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Guanxi (Chinese Studies)

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  1. Introduction
  2. The term guanxi 关系is used to describe many different facets of Chinese personal relationships. It may refer to a specific dyad, to ways in which the dyad is developed and maintained, or to the norms and expectations governing social networks more generally. It is assumed by many to be a culturally distinct form of social networking because of its roots in Confucianism. However, beyond the influence of Confucian values, guanxi can also be understood as the product of historical, political, and economic factors that encouraged the preference for particularist ties. From this standpoint, the argument runs that if societal institutions are weak, then relying on established close ties with trusted individuals becomes especially important. A number of core debates develop from this basic tension between cultural and institutional explanations. The first is whether or not the importance of guanxi will decrease as China continues its economic transition. Some argue that a shift to a rational-legal bureaucracy, based on the principle of open-market competition, will necessitate a decline in the importance of guanxi. Others suggest the reverse, noting that the turmoil associated with economic transition may create greater uncertainty and could enhance the need to rely on guanxi connections. A third position is that guanxi will endure in a modified form. What will emerge is a hybrid form of organization and capitalist economy combining both Chinese cultural preferences and certain features of modern corporations. This debate raises questions about the ethics of guanxi in a globalized economy, with both culturally relativist and normative arguments found in the literature. In terms of the link between guanxi and politics, there is much public interest in the nature of the relationships between entrepreneurs and officials and an intense focus on how they may be forged through corruption and bribery. Much of the empirical work since the mid-1980s has focused on the effects of guanxi in organizations both at the individual level (in terms of recruitment, promotion, and supervisor relationships) and at the firm level (in terms of strategy, market entry, and performance). There is also an emerging body of work on the gendered nature of power differentials in guanxi dyads. Much of the research on guanxi has been carried out in urban organizational settings by using cross-sectional surveys, but there are a number of in-depth village ethnographies that emphasize the diversity of ways in which guanxi can be experienced, conceptualized, and investigated.
  3.  
  4. General Overviews
  5. Gold, et al. 2002 seeks to address some fundamental questions about guanxi, such as its origins, form, and purpose and whether or not it is fundamentally different from other forms of networks. It notes the conceptual burden often put on the term guanxi, which is defined in different ways in different studies, and offers a taxonomy of guanxi that is sensitive both to cultural and institutional perspectives, though it leans somewhat more toward institutionalist arguments. Yang 1994, an urban ethnography, is based on fieldwork conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It shows the complex intertwining of historical, cultural, and political influences on guanxi, which, the author argues, intensified during the early transition from a socialist state economy. The basic argument is that close personal relationships served to diffuse and subvert the redistributive economy. The fieldwork shows how guanxi was defined and justified by those who actually used it. Luo 2007 focuses on the pervasiveness of guanxi in Chinese firms and the implications of this for foreign businesses. The introduction provides a clear overview of the key themes used in researching guanxi in a business context, including to what extent gift and favor exchange may be equated with bribery and corruption. Huang 2009 emphasizes the importance attached to guanxi in Confucian ethics, where the relationship itself is valued over and above any specific “cost-benefit” evaluation. Family and “family-type” relationships are used as the model for public organization and governance. From this, Huang argues, stems the blurring of public and private norms that is often associated with guanxi relationships. Huang 2009 is a key proponent of the culturalist position, arguing that guanxi can be understood only through an appreciation of how it developed from Confucianism.
  6.  
  7. Gold, Thomas, Doug Guthrie, and David Wank, eds. Social Connections in China: Institutions, Culture, and the Changing Nature of Guanxi. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences 21. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  8.  
  9. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511499579Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  10.  
  11. The authors outline the historical development of the use of the concept of guanxi in scholarly and business discourse. The book has a strong focus on network analysis and sociological perspectives. There is an emphasis on how guanxi has shaped (and is being shaped by) China’s economic and institutional reforms.
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  15. Huang Guoguang 黄光国 (Hwang Kwang-Kuo). Rujia guanxi zhuyi: Wenhua fansi yu dianfan chongjian (儒家关系主义：文化反思与典范重建). Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe, 2009.
  16.  
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  18.  
  19. Hwang’s Chinese-language research summary emphasizes the enduring influence of Confucianism on relationships in Chinese societies. An elaboration of his general standpoint that Chinese people remain fundamentally rooted in small group relationships, which always take precedence over the interests either of individuals or large groups.
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  22.  
  23. Luo, Yadong. Guanxi and Business. 2d ed. Asia-Pacific Business 5. Singapore: World Scientific, 2007.
  24.  
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  26.  
  27. Introduction to the use of guanxi in a business context. Aimed at non-Chinese managers intending to work in China. Luo is one of the key academic researchers in this area and provides a succinct overview of the major themes in guanxi and organizational studies: firm performance, strategy, and governance.
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  30.  
  31. Yang, Mayfair Mei-hui. Gifts, Favors, and Banquets: The Art of Social Relationships in China. Wilder House Series in Politics, History, and Culture. New York: Cornell University Press, 1994.
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  34.  
  35. Argues that the practice of guanxi increased during the institutional uncertainties of the reform period. Suggests “modern” guanxi is an urban, instrumental construction. It can be distinguished from the more traditional rural gift economy, which is based on feelings of warmth and reciprocity in relationships.
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  39. Guide to Media Sources
  40. Political Guanxi in China is a topic that is widely discussed both in the Chinese and Western media. This is particularly so in light of Xi Jinping’s pledge to fight corrupt officials, be they large “tigers” or small “flies,” as he puts it. Interpretations of the pledge range from generally supportive to arguing that this is just the latest example of a purge in China’s factional politics. This section offers some guidance to Chinese media sources, which offer coverage of the latest developments. Some sources have English-language pages. Media sources vary in the extent to which they provide official commentary on news events. For example, Renmin Ribao and Jiefang Ribao tend to deliver a fairly standard Chinese Communist Party (CCP) perspective on most matters. Others, although still indirectly under official control, can be more controversial and challenging in their editorial approach. These include Huanqiu Shibao, Jinghua Shibao, Xinjing Bao, and Wenhui Bao. In the West, Caijing is one of the most highly regarded Chinese media sources. It takes a critical standpoint on the relationship between business and politics, both in China and the West.
  41.  
  42. Caijing (财经).
  43.  
  44. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  45.  
  46. Covers social, political, and economic issues. Independently owned and based in Beijing, it has a strong reputation for political and social critique. Has English-language pages.
  47.  
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  49.  
  50. Huanqiu Shibao (环球时报).
  51.  
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  53.  
  54. A daily tabloid controlled by Renmin Ribao, takes a populist, sometimes confrontational, approach. The English-language version is known as the Global Times.
  55.  
  56. Find this resource:
  57.  
  58. Jiefang Ribao (解放日报).
  59.  
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  61.  
  62. Official daily newspaper of the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party of China.
  63.  
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  65.  
  66. Jinghua Shibao (京华时报).
  67.  
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  69.  
  70. A popular Beijing tabloid with centrist editorial opinions affiliated with Renmin Ribao.
  71.  
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  73.  
  74. Renmin Ribao (人民日报).
  75.  
  76. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  77.  
  78. Official paper of the Central People’s government and CCP Central Committee. Generally conservative, but it may be more liberal depending on the issue. Has English-language pages.
  79.  
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  81.  
  82. Wenhui Bao (文汇报).
  83.  
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  85.  
  86. Popular daily newspaper in Shanghai. Semiofficial approach and broad editorial content.
  87.  
  88. Find this resource:
  89.  
  90. Xinjing Bao (新京报).
  91.  
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  93.  
  94. One of the best-selling daily newspapers in Beijing. Liberal with reformist ambitions.
  95.  
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  97.  
  98. Journals
  99. The research on guanxi grew rapidly from the 1990s onward. This was largely driven by interest in how the ongoing economic reforms might influence guanxi and the implications of this for foreign-invested enterprises in China. Consequently, much of the debate on guanxi in the West has been published in management journals such as International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of Business Ethics, and Management and Organization Review. Chinese management journals also offer good coverage on this topic; see, for example, Guanli shijie. That said, some key articles can also be found in journals focused on Chinese studies generally, such as the China Journal, the China Quarterly, and Journal of Contemporary China. In addition, cultural and social-psychological approaches to guanxi have been covered in a number of key Chinese language journals such as Bentu xinlixue yanjiu.
