Abstract:

Based on the generational distribution of personnel within Danwei, this study conducts a case analysis of a county-level taxation agency in central China, and examinesthe historical impact of generational succession on the behavior and internal ecology of Danwei, discussing the evolution of the mores in Danwei. The study finds that intergenerational relationship is the key clue to understanding the evolution of Danwei. In 1980s, Danwei recruited a significant number of Zidi of the workers(children of employees) by securing funding quotas and administrative allocations. During this period, the intergenerational relationships within Danwei had familial characteristics, centered around formal and informal interactions between "first-generation workers" and "second-generation workers (Zidi)". This led to the formation of a compound authority structure where kinship and formal institutions were interwoven, maintaining effective functioning of Danwei. However, since the turn of the 21st Century, after the retirement of the old workers and the personnel system reform, the"Zidi Danwei" gradually declined, and Danwei began a process of "de-kinship" transformation. The "second-generation workers (Zidi)" and the "third-generation workers (students)" no longer engaged in "quasi-family" interactions, reversing the intergenerational status, breaking the compound authority structure before, and also shaping the new behaviors and norms of Danwei. Across both historical phases, intergenerational relationship remained pervasively embedded in the organizational functioning of Danwei, continuously shaping the evolution of its formal and informal institutions.The intergenerational relationship forms the mores which functions formal institutions. It is also an important perspective to study Danwei in the future.

Key words: Danwei, intergenerational relationship, authority structure, mores, organizational change