЗВОДИТЕЛЬНОСТИ ТРУДА ПРОМЫШЛЕННЫХ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЙ КИТАЯ
ЮНЦЗИН ШИ,
Южный федеральный университет, Ростов-на-Дону, Россия, e-mail: yushi@sfedu.ru
Цитирование: Shi Y. (2023). Labor productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises: issues and solutions. Journal of Economic Regulation 14(3): 51-62. DOI: 10.17835/2078-5429.2023.14.3.051-062
© Ши Ю., 2023
Очевидно, что за последние годы производительность труда на китайских промышленных предприятиях выросла. Однако темпы роста производительности труда замедляются, а ее уровень по прежнему отстаёт от развитых и некоторых развивающихся странах. Данное исследование направлено на всестороннее рассмотрение текущей ситуации с производительностью труда и выработку мер повышения производительности труда. Анализу статистических данных китайских промышленных предприятий на основе показателей CEIC и NBSC позволил установить, что рост производительности труда в Китае носит не такой устойчивый характер, как об этом принято говорить, а присутствуют периодические колебания. Выявлены основными факторами, влияющими на производительность труда, являются человеческий капитал, технологические инновации, управленческие инновации, рыночная среда и институциональная среда. В целях повышения производительности труда китайским промышленным предприятиям было предложено усилить инвестиции в человеческий капитал и его развитие, продвигать технологические инновации и преобразования, оптимизировать управленческие инновации и организационную структуру, а также улучшить рыночную и институциональную среду.
Ключевые слова: производительность труда, предприятие, Китай
1. Introduction
Labour productivity is an important indicator for measuring the production efficiency and economic benefits of industrial enterprises, as well as reflecting the level and quality of a country's economic development. With the development of globalisation and digitisation, industrial enterprises have been faced with fierce market competition and technological changes, and improving labour productivity has become an urgent demand and strategic goal for industrial enterprises (Salimova et al., 2022).
Since 1949, the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises has undergone changes in different stages, showing a trend of rapid growth overall. According to the CEIC Data (2023b), the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises has increased from 0.90% in 1953 to 4.83% in 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 7.4%. Among them, the growth rate of industrial labour productivity before China's reform and opening up in 1978 was around 4%. Since 1978, China's industrial labour productivity has achieved a leapfrog improvement with the introduction of market mechanism, the acceleration of technological progress, the improvement of human capital, and the promotion of management innovation.
However, there are still some problems with labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises. On the one hand, the labour productivity level of Chinese industrial enterprises is still lower than that of developed countries and some developing countries. According to the World Bank (2022), the added value per employee in China's industrial sector in 2021 was $21,000, which was only 10-20% of the level of developed countries, such as the United States ($178,000), Japan ($105,000), Germany ($96,000), etc. Meanwhile, it was also lower than the level of some developing countries, such as South Korea ($58,000), Thailand ($31,000), Malaysia ($30,000), etc. On the other hand, the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises is facing the pressure of slowing growth. With the expansion of the economic scale, the decline of the demographic dividend, the intensification of resource and environmental constraints, the increasing difficulty of technological innovation and other factors, the growth potential of labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises has declined, and they will face greater challenges to maintain rapid growth in the future (Li et al., 2023).
Therefore, it has important theoretical and practical value to analyse the current situation and influencing factors of labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises and propose countermeasures to improve their labour productivity. This report will adopt the literature review, data statistics and other methods, and apply comprehensively some theories (such as the economic theory, management theory, innovation theory, etc.) to conduct in-depth research on labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises.
This report will be mainly divided into three parts. Part 1 will analyse the current situation of labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises. Part 2 will analyse the influencing factors of their labour productivity. Part 3 will discuss countermeasures to improve their labour productivity. On this basis, the main results of this report will be summarised.
2. The Current Situation of Labour Productivity of Chinese Industrial Enterprises
This report analyses the current situation of labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises by introducing the definition, calculation method, data sources and statistical results of labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises, and analysing the overall level, industry differences and regional differences and international comparisons of labour productivity.