  100.  
  101. Bentu xinlixue yanjiu (本土心里学研究).
  102.  
  103. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  104.  
  105. A Chinese-language journal, first published in 1993, it contains a number of articles that focus on the emotional, cognitive, and social psychological aspects of guanxi.
  106.  
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  108.  
  109. China Journal.
  110.  
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  112.  
  113. Well-established journal that provides occasional coverage of guanxi studies in China and Taiwan from anthropological, sociological, economic, and political-science perspectives. Published by the Contemporary China Centre based at the Australian National University.
  114.  
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  116.  
  117. China Quarterly.
  118.  
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  120.  
  121. An interdisciplinary journal focusing on all aspects of modern China. Provides key background information for researchers interested in guanxi both in rural and urban settings. Established in 1960.
  122.  
  123. Find this resource:
  124.  
  125. Guanli shijie (管理世界).
  126.  
  127. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  128.  
  129. Established in 1985, this is one of the key Chinese-language journals for management studies. Includes some articles on the definition, measurement, and use of guanxi in business.
  130.  
  131. Find this resource:
  132.  
  133. International Journal of Human Resource Management.
  134.  
  135. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  136.  
  137. Publishes many empirical articles on guanxi in relation to international business, organizational behavior, personnel management, and industrial relations. First published in 1990.
  138.  
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  140.  
  141. Journal of Business Ethics.
  142.  
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  144.  
  145. Established in 1980, this English-language journal has covered much of the debate on guanxi and business ethics, broadly defined. Papers may be normative in their standpoint or emphasize cultural relativism in the relationship between guanxi and ethical behavior.
  146.  
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  148.  
  149. Journal of Contemporary China.
  150.  
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  152.  
  153. A journal edited in North America with a focus on modern China. Aimed at business people and government policymakers as well as academics. Has published articles on guanxi that use various social science and legal perspectives.
  154.  
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  156.  
  157. Management and Organization Review.
  158.  
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  160.  
  161. The official journal of the International Association for Chinese Management Research. First published in 2005; abstracts available in English and Chinese, and articles published in English. Frequently includes empirical and theoretical articles on guanxi.
  162.  
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  164.  
  165. Influence of Confucian Relationalism on Guanxi
  166. A number of authors use the term “Confucian relationalism” to describe the influence of Confucian ideas on guanxi and guanxi practices. For them, an understanding of Confucian thought explains much of what can be observed in the use of guanxi in early-21st-century China. A good translation of the Ethics of Confucius is provided in Dawson 2005. In the Ethics, Confucius describes how the Way of Humanity (rendao 人道) was constructed through modeling the Way of Heaven (tiendao 天道). The Way of Heaven is a belief that God (Tian) grants emperors the right to rule on the basis of their ability to rule justly and withdraws the right if they prove corrupt or incompetent. Thus, in the Way of Humanity, the elite must act appropriately and justly and earn their right to rule. Hwang 2001 describes the Confucian wu lun 五伦 or “five relationships,” which refer to generally hierarchical dyadic social ties governed by certain codes of conduct. The three closest dyadic relationships are emperor and official, father and son, and husband and wife. The other two are relationships between the elder and the younger and between friends (with friendship being somewhat more egalitarian than the others). Bond and Hwang 2008 notes that the relational characteristics of the wu lun are extended into society in such a way that the duties and responsibilities assigned to these relationships are echoed in larger organizational forms and collectives. Bell 2000 describes guanxi as the mechanism through which wu lun are transferred beyond the family. Relationships between self and other were based on predetermined role expectations and personal qualities such as benevolence, righteousness, and propriety (ren yi li 仁义礼). Righteousness (yi 义) and propriety (li 礼) refer to respect for superiors of a designated social rank, with righteousness providing guidance on the appropriate rules for social exchange. Benevolence (ren 仁) relates to the expressive component of guanxi, which may be differentially allocated. Ho 1998, drawing on an interpretation of Confucianism in Fei 1992, cited under Ethnographic Approaches (originally published in 1948), introduces a distinction between “person in relations and persons in relation,” arguing for the need to have guanxi research that focuses on actual interactions, rather than simply persons or their situation. Hwang 2000 builds on this approach by illustrating Confucianism at work in the “microworlds” of dyadic relationships in modern Chinese society. It also emphasizes the importance of guanxi for maintaining and building face (mianzi 面子).
  167.  
  168. Bell, Duran. “Guanxi: A Nesting of Groups.” Current Anthropology 41.1 (2000): 132–138.
  169.  
  170. DOI: 10.1086/300113Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  171.  
  172. Notes the bases of guanxi in the Confucian “five relationships” or wu lun (五伦) and how these can be extended out to other groups in village communities so that each group is “nested” within another. Emphasizes the “family-like” quality of guanxi over the instrumental “reciprocal” approaches adopted by some other authors.
  173.  
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  175.  
  176. Bond, Michael Harris, and Kwang-kuo Hwang. “The Social Psychology of Chinese People.” In The Psychology of the Chinese People. Edited by Michael Harris Bond, 213–266. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  177.  
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  179.  
  180. Originally published in 1986. Argues that the pervasiveness of Confucian thinking in Chinese societies means that the ideal-type harmonies of family relationships often act as a model for non-family relationships. Guanxi helps transform a workplace connection into a family-like, communal relationship. Social exchange outside the workplace helps to achieve this.
  181.  
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  183.  
  184. Dawson, Miles Menander, ed. and trans. The Ethics of Confucius. New York: Cosimo, 2005.
  185.  
  186. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  187.  
  188. An accessible translation of Confucius’s statements on ethics and of the various interpretations of the work by his followers. Sections on qualities of the superior man, self-development, human relations, the family, the state, cultivation of the fine arts, and universal relations.
  189.  
  190. Find this resource:
  191.  
  192. Ho, David Y. F. “Interpersonal Relationships and Relationship Dominance: An Analysis Based on Methodological Relationism.” Asian Journal of Social Psychology 1.1 (1998): 1–16.
  193.  
  194. DOI: 10.1111/1467-839X.00002Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  195.  
  196. Classifies interpersonal relationships as they are found in cultural myths. Suggests that Chinese cultures are so relationship oriented that guanxi is pursued “for its own sake.” Argues for a “mature” Asian social psychology based on methodological relationalism.
  197.  
  198. Find this resource:
  199.  
  200. Hwang, Kwang-Kuo. “Chinese Relationalism: Theoretical Construction and Methodological Considerations.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 30.2 (2000): 155–178.
  201.  
  202. DOI: 10.1111/1468-5914.00124Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  203.  
  204. A theoretical review that stresses the importance of Confucianism in the phenomenological “life worlds” of Chinese people. Uses constructive realism to build on the “persons-in-relations” model, emphasizing the differential orders of relationships used in guanxi.
  205.  
  206. Find this resource:
  207.  
  208. Hwang, Kwang-Kuo. “The Deep Structure of Confucianism: A Social Psychological Approach.” Asian Philosophy: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East 11.3 (2001): 179–204.
  209.  
  210. DOI: 10.1080/09552360120116928Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  211.  
  212. Notes a distinction between ethics for ordinary people and ethics for scholars (or superiors) and how this relates to guanxi in terms of procedural and distributional justice. The person in the superior position should play the role of decision maker and may allocate resources by favoring intimate relationships.
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  215.  
  216. Guanxi Typologies
  217. Chen, et al. 2013 reviews the research on how different kinds of “bases” create various forms of guanxi. The term “bases” refers to the nature of the connection between the interacting dyads. For example, King 1991 notes that different types of guanxi may be based on different attributes of the relationship, such as whether the dyads are connected by kin, region, education, or workplace. Yang 1988 is a seminal paper that clearly situates the relationships among guanxi, the “gift economy,” and the broader field of political power relations during the earlier period of reform. Zhang 1999 develops a guanxi typology based on understanding the degree of psychological distance between ego (any specific individual) and those in the guanxi net. Hwang 1987 adopts a comparative approach, arguing that the principle of reciprocity (bao 报) is more “intense” in Chinese societies than in the West, but that it nevertheless remains hierarchically distributed. The “quality” of guanxi is highly dependent on the initial base from which the relationship was built, and the norms of face and reciprocity expected within the relationship are guided by status indicators. Yang 1999 makes a distinction between family and non-family guanxi, arguing that non-family ties can never be as strong or influential as those based on kin and affective attachment. Kiong and Kee 1998 argues that different guanxi bases are associated with different degrees of trust (xinyong 信用) in the relationship. Qi 2013 contends that the expressive and instrumental aspects identified in guanxi typologies (such as the sometimes close mingling of sentiment with gift and favor exchange) could usefully be adopted by Western theoretical traditions, such as social capital, which often seek to clearly distinguish between the two elements.
