This paper examines the nature of China's current research climate and its effects on foreign scholarship. Drawing on an original survey of over 500 China scholars, we find that repressive research experiences are a rare but real phenomenon and collectively present a barrier to the conduct of research in China. Roughly 9 per cent of China scholars report that they have been “invited to tea” by authorities within the past ten years; 26 per cent of scholars who conduct archival research report being denied access; and 5 per cent of researchers report some difficulty obtaining a visa. The paper provides descriptive information on the nature of these experiences and their determinants. It concludes with a discussion of self-censorship and strategies for conducting research on China.

In this article, we describe the development of cross-cultural research in organizational behaviour over the last few decades. Distinguishing four epochs of cross-cultural research, i.e., the Aristotelian, Linnean, Newtonian, and Einsteinian, we explain research questions, empirical approaches, and research designs that have guided contributions to each epoch. Based on this description, we outline a route for future research that takes Chinese indigenous constructs as points of departure to describe how individual outcomes of interest are embedded in their cultural environment. Finally, we provide concrete implications for future research in this area.