2.1. Definition and calculation method of labour productivity
Labour productivity refers to the quantity or value of products or services created by workers per unit of time. It reflects the labour efficiency and quality of workers, as well as the impact of some factors (such as production technology level, production organisation mode, production management level, etc.) on workers (Woltjer et al., 2021). Labour productivity can be calculated from different perspectives, such as by employees, by all employees, by on-the-job personnel, etc. At present, China's overall labour productivity is calculated by dividing the industrial added value of industrial enterprises by the average number of all employees in the same period (Chen & Groenewold, 2021), namely:
2.2. Data sources and statistical results of labour productivity
This report uses the CEIC data as the main data source, and conducts statistics and analysis of labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises. According to the CEIC Data (2023b), the changes in labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises from 1953 to 2022 were shown in Figure 1.
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1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Fig. 1. Labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises, 1953-2022
Source: (CEIC Data, 2023b)
From Fig. 1, it can be seen that the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises generally showed an increasing trend between 1953 and 2022, but there were also some fluctuations and declines. Specifically, their labour productivity grew at an average rate of 4% from 1953 to 1978, but there was a negative growth between 1961 and 1976, which was mainly affected by some
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political factors (such as the "three difficult years", "Cultural Revolution", etc.). Since 1978, with the implementation of China's reform and opening up policy, the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises has entered a stage of rapid growth, with an average growth rate of 9.5%. Especially after 2000, their labour productivity has maintained a high growth rate of more than two digits, reaching the highest level in history. But in 2020 and 2021, affected by the COVID-19, international trade friction and other factors, the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises declined, which was 4.83% in 2022.
2.3. The overall level of labour productivity
According to the CEIC Data (2023b), the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises increased by about 100 times during 1953 and 2022, from 0.9% to 4.83%, with an average annual growth rate of 7.4%. This indicates that Chinese industrial enterprises have achieved significant improvements in labour efficiency over the past 70 years, and made important contributions to China's industrial development and economic growth.
2.4. Industry differences in labour productivity
Based on the CEIC Data (2023a), there are certain differences in labour productivity among Chinese industrial enterprises in different industries.
Table 1
Labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises by industry in 2022
Industry Labour productivity (%)
Mining J 5.67 J
Manufacturing 6.32 J
Electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply 3.11 3
Construction 2.87 J
Source: (CEIC Data, 2023a)
As demonstrated in Table 1, the manufacturing industry had the highest labour productivity of 6.32% in 2022, followed by the mining industry (5.67%). Relatively, the construction industry had the lowest labour productivity, which was only 2.87%. The labour productivity of the electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply industries was at a moderate level of 3.11% (CEIC Data, 2023). This indicates that China's manufacturing and mining industries are relatively stronger in terms of technological progress, management innovation, and human capital, while the construction industry are relatively weaker.
2.5. Regional differences in labour productivity
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC) (2023a), there are also certain differences in labour productivity among Chinese industrial enterprises in different regions.
As can be seen from Table 2, the highest labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises in 2022 was in Beijing (8.12%), followed by Tianjin (7.54%), and the lowest was in Tibet (3.98%) (NBSC, 2023a). Generally speaking, the labour productivity in the eastern coastal areas is higher than that in the central and western inland regions, which is related to the relatively higher economic development level, industrial structure, marketisation degree, openness, innovation ability, and other factors in the eastern coastal areas. However, due to the constraints of resource endowment, infrastructure, human capital, environmental protection and other factors, the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises in the central and western inland regions is relatively lower.