  218.  
  219. Chen, Chao C., Xiao-Ping Chen, and Shengsheng Huang. “Chinese Guanxi: An Integrative Review and New Directions for Future Research.” Management and Organization Review 9.1 (2013): 167–207.
  220.  
  221. DOI: 10.1111/more.12010Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  222.  
  223. Outlines the basic characteristics of guanxi dyads, reviewing differences among guanxi bases, guanxi qualities, and guanxi dynamics. Provides a detailed overview of the different ways in which the term guanxi is used in research depending on the unit of analysis under investigation.
  224.  
  225. Find this resource:
  226.  
  227. Hwang, Kwang-kuo. “Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game.” American Journal of Sociology 92.4 (1987): 944–974.
  228.  
  229. DOI: 10.1086/228588Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  230.  
  231. Argues that guanxi “types” are based on varying degrees of expectation about reciprocity. Family guanxi will always be stronger than non-family ties. Guanxi built with strangers is likely to be somewhat distant and instrumental though will still be based on the norms of hierarchical relationship and maintaining face (mianzi面子).
  232.  
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  234.  
  235. King, Ambrose Yeo-chi. “Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation.” In Special Issue: The Living Tree: The Changing Meaning of Being Chinese Today. Daedalus 120.2 (1991): 63–84.
  236.  
  237. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  238.  
  239. Discusses the importance of shared “attributes” in guanxi building. The more attributes an individual has, the easier it is to establish a large guanxi network. Attributes include family, kinship, birthplace, voluntary associations, colleagues, schoolmates, and friendships. Outlines the importance of la 拉 (pulling or using) guanxi in network building.
  240.  
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  242.  
  243. Kiong, Tong Chee, and Yong Pit Kee. “Guanxi Bases, Xinyong and Chinese Business Networks.” British Journal of Sociology 49.1 (1998): 75–96.
  244.  
  245. DOI: 10.2307/591264Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  246.  
  247. Based on fieldwork conducted in Singapore and Malaysia. Identifies dimensions of personalism such as personal control and extent of personal guanxi relationships and its relationship to xinyong (trust). Argues that the dynamic can be understood only by reference to larger social relations and institutional forces.
  248.  
  249. Find this resource:
  250.  
  251. Qi, Xiaoying. “Guanxi, Social Capital Theory and Beyond: Toward a Globalized Social Science.” British Journal of Sociology 64.2 (2013): 308–324.
  252.  
  253. DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.12019Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  254.  
  255. Identifies elements of guanxi that may have universal representation. Considers guanxi as a variant form of social capital, showing how the affective and instrumental nature of social and economic relationships is not always recognized in Western social theory.
  256.  
  257. Find this resource:
  258.  
  259. Yang, Mayfair Mei-hui. “The Modernity of Power in the Chinese Socialist Order.” Cultural Anthropology 3.4 (1988): 408–427.
  260.  
  261. DOI: 10.1525/can.1988.3.4.02a00050Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  262.  
  263. Discusses the distinction between bribery and guanxi. Argues that the gift economy of guanxi is closer to what Pierre Bourdieu describes as “symbolic capital.” The ethics and etiquette of guanxi are interwoven with aspects such as face, honor, reciprocity, and so on; these features are not commonly associated with bribery.
  264.  
  265. Find this resource:
  266.  
  267. Yang Zhongfan 杨中芳. “You guan renji guanxi ji renji qi qing gan de gou nian hua” (有关人际关系及人际情感的构念化). Bentu xinlixue yanjiu 本土心理學研究12 (1999): 105–179.
  268.  
  269. DOI: 10.6254/1999.12.105Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  270.  
  271. Makes the distinction between affective and instrumental guanxi, making a specific link to the differences between family and non-family ties. The quality of guanxi differs depending on the level of emotional attachment between dyads.
  272.  
  273. Find this resource:
  274.  
  275. Zhang Zhixue 张志学. “Zhongguoren de renji guanxi renzhi yi xiangduo weidu de yanjiu (中国人的人际关係认知：一项多维度的研究).” Bentu xinlixue yanjiu 本土心理学研究12 (1999): 261–288.
  276.  
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  278.  
  279. An empirical study that develops a guanxi typology based on three dimensions: relationships that are distinct depending on the psychological and familial distance of the relationship from ego, the amount of autonomous ego experienced, and ego’s personal dependence on the relationship.
  280.  
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  282.  
  283. Guanxi Development
  284. Research on guanxi development highlights the dynamic nature of guanxi building and maintenance. Chen and Chen 2004 develops a stage model of guanxi development that classifies the objectives and activities associated with each stage. For example, when initiating guanxi the objective is to establish a base for developing the connection further and to engage in activities of familiarization and self-disclosure. Only at a later stage are favors exchanged. Chen and Peng 2008 argues that much research on guanxi is too static and that Chinese coworker relationships can and do change over time, becoming either closer or more distant. The nature of the change will depend on the quality of the prior relationship (which determines expectations of exchange and support), and the nature of the particular incident that triggers the change. Luo 2011 notes that changes in Chinese urban society means that the standpoint in Hwang 1987 (cited under Guanxi Typologies) that trusting relationships are very rarely extended to strangers may need revision. Luo 2011 indicates that there are circumstances under which a stranger encountered in the workplace may very well be able to become part of the “inner” trusted guanxi circle of a coworker. Chen 1997 emphasizes the importance of information exchange for cementing and developing guanxi relationships, especially among the elite. Jiang 2001 examines the different kinds of hongbao (红包) that can be exchanged at festivals and the relative merit of each for developing reciprocity. Lin 2001 argues that both instrumental and sentimental aspects of guanxi are important for the maintenance and development of relationships. While social exchanges may be asymmetrical, in that resources flow from giver to receiver, the giver gains reputation and may enhance his or her network centrality. It is the relationships themselves that must be valued, not any individual gift or favor. Likewise, Huang 2002 suggests that the asymmetrical nature of some guanxi dyads means that each different party has a different set of obligations to fulfill in order to maintain or develop the connection.
  285.  
  286. Chen Hong 陈泓. “Renqing mianzi guanxiwang dui rencai jingzheng de fu zuoyong (人情, 面子, 关系网对人才竞争的负作用).” Jianghan daxue xuebao 江汉大学学报 1 (1997): 113–115.
  287.  
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  289.  
  290. Discusses how the exchange of “information favors” in a guanxi system can be extensive. Argues that the often highly exclusive informational benefits of elite guanxi systems are one of the fundamental drivers of success for many powerful people in China.
  291.  
  292. Find this resource:
  293.  
  294. Chen, Xiao-Ping, and Chao C. Chen. “On the Intricacies of the Chinese Guanxi: A Process Model of Guanxi Development.” Asia Pacific Journal of Management 21.3 (2004): 305–324.
  295.  
  296. DOI: 10.1023/B:APJM.0000036465.19102.d5Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  297.  
  298. Outlines a three-stage model of guanxi development: establishment of guanxi bases, guanxi objectives, and the operating principles at different stages. “Anticipatory guanxi bases” refers to shared aspirations between parties who come into contact without preexisting guanxi. Argues that the assumption of the need for preexisting ties might be overstated.
  299.  
  300. Find this resource:
  301.  
  302. Chen, Xiao-Ping, and Siqing Peng. “Guanxi Dynamics: Shifts in the Closeness of Ties between Chinese Coworkers.” Management and Organization Review 4.1 (2008): 63–80.
  303.  
  304. DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-8784.2007.00078.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  305.  
  306. This study demonstrates how guanxi between coworkers changes after an interpersonal incident. The change is influenced by the perception of closeness prior to the event. Expectations about the relationship play a key role in determining outcomes, demonstrating the dynamic nature of guanxi.
