The breakaway success of the Chinese economy is one of the most remarkable economic stories of the last decade. No-one could have predicted that a communist state would have turned into one of the great capitalist success stories.

But more than 31 years after his death, the influence of Mao Zedong is still strong among Chinese executives, according to researchers. Their piece Mao's Pervasive Influence on Chinese CEOs published in the latest Harvard Business Review warns that executives of multinational firms partnering with Chinese companies need to watch out for this. If you want, you can read the entire piece here.

According to the researchers, all but one of 15 CEOs interviewed said they often turned to Mao's teachings for management ideas.

"Consider the manner in which Mao wielded power: by keeping the country in a state of chaotic flux, often playing one group against another. To make a change in the political landscape, Mao would orchestrate a movement that sucked in the entire population, such as the campaign against Liu Shaoqi (the number two leader in the Chinese Communist Party) and his allies, then resort to a mixture of agitation, networking, and rallying to mobilize people at the grass roots to denounce certain cadres, or senior officials. Most of the cadres would be forced out of their jobs, and Mao would rehabilitate a few. Deng Xiaoping was denounced in this manner, rehabilitated, and denounced again. In our study ... we found several Chinese chief executives who employ a business version of that tactic: They cement their authority by keeping even senior managers in a constant state of uncertainty, sometimes mobilizing lower-level employees to criticize and pressure mid- and upper-level executives."

It cites case studies where wireless-paging company mobilized lower-level employees to defy middle managers, forcing them to resign. Or the case of a former general manager of a call center whow as forced to quit after her subordinates were directly mobilized by the parent company's CEO to circumvent her orders. Proponents of the Mao-style tactics include Zong Qinghou, the founder and former CEO of Wahaha, the French-Chinese beverage joint venture.

As the researchers point out, Mao has left an indelible imprint on the thinking of Chinese people who are now in their forties or older.