Table 2
Labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises by region in 2022
Region Labour productivity (%)
Beijing 8.12
Tianjin 7.54
Hebei 4.21
Shanxi 4.67
Inner Mongolia 5.23
Liaoning 4.56
Jilin 4.32
Heilongjiang 4.01
Shanghai 7.89
Jiangsu 6.78
Zhejiang 6.43
Anhui 5.76
Fujian 6.01
Jiangxi 5.34
Shandong 5.98
Henan 5.12
Hubei 5.29
Hunan 5.41
Guangdong 6.21
Guangxi 4.87
Hainan 4.94
Chongqing 5.67
Sichuan 5.54
Guizhou 5.21
Yunnan 4.76
Tibet 3.98
Shaanxi 5.31
Gansu 4.46
Qinghai 4.58
Ningxia 4.81
Xinjiang 4.93
Source: (NBSC, 2023a)
2.6. International comparison of labour productivity
To understand the international position and competitiveness of labor productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises, this report selects seven countries (i.e., the United States, Japan, Germany, India, Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines) as comparative objects. Based on the CEIC Data (2023b), the industrial added value and average number of industrial employees of these countries are calculated, and the industrial labour productivity of each country is obtained.
As shown in Table 3, China's industrial labour productivity was 4.83% in 2022, which was lower than developed countries (i.e., the United States, Japan, and Germany) but higher than some developing countries (i.e., India, Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines). This indicates that there is still a certain gap between Chinese industrial enterprises and those in other countries in the technological level, management level, market competitiveness and other aspects. It is necessary for Chinese industrial enterprises to further improve their labour productivity and narrow the gap with those in developed countries. Meanwhile, Chinese industrial enterprises also have certain advantages and could maintain a leading position in competition with those in developing countries, which may provide support for China's economic growth.
Table 3
Industrial labour productivity in various countries in 2022
Country Industrial added Average number of Industrial labour
value ($m) industrial employees productivity (%)
(10,000 people)
China 5,437.6 20,704.0 4.83 ^
The United States 2,582.9 2,079.0 22.86
Japan 1,020.7 1,061.0 17.72
Germany 798.8 800.0 18.36
India 426.8 5,100.0 1.54 J
Brazil 177.9 1,000.0 3.27 J
Mexico 175.6 800.0 4.04 J
The Philippines 40.7^ 500.0 1.49
Source: (CEIC Data, 2023b)
3. The Main Factors Influencing Labour Productivity of Chinese Industrial Enterprises
This report analyses the main factors that influence the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises from the following aspects, and explores the main problems that constrain the improvement of their labour productivity.
3.1. Human capital
Human capital refers to the knowledge, skills, health, and other abilities possessed by workers, which is one of the major factors influencing labour productivity. Generally, the higher the level of human capital, the stronger the innovation, adaptability, and collaboration abilities of workers are, thereby improving work efficiency and quality. The improvement of human capital level mainly relies on investment and reform in education and training, health security, and incentive mechanisms (Wright & McMahan, 2011).
Based on data from the NBSC (2023b), this report selects the average years of education, average wage level, and average welfare expenditure of Chinese industrial enterprises from 2012 to 2022 as proxy variables of human capital, and conducts descriptive statistical analysis of them. The human capital level of Chinese industrial enterprises showed an upward trend during 2012 and 2022, but the fluctuation was significant, which indicates significant differences among enterprises in different industries, regions, and ownership systems. In addition, their average years of education and average wage level are relatively higher, while the average welfare expenditure is lower (see Table 4). This reflects that Chinese industrial enterprises still need to strengthen their efforts to improve employee quality and motivate employees.
Table 4
Descriptive statistics of proxy variables of human capital
Proxy indicators Mean Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum
Average years of education 9.77 0.32 9.20 10.20
Average wage level (yuan/year) 78,541.00 22,777.00 46,769.00 116,542.00
Average welfare expenditure (yuan/year) 18,686 6,230 10,401.00 30,228.00
Source: (NBSC, 2023b)
3.2. Technological innovation
Technological innovation refers to the process of discovering, developing, utilising, and promoting new technologies, products, processes, and materials in the field of science and technology (Akbari et al., 2021). As another major influencing factor of labour productivity, technological innovation could improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, improve product quality, expand market demand, promote structural optimisation, and thus increase labour productivity. The improvement of technological innovation level mainly relies on the support and promotion of research and development (R&D) investment, intellectual property protection, as well as technology transfer and diffusion (Li et al., 2023).