  307.  
  308. Find this resource:
  309.  
  310. Huang Yuqin 黄玉琴. “Liwu shengming ylili he renqing juan yixu jiacun weili (礼物, 生命仪礼和人情圈 以徐家村为例).” Shehui xueyan jiu 社会学研究 4 (2002): 88–101.
  311.  
  312. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  313.  
  314. Discusses in detail the role of gifts and reciprocity in guanxi development. Notes the asymmetrical nature of some dyadic exchanges. Those with more “face” in a network are expected to make more sacrifices. Those with lower status may be excused their greed and thrift to some extent.
  315.  
  316. Find this resource:
  317.  
  318. Jiang Xingming 蒋兴明. “Hongbao xianxiang de shehuixue sikao xingzheng yufa (红包 现象的社会学思考).” Yunnan minzu daxue xuebao 云南民族大学学报 6 (2001): 57–60.
  319.  
  320. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  321.  
  322. Describes the different ways in which hongbao are used in guanxi development. While usually associated with “red envelopes” of cash, they can also take other forms such as prepaid international calling (IC) phone cards and shopping vouchers. Discusses the different emotional affects attached to different kinds of hongbao.
  323.  
  324. Find this resource:
  325.  
  326. Lin, Nan. “Guanxi: A Conceptual Analysis.” Paper presented at a conference organized by the North American Chinese Sociologists Association, held in August 1997 in Toronto. In The Chinese Triangle of Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Comparative Institutional Analyses. Edited by Alvin Y. So, Nan Lin, and Dudley L. Poston, 153–166. Contributions in Sociology 133. Portsmouth, NH: Greenwood, 2001.
  327.  
  328. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  329.  
  330. Working within the tradition of social capital and social network analysis, this conceptual paper argues that it is possible to include both the sentimental feelings and instrumental uses of guanxi in the development of guanxi. Argues that guanxi should be considered as an asymmetric transaction embedded within a social-exchange network.
  331.  
  332. Find this resource:
  333.  
  334. Luo, Jar‐Der. “Guanxi Revisited: An Exploratory Study of Familiar Ties in a Chinese Workplace.” In Special Issue: Globalization of Chinese Enterprises. Management and Organization Review 7.2 (2011): 329–351.
  335.  
  336. DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-8784.2011.00230.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  337.  
  338. Uses a small-scale study in one Chinese organization to argue that complex, sensitive transactions need not be restricted to a closed inner circle of familiar guanxi dyads. If a stranger encountered through the workplace proves trustworthy, then it is possible for the relationship to develop into one of closeness.
  339.  
  340. Find this resource:
  341.  
  342. Paradigms and Methodologies Used in the Study of Guanxi
  343. Guanxi researchers vary in the methods they use. This, in part, reflects the different definitions and theories of guanxi that they adopt, the outcomes they are interested in, and their general epistemological standpoint. Much of the research on urban guanxi that focuses on outcomes both at the individual level (such as recruitment and promotion) and organizational level (such as firm performance and market entry) uses survey questionnaires, usually in a cross-sectional research design. Chen, et al. 2013 reviews the various definitions and measures used in management research on guanxi and draws out the strengths and weaknesses of current measures. Fan, et al. 2012 develops a measurement scale on motivation for guanxi use that attempts to make a clear division between guanxi as favor seeking and guanxi as rent seeking, though as the authors’ study shows, this is not a straightforward distinction to make. Guthrie 2002 notes that too-many studies are based on perceptions of guanxi and its importance to individuals and firms. The author argues that this kind of methodology tells us little about the concrete and specific use of guanxi in modern Chinese societies. On the other hand, Yang 2002 suggests that ethnographic approaches have much to offer the study of guanxi, both in urban and rural contexts. It argues that, given the sensitive nature of guanxi, gathering authentic data means that the researcher needs to spend time in the field building trust with participants in naturalistic settings.
  344.  
  345. Chen, Chao C., Xiao-Ping Chen, and Shengsheng Huang. “Chinese Guanxi: An Integrative Review and New Directions for Future Research.” Management and Organization Review 9.1 (2013): 167–207.
  346.  
  347. DOI: 10.1111/more.12010Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  348.  
  349. Reviews the range of theories used in guanxi management research, noting how studies focus on different levels of analysis (individual, organizational, societal) and tend to conceptualize guanxi in different ways. This has consequences for the measurement tools used. Summarizes a range of quantitative measures used in the study of guanxi.
  350.  
  351. Find this resource:
  352.  
  353. Fan, Ying Han, Gordon Woodbine, and Glennda Scully. “Guanxi and Its Influence on the Judgments of Chinese Auditors.” Asia Pacific Business Review 18.1 (2012): 83–97.
  354.  
  355. DOI: 10.1080/13602381.2010.550124Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  356.  
  357. Develops a measurement scale for guanxi based on two dimensions: favor seeking and rent seeking. Uses the scale for a survey on Chinese auditors, which demonstrates that these dimensions are moderately independent.
  358.  
  359. Find this resource:
  360.  
  361. Guthrie, Doug. “Information Asymmetries and the Problem of Perception: The Significance of Structural Position in Assessing the Importance of Guanxi in China.” In Social Connections in China: Institutions, Culture, and the Changing Nature of Guanxi. Edited by Thomas Gold, Doug Guthrie, and David Wank, 37–56. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences 21. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  362.  
  363. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511499579Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  364.  
  365. Argues that methodologies that measure perceptions of the importance of guanxi cannot be used as evidence for the actual development of the reciprocal indebtedness associated with guanxi practice. Uses a generally positivist standpoint to highlight the kinds of quantitative methods needed to gather data on the specific impact of guanxi.
  366.  
  367. Find this resource:
  368.  
  369. Yang, Mayfair Mei-hui. “The Resilience of Guanxi and Its New Deployments: A Critique of Some New Guanxi Scholarship.” China Quarterly 170 (June 2002): 459–476.
  370.  
  371. DOI: 10.1017/S000944390200027XSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  372.  
  373. Notes the strengths of using participant observation and unstructured conversational interviews as a means of tracking changes in the meaning and use of guanxi over time. Highlights the ecological validity of ethnographies and ethnomethodological approaches for capturing these kinds of data in urban as well as rural settings.
  374.  
  375. Find this resource:
  376.  
  377. Ethnographic Approaches
  378. Often focusing on rural, community understandings of guanxi, this strand of research can be a useful foil for the work done in urban organizational settings. This literature tends to place more emphasis on the “emotional,” “feeling” side of guanxi. Ganqing (deep feeling) and renqing (etiquette) are often emphasized. Kipnis 1997 is based partly on the theoretical work of Pierre Bourdieu and argues that the emotional aspects of guanxi form an important part of the construction of self in China’s shift to modernity. Fei 1992, a “classic” based on fieldwork from the 1930s and 1940s, emphasizes that guanxi was rooted in thousands of years of Chinese culture but is now a hindrance to the development of modern organizations and public morality. Trained by Bronisław Malinowski, Fei Xiaotong uses a functionalist analysis and a dichotomous, oppositional view of societies in China and the West, which may seem theoretically dated to the modern reader; nevertheless, this is a highly cited classic in the guanxi literature. Yan 1996, a study of a Xiajia village in the late 1980s and early 1990s, notes the importance of gift-exchange in guanxi building but is keen to note both its instrumental and expressive purposes. Reciprocity is rooted, at least in the short term, in renqing ethics, defined as the rules that govern small-group interactions, rather than the rule of immediate repay. The author also links this process to other cultural concepts such as “face,” defined both as mianzi面子, where an “inferior” can use social exchange to build up guanxi by offering gifts to the superior, and lian 脸, which indicates an appreciation of the “moral character” of people who fulfill their obligations regardless of circumstance.
  379.  
  380. Fei Xiaotong. From the Soil, the Foundations of Chinese Society: A Translation of Fei Xiaotong’s Xiangtu Zhongguo, with an Introduction and Epilogue. Edited and translated by Gary C. Hamilton and Wang Zheng. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
  381.  
  382. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383.  
