AUTHOR=Sun Gong , Li Jian TITLE=Values Evolution in Transitional China: An Institutional Perspective JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.792707 DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.792707 ISSN=1664-1078 ABSTRACT=Values are greatly affected by the social and economic environment of a country. Thus, social transformation can lead to values evolution. China has been experiencing a huge social, political, and economic transition in the last four decades. Previous studies that explore value changes in China mainly compare values across regions or generation cohorts. This research investigates the issue from an institutional perspective. Specifically, we propose that the diversification of ownership types – the essence of the economic and institutional reform since 1978 may result in value change. By surveying 327 participants from state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and 220 respondents from privately owned enterprises (POEs), comparisons between SOEs and POEs on four value dimensions – individualism, power distance, risk aversion, and money orientation – were performed. The results basically support cross-vergence theory in values evolution. Implications and limitations are presented as well.