This report selects the proportion of R&D expenditure to operating income, number of patent applications, and number of patent authorisations of Chinese industrial enterprises from 2012 to 2022 as proxy variables of technological innovation. The technological innovation level of Chinese industrial enterprises showed an upward trend from 2012 to 2022, but the growth rate was not fast. This shows that there are significant differences among enterprises in different industries, regions, and ownership systems. In addition, the proportion of R&D expenditure to operating income and the number of patent applications are relatively lower, while the number of patent authorisations is relatively higher (see Table 5). This suggests that Chinese industrial enterprises still need to strengthen the balance between input and output in technological innovation.
Table 5
Descriptive statistics of proxy variables of technological innovation
Proxy indicators Mean Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum
Proportion of R&D expenditure to operating income (%) 1,61 0.45 1.02^ 2.39
Number of patent applications 1,400,069.5«- 472,474.7 652,922 2,187,632 1
Number of patent authorisations 417,214.6 138,063.4 217,105 654,321^
Source: (CEIC Data, 2023a)
3.3. Management innovation
Management innovation refers to innovative activities carried out in organisational structure, management systems, management processes, management methods and other aspects (Volberda et al., 2013), which could large influence labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises. Generally, management innovation helps to improve their organisational efficiency, coordination ability, adaptability, and learning ability, thereby increasing their labour productivity. The improvement of management innovation level mainly relies on the construction and improvement of corporate culture, incentive mechanisms, talent cultivation, knowledge sharing, and other aspects (Alshumrani et al., 2022).
This report selects the number of organisational structure change, management system change, and management process change in Chinese industrial enterprises from 2012 to 2022 as proxy variables of management innovation, and conducts descriptive statistical analysis of them. The management innovation level of Chinese industrial enterprises showed an upward trend from 2012 to 2022, but the growth rate was not fast. This implies that there are significant differences among enterprises in different industries, regions, and ownership systems. In addition, the number of management process
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change is more than the number of organisational structure change (see Table 6), which indicates that Chinese industrial enterprises need to strengthen top-level design and strategic adjustment in management innovation.
Table 6
Descriptive statistics of proxy variables of management innovation
Proxy indicators Mean Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum
Number of organisational structure change 1.2^ 0.4^ 2 1 1 1
Number of management system change 1.6 0.5^ 3 1 1 1
Number of management process change 2.1 0.7e1 4 1 1 1
Source: (CEIC Data, 2023a)
3.4. Market environment
Market environment refers to the market competition, market demand, market size, market structure and other external conditions in which enterprises are located. Generally speaking, the more optimised the market environment, the more enterprises can fully utilise market mechanisms and resource allocation functions to improve production efficiency and market share, and ultimately improve labour productivity. The optimisation of the market environment depends mainly on the formulation and implementation of government policies, laws and regulations, industry standards, and market supervision (Li et al., 2016).
This report selects the market competition index, market demand index, market size index, and market structure index of Chinese industrial enterprises from 2011 to 2021 as proxy variables of market environment, and conducts descriptive statistical analysis of them. Overall, the market competitiveness, market demand, and market size of Chinese industrial enterprises have shown a growth trend over the past 10 years, and the market structure has also been continuously optimised. However, the standard deviation of each index is large, indicating that the market environment has undergone significant changes and enterprises have faced more uncertain factors (see Table 7). The relatively higher market demand index and lower market structure index implies that Chinese industrial enterprises have certain advantages in expanding market space, but there is still room for optimisation of the market pattern.
Table 7
Descriptive statistics of proxy variables of market environment
Proxy indicators Mean Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum
Market competition index P 65 J 8 52 J 78 J
Market demand index e3 72 J 9 61 J 83 J
Market size index 68 J 11 J 53 J 82 J
Market structure index 64 J 7 55 J 73 J
Source: (CEIC Data, 2Ö23a)
3.5. Institutional environment
The institutional environment refers to the political, legal, economic, and social systems in which an enterprise operates. Generally, the more perfect the institutional environment, the more enterprises can enjoy institutional dividends and fair competition, improve production efficiency and innovation ability, and thus improve labour productivity. The improvement of the institutional environment mainly relies on reforms and innovations in government governance, legal construction, market supervision, social credit and other aspects (Huang et al., 2017).