  384. Shehui guanxi 社会关系, or hierarchical social relations, form the base from which the central feature of Chinese society emerges; namely, chaxu geju 差序格局. This refers to a differential mode of association, where some relationships matter more than others. This is contrasted, unfavorably, with an ideal-type conceptualization of Western meritocratic organization.
  385.  
  386. Find this resource:
  387.  
  388. Kipnis, Andrew B. Producing Guanxi: Sentiment, Self, and Subculture in a North China Village. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997.
  389.  
  390. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  391.  
  392. An ethnographic study of Fengjia village, Shandong. Argues that guanxi is neither a universal feature of Confucian societies nor a product of economic uncertainty. It is a flexible concept used in an ongoing production of self and identity where “sentiment” is as important as cultural or economic discourse.
  393.  
  394. Find this resource:
  395.  
  396. Yan, Yunxiang. The Flow of Gifts: Reciprocity and Social Networks in a Chinese Village. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1996.
  397.  
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399.  
  400. Draws out the double meaning of guanxi during the reform period: the egalitarian exchanges of kinship and friendship and the extractive, asymmetrical practices of political guanxi. Renqing (etiquette) matters more in the former than the latter.
  401.  
  402. Find this resource:
  403.  
  404. Institutional Approaches
  405. While ethnographic studies foreground the importance of microlevel subjectivities, social psychologies, and cultural influences on guanxi, institutional approaches generally situate their framework at a broader institutional level. Xin and Pearce 1996 notes that the development and enduring influence of guanxi and guanxi practices in modern China is largely a function of weak legal and regulatory institutions that emerged in a particular historical, political, and economic context. Institutionalists are concerned with whether or not reliance on guanxi will increase or decrease as the economic reforms continue. On the one hand, Guthrie 1998 argues that as China modernizes, the competitive pressures of a market economy will modify the influence of guanxi to an extent where it is broadly equivalent to forms of social capital found in the West. Fan 2002 suggests that guanxi in the urban workplace tends to yield only short-term effects and, looked at more broadly, has corrosive effects on organizations and society and will therefore decline as modernization continues. Others take a different view of causality in the relationship between guanxi and institutional change. Yang 2002 contends that guanxi actually increased during the early reform period because of greater uncertainty. It argues that it is necessary to consider the enduring influence of guanxi in light of power relations both within China and between China and the West. It notes the problems with the teleological assumptions of modernization theory, as adopted by Douglas Guthrie, which assumes markets must inevitably create “fairer” competition and more-efficient organizations, both of which, in turn, will allegedly lead to a decline in guanxi. Wank 1999 discusses “institutional commodification” during economic reform, showing how the changes led to a commodification of local bureaucratic power and influence, rather than to a retreat of the state. Importantly, David Wank argues that this effect can be traced back to the institutional structure of the command economy and is unlikely to disappear rapidly.
  406.  
  407. Fan, Ying. “Questioning Guanxi: Definition, Classification and Implications.” International Business Review 11.5 (2002): 543–561.
  408.  
  409. DOI: 10.1016/S0969-5931(02)00036-7Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  410.  
  411. Notes that the benefits of guanxi in business are mainly short term and tactical rather than long term and sustainable and that, because of its (negative) impact on the wider public, it should be studied by using a multistakeholder perspective that evaluates its societal as well as its organizational impact.
  412.  
  413. Find this resource:
  414.  
  415. Guthrie, Douglas. “The Declining Significance of Guanxi in China’s Economic Transition.” China Quarterly 154 (1998): 254–282.
  416.  
  417. DOI: 10.1017/S0305741000002034Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  418.  
  419. On the basis of qualitative and quantitative data collected in Shanghai during 1995, Guthrie shows that managers’ perception that guanxi is an important influence on firm performance has declined. Qualitative interviews with managers show that many attribute this change to economic reform processes and competitive market pressures.
  420.  
  421. Find this resource:
  422.  
  423. Wank, David L. Commodifying Communism: Business, Trust, and Politics in a Chinese City. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  424.  
  425. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  426.  
  427. Using data from ethnographic fieldwork in Xiamen in the late 1980s, Wank shows that guanxi networks with local government were essential for private businesses. For Wank, rather than being on the path of gradual development to an ideal market economy, the economy is based on the particularist support of state agents.
  428.  
  429. Find this resource:
  430.  
  431. Xin, Katherine K., and Jone L. Pearce. “Guanxi: Connections as Substitutes for Formal Institutional Support.” Academy of Management Journal 39.6 (1996): 1641–1658.
  432.  
  433. DOI: 10.2307/257072Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  434.  
  435. Using small-scale qualitative data collected from Chinese executives in the early 1990s, the authors argue that executives in private companies were more dependent on guanxi than those in the state-owned or collective-hybrid firms. This is explained by the underdeveloped legal framework, which at the time left private companies particularly vulnerable.
  436.  
  437. Find this resource:
  438.  
  439. Yang, Mayfair Mei-hui. “The Resilience of Guanxi and Its New Deployments: A Critique of Some New Guanxi Scholarship.” China Quarterly 170 (2002): 459–476.
  440.  
  441. DOI: 10.1017/S000944390200027XSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  442.  
  443. A reply to Guthrie 1998, arguing that guanxi needs to be studied historically as a continually changing “repertoire” of cultural patterns and institutional resources. Uses references to Taiwan and post-socialist Russia to suggest that guanxi is unlikely to wither away with the introduction of new legal and commercial regimes.
  444.  
  445. Find this resource:
  446.  
  447. Guanxi and Network Capitalism
  448. Utilizing both cultural and institutional arguments, a number of authors argue that guanxi can be understood as part of a broader form of “network capitalism” that has emerged in Chinese and other Confucian-influenced societies. In Boisot and Child 1996, one of the key network relationships in China is between local government and local businesses. It is therefore important for organizations to have guanxi with local government officials because they are such a significant influence on local economies in terms of providing access to resources. While this kind of guanxi relationship might be considered “weak” and somewhat dysfunctional in the West, Max Boisot and John Child contend that in China it has significant strengths because it can introduce a degree of flexibility into local and regional institutions and can allow smooth transactions in fast-changing circumstances. Redding and Witt 2007 suggests that much of the vitality of Chinese capitalism has been due to the development of traditional business practices, such as guanxi, and the return of investment and talent from regional ethnic Chinese to the mainland. Similarly, Hamilton 1998 uses the term “guanxi capitalism” to describe the importance of social networks on the development of capitalism in Taiwan. Chai and Rhee 2010 notes the limits of Western assumptions about what is an “optimum” form of networking required for a capitalist system, arguing that the relatively closed form of guanxi networking found in the regions works well in this particular “variety” of capitalism. For all these authors, understanding Chinese “network” capitalism means understanding Chinese history and culture in its own terms. Guanxi is a key part of this system and operates efficiently enough in this particular context.
  449.  
  450. Boisot, Max, and John Child. “From Fiefs to Clans and Network Capitalism: Explaining China’s Emerging Economic Order.” Administrative Science Quarterly 41.4 (1996): 600–628.
  451.  
  452. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669165.003.0002Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  453.  
  454. A theoretical paper that compares and contrasts European and Chinese economic development, using the concept of the “C-space,” or culture space, to show that “clan-like” forms of governance are not simply “staging posts” in development. Guanxi networks may become one of the defining characteristics of Chinese capitalism.
  455.  
  456. Find this resource:
  457.  
  458. Chai, Sun-Ki, and Mooweon Rhee. “Confucian Capitalism and the Paradox of Closure and Structural Holes in East Asian Firms.” Management and Organization Review 6.1 (2010): 5–29.
  459.  
  460. DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-8784.2009.00168.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  461.  
  462. Uses an “East Asian Model” of the firm to show that concepts derived from Western social network analysis (SNA) cannot explain East Asian economies. Guanxi networks may be “closed,” and therefore inefficient, in the language of Western SNA, yet they work well in the cultural context in which they emerged.
  463.  
  464. Find this resource:
  465.  
  466. Hamilton, Gary G. “Patterns of Asian Network Capitalism: The Cases of Taiwan and South Korea.” In Networks, Markets, and the Pacific Rim: Studies in Strategy. Edited by W. Mark Fruin, 181–197. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  467.  
  468. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  469.  
  470. Introduces the term “guanxi capitalism” to describe the development of Taiwan’s economy, noting the importance of small-scale loans within families and acquaintances for developing a form of parochial, household-based capitalism during the 19th and 20th centuries.
  471.  
  472. Find this resource:
  473.  
  474. Redding, Gordon, and Michael A. Witt. The Future of Chinese Capitalism: Choices and Chances. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
  475.  
  476. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  477.  
  478. Takes a business systems approach that relies on three key explanatory factors: culture, institutions, and business structures. Argues that extended networks of trusted contacts, such as guanxi, will remain an important part of Chinese capitalism. Builds argument through comparisons with Germany, Japan, Korea, and the United States.
  479.  
  480. Find this resource:
  481.  
  482. Individual Level of Analysis of Workplace Guanxi
  483. Much of the empirical research carried out on guanxi since the mid-1980s has focused on how it is employed in the workplace. Studies may focus on an individual level of analysis, which investigates how guanxi is used for human resource management (HRM) practices such as recruitment, appraisal, and promotion, or they may consider the consequences of guanxi at the organization level. The key areas of research at the individual level are described in the sections Guanxi and Recruitment and Supervisor-Employee Relationships.
  484.  
  485. Guanxi and Recruitment
  486. Yanjie Bian’s work on guanxi ties and recruitment in the 1980s and 1990s noted the significant positive effect of guanxi tie strength on job search. Bian 1997 demonstrates that in China, job seekers relied on those with whom they had strong ties; this contrasts with Western research on this topic, which notes the “strength of weak ties” in social networks. That is, in the West, it is generally thought best to have a large, loose network of acquaintances who may act as bridges to different social or business groups or to different sources of information. Affective ties need not be especially strong in order for the system to work. Bian 1997 argues that strong ties are more important in China because of cultural reasons (Chinese have a preference for this style of interaction) and institutional ones (because institutions are weak and it is important to interact with those you know and trust). Bian and Ang 1997 emphasizes the cultural preference for the use of guanxi networks, by comparing and contrasting China and Singapore. Even though Singapore has a modern labor market and many companies ostensibly use Western HRM practices, there is still a strong preference for recruitment through strong guanxi ties. Building on the work conduced in the 1980s and 1990s, Huang 2008 argues that while guanxi ties appear to be important for jobs in the state sector, they are less so for those in the nonstate sector, which Xiambi Huang explains through the increasing modernization of the labor market. Hanser 2002, a qualitative study of urban youth, also finds that guanxi is perceived to be of less importance in the recruitment process. Nolan 2011 illustrates the way in which managers in multinational corporation (MNC) banks rely on guanxi for the recruitment of local Chinese talent, who are, themselves, employed for the “quality” of their guanxi networks with officials, potential customers, and other influential players in the industry. This study describes the enduring influence of guanxi within the industry and the difficulties faced by HRM managers in aligning MNC recruitment practices with local labor market conditions.
  487.  
  488. Bian, Yanjie. “Bringing Strong Ties Back In: Indirect Ties, Network Bridges, and Job Searches in China.” American Sociological Review 62.3 (1997): 366–385.
  489.  
  490. DOI: 10.2307/2657311Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  491.  
  492. On the basis of a household survey conducted in Tianjin in 1988, Bian found that job seekers used strong guanxi ties more frequently than weak ties to find jobs. Successful hires tend to occur when the intermediary has strong guanxi ties both with the job seeker and the hirer.
  493.  
  494. Find this resource:
  495.  
  496. Bian, Yanjie, and Soon Ang. “Guanxi Networks and Job Mobility in China and Singapore.” Social Forces 75.3 (1997): 981–1005.
  497.  
  498. DOI: 10.1093/sf/75.3.981Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  499.  
  500. Develops Bian 1997 by comparing the 1988 Tianjin survey with one conducted in Singapore in 1994. Similar results were found; that is, that strong ties are more important than weak ones in job searches. The authors explain this with reference to the collectivist values of Chinese societies.
  501.  
  502. Find this resource:
  503.  
  504. Hanser, Amy. “Youth Job Searches in Urban China: The Use of Social Connections in a Changing Labor Market.” In Social Connections in China: Institutions, Culture, and the Changing Nature of Guanxi. Edited by Thomas Gold, Doug Guthrie, and David Wank, 37–57. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences 21. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  505.  
  506. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511499579Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  507.  
  508. Investigates how the use of guanxi for job search in the 1990s might have changed among urban youth. While guanxi may be useful for gathering information, participants indicated that, in their experience of the recruitment process, they were judged on merit rather than on their guanxi connections.
  509.  
  510. Find this resource:
  511.  
  512. Huang, Xianbi. “Guanxi Networks and Job Searches in China’s Emerging Labour Market: A Qualitative Investigation.” Work, Employment & Society 22.3 (2008): 467–484.
  513.  
  514. DOI: 10.1177/0950017008093481Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  515.  
  516. Uses in-depth interviews collected in the first decade of the 21st century. Argues that in the state sector, if the job is high status or “soft skill” (where performance is harder to measure), then guanxi is still important. It is less influential in the nonstate sector, where standardized selection procedures are becoming more common.
  517.  
  518. Find this resource:
  519.  
  520. Nolan, Jane. “Good Guanxi and Bad Guanxi: Western Bankers and the Role of Network Practices in Institutional Change in China.” In Special Issue: Society and HRM in China. International Journal of Human Resource Management 22.16 (2011): 3357–3372.
  521.  
  522. DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2011.586869Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  523.  
  524. Examines the way in which Western bankers use guanxi to recruit influential Chinese into their organization. Describes the discursive strategies used by managers to justify the evasion of formal recruitment practices within MNC banks.
  525.  
  526. Find this resource:
  527.  
  528. Supervisor-Employee Relationships
  529. The principles of Confucian relationalism, and the associated role obligations, are frequently examined in the study of supervisor-subordinate relationships. As a form of hierarchical relationship, the superior is expected to provide a holistic consideration for the welfare of the subordinate in terms of the latter’s psychological and economic welfare. In return the subordinate should demonstrate loyalty and commitment. Law, et al. 2000 shows that the quality of the guanxi between the supervisor and supervisee (as measured by nonwork exchanges such as gift giving and dinner invitations) seems to have a significant positive impact, above and beyond appraisal performance ratings, on the employee’s promotion opportunities and bonus allocation. On the other hand, Chen, et al. 2009 suggests that while guanxi still exists, it may be shifting in form toward a more conventionally defined type of social exchange. The study shows that employees will follow supervisors only when they feel a deep respect and connection with the supervisor. In other words, it is not the hierarchical dyadic structure of the relationship per se that is so important (as it might have been in the past); rather, it is the supervisor’s character that inspires loyalty and commitment. Smith, et al. 2014 finds similar outcomes in a study of guanxi-type relationships in eight different nations. Both these studies indicate that, despite the centrality of Confucian influence in Chinese societies, it is important of recognize the dynamic and changing nature of guanxi in modern supervisor-employee relationships.
  530.  
  531. Chen, Ying, Ray Friedman, Enhai Yu, Weihua Fang, and Xinping Lu. “Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi: Developing a Three-Dimensional Model and Scale.” In Special Issue: Social Exchange in Organizations. Management and Organization Review 5.3 (2009): 375–399.
  532.  
  533. DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-8784.2009.00153.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  534.  
  535. Develops a three-dimensional measure of supervisor-subordinate guanxi and examines its relationship to other constructs such as leader-member exchange. The three dimensions are affective attachment, personal-life inclusion, and deference to supervisor. Shows that each dimension has a different effect on work commitment, turnover intention, and procedural justice.
  536.  
  537. Find this resource:
  538.  
  539. Law, Kenneth S., Chi-Sum Wong, Duanxu Wang, and Lihua Wang. “Effect of Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi on Supervisory Decisions in China: An Empirical Investigation.” International Journal of Human Resource Management 11.4 (2000): 751–765.
  540.  
  541. DOI: 10.1080/09585190050075105Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  542.  
  543. Develops a scale on guanxi quality (nonwork acts of social exchange) and argues that leader-member guanxi (LMG) is distinct from the concept of leader-member exchange (LME), commonly found in Western literature on HRM. Good guanxi with the supervisor was positively related to receiving a promotion or bonus allocation.
  544.  
  545. Find this resource:
  546.  