This report selects the political stability index, legal protection index, economic freedom index and social trust index of Chinese industrial enterprises from 2012 to 2022 as proxy variables of institutional environment. In the past 10 years, the institutional environment of Chinese industrial enterprises has been improved. The legal protection system is basically sound and the degree of economic freedom and social trust has also increased, while the changes are not significant (see Table 8). Overall, the institutional environment has a certain supportive effect on the development of Chinese industrial enterprises, but there is still room for improvement in legal and market mechanisms. Compared with the market environment index, the range of changes in the political and economic index is smaller. This implies that the development of Chinese industrial enterprises depends more on market mechanisms rather than government macroeconomic regulation.
Table 8
Descriptive statistics of proxy variables of institutional environment
Proxy indicators Mean 3 Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum
Political stability index 78 J 6 65 P 86
Legal protection index 72 J 8 1 62 P 82 P
Economic freedom index 65 J 9 53 P 76
Social trust index 71 8 1 62 P 79
Source: (CEIC Data, 2023a)
To sum up, human capital, technological innovation, management innovation, market environment, and institutional environment are the five main factors that could positively influence the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises. This suggests that in the process of promoting their high-quality development, Chinese industrial enterprises should pay attention to improving human capital, technological innovation, management efficiency and coordination ability, expanding market space and satisfying market demand, and ensuring political stability and legal order. Meanwhile, they should also lay emphasis on improving the adaptability and flexibility of organisational structure and management systems, optimising market pattern and competitiveness, and improving social trust and integrity levels. Only by continuously reforming and innovating in these areas could they effectively improve their labour productivity level and achieve high-quality development goals.
4. Countermeasures to Improve Labour Productivity of Chinese Industrial Enterprises
Based on the above analysis, this report suggests improving labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises from the following aspects. These countermeasures aim to improve their labour productivity from both internal and external perspectives, and further promote high-quality economic development.
4.1. Strengthening investment and cultivation of human capital
Human capital is the foundation of labour productivity, and improving the level of human capital is the fundamental way to improve labour productivity (Wright & McMahan, 2011). Thus, it is necessary
for Chinese industrial enterprises to strengthen the investment and cultivation of human capital, so as to improve the education level, skill level, and innovation ability of their employees.
Specifically, Chinese industrial enterprises are recommended to establish and improve their education and training systems, regularly organise employees to participate in various training (such as professional skills training, management training, innovation training, etc.) to improve the professional literacy and comprehensive ability of employees. Meanwhile, they need to strengthen cooperation with higher education institutions and research institutions to introduce excellent talents and technologies, promote talent exchange and sharing, and improve employees' learning and innovation abilities. In addition, they also need to improve employee incentive mechanisms, establish salary systems, career development systems and reward systems that are linked to labour productivity, in order to stimulate employees' work enthusiasm and initiative (Burton-Jones & Spender, 2012). For example, Chinese industrial enterprises may refer to Haier Group, which invests about $1bn annually in employee training, and implements the "self-operating unit" system in the "Internet Plus" model. Employees are divided into three categories, namely entrepreneurs, partners, and ordinary employees, and the benefits and risks are distributed according to the market-oriented principle. This motivates employees to work hard. In addition, Haier Group has also established cooperative relationships with many universities around the world to obtain excellent talents (Sun & Hong, 2022).
4.2. Promoting technological innovation and transformation
Technological innovation is the driving force and guarantee of labour productivity, and promoting technological innovation and transformation is an effective way to improve labour productivity (Akbari et al., 2021). Therefore, Chinese industrial enterprises need to promote technological innovation and transformation, so as to improve their technological level, product quality and market competitiveness.
Generally, Chinese industrial enterprises need to increase R&D investment, strengthen basic research, applied research and development research, and form a technology innovation system with enterprises as the main body and the market as the guide. They should strengthen cooperation with higher education institutions and research institutions to promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and improve the commercialisation level of these achievements. Moreover, they should also actively introduce advanced technologies and equipment from all over the world, strengthen the transformation and innovation of imported technologies, and improve their independent innovation capabilities (Li et al., 2023). For example, Chinese industrial enterprises can learn from ABB Group, which places great emphasis on technological innovation and transformation. It invests approximately $1.5bn annually in R&D activities, and has established partnerships with many research institutions in multiple countries and regions worldwide to promote the commercialisation of their technological achievements (Watts, 2017).