  547. Smith, Peter B., S. Arzu Wasti, Lusine Grigoryan, et al. “Are Guanxi-Type Supervisor–Subordinate Relationships Culture-General? An Eight-Nation Test of Measurement Invariance.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 45.6 (2014): 921–938.
  548.  
  549. DOI: 10.1177/0022022114530496Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  550.  
  551. Uses the scale developed in Chen, et al. 2009 to show that, in a number of different cultural contexts, affective attachment to supervisors relates positively to organizational commitment and negatively to turnover intentions. Authors suggest this indicates the relevance of aspects of guanxi to superior-subordinate relations in non-Chinese cultures.
  552.  
  553. Find this resource:
  554.  
  555. Organizational Level of Analysis of Workplace Guanxi
  556. While some guanxi research in the workplace focuses on the way in which relationships are used by individuals for personal career advancement or to maintain and strengthen their professional position, much research since the end of the 20th century has focused on the role of guanxi at the organizational level. Key research on each topic is summarized in the following subsections: the use of guanxi as a strategy (Guanxi Strategy), the use of guanxi for Market Entry, and the impact of guanxi on Firm Performance.
  557.  
  558. Guanxi Strategy
  559. Guanxi strategy can be defined as the development and use of personal networks by the managers of an organization to gain a competitive advantage. Guanxi strategy might involve planning and allocating guanxi investment—namely, the resources (time, money, personnel) needed to cultivate relationships—and guanxi practice, the use of relationships to achieve organizational goals (sometimes referred to as la guanxi, or “pulling” guanxi). Langenberg 2007 outlines a range of guanxi strategies that multinational corporations (MNCs) can use to improve their business prospects in China. It discusses the implications of this for business ethics and how guanxi can be developed while remaining within the boundaries of the law (Chinese and Western) in relation to bribery, tendering, and trade libel. Tsang 1998 demonstrates the transient nature of guanxi in an organization and outlines strategies that can be used to maintain relationships at the organizational level if and when the person with the initial guanxi contact moves on. Explanations for the necessity for a guanxi strategy tend to draw both on the cultural argument and the endurance of weak legal and economic institutions.
  560.  
  561. Langenberg, Eike A. Guanxi and Business Strategy: Theory and Implications for Multinational Companies in China. Contributions to Management Science. New York: Springer, 2007.
  562.  
  563. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  564.  
  565. Outlines a typology of guanxi-based business strategies: vertical (suppliers and customers), horizontal (competitors), and lateral (government authorities). Takes a cost-benefit approach to analyzing strategies on the basis of balancing competitive advantage and legal compliance.
  566.  
  567. Find this resource:
  568.  
  569. Tsang, Eric W. K. “Can Guanxi Be a Source of Sustained Competitive Advantage for Doing Business in China?” Academy of Management Executive 12.2 (1998): 64–73.
  570.  
  571. DOI: 10.5465/AME.1998.650517Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  572.  
  573. On the basis of interviews with Chinese managers, Tsang argues that key guanxi strategies need to include techniques for maintaining valuable connections regardless of staff mobility, such as organizing social activities between staff from the two companies or signing a memorandum of understanding. Without these strategies, competitive advantage is not sustainable.
  574.  
  575. Find this resource:
  576.  
  577. Market Entry
  578. Guanxi has been shown to have a positive impact on the success of market entry and expansion. Wong and Ellis 2002 shows the importance of guanxi for identifying potential partners and gathering information about their trustworthiness. Luo and Liu 2009 explains that political guanxi can be important for private companies, as well as state-owned enterprises, in achieving successful market entry. Guanxi in this respect is related to evaluating partners through trusted intermediaries, as opposed to creating situations where any formal exchange of gifts or favors took place. Tung and Worm 2001 shows that Western companies need to develop strong guanxi on the mainland, through the use of local managers, in order to improve their success rate in terms of market entry and expansion. Ellis 2000 demonstrates differences between experienced and novice managers in their attempts to establish new opportunities in China, noting that the more knowledgeable managers relied heavily on guanxi and bothered less with formal market research. This latter approach was used by managers with less experience.
  579.  
  580. Ellis, Paul. “Social Ties and Foreign Market Entry.” Journal of International Business Studies 31.3 (2000): 443–469.
  581.  
  582. DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490916Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583.  
  584. Uses a survey of executives in Hong Kong–based toy manufacturers to investigate the use of guanxi connections in developing foreign market opportunities. More-experienced manufacturers rely, successfully, on personal connections rather than on market research to establish new export exchange relationships.
  585.  
  586. Find this resource:
  587.  
  588. Luo Danglun 罗党论 and Liu Xiaolong 刘晓龙. “Hangye bilei zhengzhiguanxi yu qiye ji xiao (行业壁垒、政治关系与企业绩效).” Guanli shijie 管理世界 5 (2009): 97–106.
  589.  
  590. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  591.  
  592. Examines how private companies can benefit from guanxi ties with government. The paper shows that private enterprises with strong government connections benefit in terms of receiving help with identifying a suitable international partner. This improves their prospects of achieving a successful market entry.
  593.  
  594. Find this resource:
  595.  
  596. Tung, Rosalie L., and Verner Worm. “Network Capitalism: The Role of Human Resources in Penetrating the China Market.” International Journal of Human Resource Management 12.4 (2001): 517–534.
  597.  
  598. DOI: 10.1080/713769653Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  599.  
  600. Compares European and Hong Kong MNCs with operations in China. European MNCs found it difficult to build guanxi with the local authorities. This was explained as being due to an enduring tendency to use expatriates and a preference for maintaining majority equity ownership to remain in control of the business.
  601.  
  602. Find this resource:
  603.  
  604. Wong, Peter Leung-Kwong, and Paul Ellis. “Social Ties and Partner Identification in Sino-Hong Kong International Joint Ventures.” Journal of International Business Studies 33.2 (2002): 267–289.
  605.  
  606. DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8491016Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  607.  
  608. Uses qualitative case study research in Hong Kong to show how networks are initially used for information exchange prior to formal negotiations. A variety of guanxi bases were used (family, friends, and acquaintances). Connections based on strong bases tend to equate with less time spent on partner searches.
  609.  
  610. Find this resource:
  611.  
  612. Firm Performance
  613. There is a substantial body of work examining the relationship between guanxi and firm performance. Luo, et al. 2012 notes that firm performance has been defined in a number of ways in the literature, including market share, growth rate compared to competitors, and return on assets. Luo and Chen 1997 and Peng and Luo 2000 show that while, in general, guanxi has an overall positive impact on firm performance, this varies depending on what type of guanxi is used (business or political), which sector is investigated, and what kind of ownership structure the firm has (state or nonstate owned). Zhuang, et al. 2008 finds generally positive, though indirect, benefits of interfirm guanxi relationships in relation to marketing and problem solving. While business guanxi can bring economic benefits, the effects of political guanxi can be more ambiguous in that they may provide short-term advantages but can constitute a risk over the long term. Chen, et al. 2010 notes that the overreliance on political guanxi can also impede innovative development and strategic thinking in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Guanxi may also require a significant investment (in time and money), and Park and Luo 2001 demonstrates that this might negatively affect profits. The authors of Peng and Luo 2000 found that ties with government were more important for firm performance for non-state-owned firms than for state-owned firms. However, Luo, et al. 2012, a meta-analytic review of the literature, shows that with the development of the institutional environment, this effect has been declining for non-state-owned firms. In the early 21st century, it is principally state-owned organizations that use government guanxi to improve firm performance.
  614.  
  615. Chen Shuang Ying 陈爽英, Jing Run Tian 井润田, Long Xiao Ning 龙小宁, and Shao Yun Fei 邵云飞. “Minying qiye jiashehui guanxi ziben dui yanfa touzījuice yingxian de shizheng yanjiu (民营企业家社会关系资本对研发投资决策影响的实证研究).” Guanli shijie 管理世界 196.1 (2010): 88–97.
  616.  
  617. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  618.  
  619. Notes that the tendency to pursue a “rent-seeking” form of instrumental guanxi is associated with organizational leaders who lack long-term strategic vision. Suggests that this is problematic for China’s SMEs in terms of innovation and good decision making.
  620.  
  621. Find this resource:
  622.  