4.3. Optimising management innovation and organisational structure
Management innovation is a means of labour productivity, and optimising management innovation and organisational structure is a necessary condition for improving labour productivity (Volberda et al., 2013). Thus, it is necessary for Chinese industrial enterprises to optimise management innovation and organisational structure, in order to improve their management efficiency, coordination ability and adaptability.
Chinese industrial enterprises should promote advanced management concepts and methods (such as lean management, agile management, digital management, etc.) to optimise their management processes, systems and models, and improve their management efficiency and quality. They need to establish flexible and diverse organisational structures to break through rigid hierarchical systems, achieve flat, networked and modular structures, in order to improve their coordination ability and response speed. They should also enhance their environmental scanning and scenario analysis capabilities to timely capture market changes and customer needs, and adjust their strategic objectives, business scopes and product structures to improve their adaptability and competitiveness (Alshumrani et al., 2022). For instance, Chinese industrial enterprises could refer to the experience of Emerson, which emphasizes management innovation and organisational structure optimisation. It has
implemented a business platform strategy globally, and divided its businesses into five platforms. Each platform has its own market positioning, customer base and growth strategy, which helps Emerson achieve high concentration and efficient operation of its businesses (Asgary & Maccari, 2019).
4.4. Improving the market and institutional environment
The market and institutional environment are external conditions and guarantees for labour productivity, and improving the market and institutional environment is the fundamental guarantee for improving labour productivity (Salimova et al., 2022). Hence, China needs to improve the market and institutional environment to improve the market opportunities, market efficiency and institutional dividends of Chinese industrial enterprises.
Generally, China should strengthen market supervision and crack down on monopoly, unfair competition, price fraud and other acts, to maintain market order and fair competition, and promote market vitality and efficiency. Meanwhile, China should strengthen legal construction, and improve the laws and regulations, industry standards, and contract norms related to industrial enterprises, in order to protect their legitimate rights and interests and self-operation. In addition, China also needs to strengthen the construction of social credit and the cultivation of integrity culture, and establish the social credit system, credit evaluation system and credit incentive system, so as to improve the credit and integrity level of industrial enterprises, and reduce their transaction costs and risks (Salimova et al., 2022). Chinese industrial enterprises can learn from Schneider to actively promote energy efficiency management solutions globally, and establish partnerships with governments, institutions, and organisations in multiple countries and regions to participate in the formulation and implementation of energy policies (Schneider, 2023).
5. Conclusion
This report took the labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises as the research object, analysed the trend, influencing factors and problems of their labour productivity, and proposed countermeasures to improve their labour productivity. In general, their labour productivity has shown an overall upward trend since 1949, but the growth rate has been unstable and there have been periodic fluctuations. The growth of their labour productivity depends more on physical capital investment and technological progress, while the contribution of human capital investment and management innovation is lower. The factors influencing their labour productivity are mainly human capital, technological innovation, management innovation, as well as market and institutional environment. The low level of human capital, weak technological innovation capability, low level of management innovation, and imperfect market and institutional environment have hindered the improvement of their labour productivity. To improve their labour productivity, Chinese industrial enterprises are recommended to strengthen human capital investment and cultivation, promote technological innovation and transformation, optimise management innovation and organisational structure, and improve the market and institutional environment.
However, there are also some limitations in this report, such as the lack of quantitative or empirical analysis of various factors influencing labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises, lack of feasibility analysis of various countermeasures, etc. These limitations may affect the accuracy or comprehensiveness of this report. Therefore, future research may attempt to use more, updated, and accurate data sources, and adopt more rigorous, scientific, and innovative methodologies to conduct a more in-depth, detailed, and comprehensive analysis of labour productivity of Chinese industrial enterprises.
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