  623. Luo, Yadong, and Min Chen. “Does Guanxi Influence Firm Performance?” Asia Pacific Journal of Management 14.1 (1997): 1–16.
  624.  
  625. DOI: 10.1023/A:1015401928005Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  626.  
  627. Finds that guanxi-based business variables have a strong and positive impact on firm efficiency and growth. Managers develop two types of guanxi: (1) with other executives (as suppliers, buyers, or competitors) and (2) with government officials. Both these types of guanxi can reduce transaction costs.
  628.  
  629. Find this resource:
  630.  
  631. Luo, Yadong, Ying Huang, and Stephanie Lu Wang. “Guanxi and Organizational Performance: A Meta‐analysis.” In Special Issue: Indigenous Management Research in China. Management and Organization Review 8.1 (2012): 139–172.
  632.  
  633. DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-8784.2011.00273.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  634.  
  635. A comprehensive meta-analysis examining over 20,000 organizations. Confirms that the influence of guanxi on performance is positive and significant. Both business and government ties are important for economic and operational performance. Government guanxi are particularly important for state-owned enterprises, but the authors suggest its influence is declining over time.
  636.  
  637. Find this resource:
  638.  
  639. Park, Seung Ho, and Yadong Luo. “Guanxi and Organizational Dynamics: Organizational Networking in Chinese Firms.” Strategic Management Journal 22.5 (2001): 455–477.
  640.  
  641. DOI: 10.1002/smj.167Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  642.  
  643. Uses survey data collected in the late 1990s to show how institutional and strategic factors drive guanxi with government authorities. Guanxi influences sales growth and market expansion but has less impact on profit growth and internal operations. This is because guanxi cultivation is financially costly.
  644.  
  645. Find this resource:
  646.  
  647. Peng, Mike W., and Yadong Luo. “Managerial Ties and Firm Performance in a Transition Economy: The Nature of a Micro-Macro Link.” Academy of Management Journal 43.3 (2000): 486–501.
  648.  
  649. DOI: 10.2307/1556406Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  650.  
  651. This paper draws on a survey of executive perceptions to show that the influence of guanxi on performance is dependent on the firm’s ownership form, sector, firm size, and industry growth rate. At the time of the survey (late 1990s), guanxi was more important in the service than manufacturing sectors.
  652.  
  653. Find this resource:
  654.  
  655. Zhuang Guijun 庄贵军, Cui Xiaoming 催晓明, and Li Ke 李珂. “Guanxi yingxiao daoxiang yu kuazu zhi renji guanxi dui qiye guanxi xingqu dao zhili de yingxiang (关系营销导向与跨组织人际关系对企业关系型渠道治理的影响).” Guanli shijie 管理世界 7 (2008): 77–90.
  656.  
  657. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  658.  
  659. This study finds that interorganizational guanxi relationships have an indirect positive effect on marketing behavior through enabling problem solving. Notes that affective interpersonal relationships reduced speculation and enabled cooperative behavior.
  660.  
  661. Find this resource:
  662.  
  663. Guanxi and Ethics
  664. A key stream of guanxi research highlights its ethical effects on society at large. Su and Littlefield 2001 situates the ethical debates about the use of guanxi in business in a broader discussion of how guanxi is both an element of the Confucian-relational culture in China and a form of adaptation to the modern economic reforms. It argues that ethical complexity becomes apparent in guanxi only when practices of personal exchange (favors and resources) are used in the public domain to benefit private interests. Others, such as in Hwang, et al. 2009, take a more relativistic approach, noting that guanxi may be ethically ambiguous to Western managers but that, in certain forms, it is accepted and valued in many Chinese societies, which recognize and respect its roots in the Confucian tradition. Dunfee and Warren 2001 takes an explicitly normative approach to the debate, noting that organizations operating in China (either foreign owned or locally owned) “should” shift to merit-based systems and allow “fair” market competition, because certain guanxi acts violate both local and universal norms of justice and damage the community at large. Ding 1997 argues that the roles of guanxi, renqing, and mianzi in Chinese society have had a negative impact on policy development. Nolan 2010 outlines the way in which Chinese banks use links with foreign banks as a means of reassuring foreign investors of governance reforms within the banks. However, it shows that political guanxi continues to influence high-risk credit decisions, which raises ethical and reputational dilemmas for foreign banks. Chen and Chen 2009 contends that the ethics of personal guanxi become a problem when they affect the collective interests of society at large. It is the use of public resources for personal advancement (most often associated with the link between political and business guanxi) that violates ethical rules and should be defined as corruption.
  665.  
  666. Chen, Chao C., and Xiao-Ping Chen. “Negative Externalities of Close Guanxi within Organizations.” Asia Pacific Journal of Management 26.1 (2009): 37–53.
  667.  
  668. DOI: 10.1007/s10490-007-9079-7Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  669.  
  670. Conceptual paper analyzing the use of close guanxi (based on high levels of sentiment and attachment) and how they may lead to negative outcomes for organizations (such as corruption and the erosion of trust in management). Argues that factors such as developing strong organizational identity may help reduce this.
  671.  
  672. Find this resource:
  673.  
  674. Ding Huang 丁煌. “Chuantong de renqing mianzi guannian jiqi dui dangqian zhengce zhixing de yingxiang (传统的人情面子观念及其对当前政策执行的影响).” Xingzheng yufa 行政与法 2 (1997): 46–48.
  675.  
  676. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  677.  
  678. This paper argues that China’s policymakers have developed policies that have ensured the rapid development of a form of socialist modernization that is especially suited to the Chinese context. It argues, however, that renqing, mianzi, and ultimately guanxi have impeded this process to a considerable degree.
  679.  
  680. Find this resource:
  681.  
  682. Dunfee, Thomas W., and Danielle E. Warren. “Is Guanxi Ethical? A Normative Analysis of Doing Business in China.” Journal of Business Ethics 32.3 (2001): 191–204.
  683.  
  684. DOI: 10.1023/A:1010766721683Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  685.  
  686. Theoretical overview that asks whether or not guanxi should be used by business, not whether or not they improve performance. Distinguishes between different types of guanxi, noting some are associated with corruption and bribery. Argues that certain guanxi practices benefit the few at the expense of the many.
  687.  
  688. Find this resource:
  689.  
  690. Hwang, Dennis B., Patricia L. Golemon, Yan Chen, Teng-Shih Wang, and Wen-Shai Hung. “Guanxi and Business Ethics in Confucian Society Today: An Empirical Case Study in Taiwan.” Journal of Business Ethics 89.2 (2009): 235–250.
  691.  
  692. DOI: 10.1007/s10551-008-9996-5Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  693.  
  694. Foregrounds the Confucian values underlying guanxi, which may make it ethically ambiguous to Western businesses operating in Taiwan. Argues that foreign managers should use professional guidelines despite cultural incentives to use guanxi for the evasion of formal rules.
  695.  
  696. Find this resource:
  697.  
  698. Nolan, Jane. “The Influence of Western Banks on Corporate Governance in China.” In Special Issue: “Chinese Management in the New Millennium”: Markets and Managers in a Globalized Economy. Asia Pacific Business Review 16.3 (2010): 417–436.
  699.  
  700. DOI: 10.1080/13602380903315092Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  701.  
  702. Uses interviews with Western and Chinese managers to show how guanxi has an enduring influence on credit decisions and general operations within joint-venture and foreign-owned banks operating in China. Discusses the implications of this for ensuring reliable corporate governance systems in the banking sector.
  703.  
  704. Find this resource:
  705.  
  706. Su, Chenting, and James E. Littlefield. “Entering Guanxi: A Business Ethical Dilemma in Mainland China?” Journal of Business Ethics 33.3 (2001): 199–210.
  707.  
  708. DOI: 10.1023/A:1017570803846Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  709.  
  710. An overview of the literature on guanxi and ethics that identifies two types of guanxi: culturally rooted (and fairly ubiquitous) favor-seeking guanxi and institutionally driven rent-seeking guanxi, which is more common among powerful elites.
  711.  
  712. Find this resource:
  713.  
  714. Political Guanxi
  715. The study of political guanxi has become increasingly important since the start of economic reforms in the late 1970s. Given the sensitivity of the topic, and the dangers inherent in critiquing the political order in China, much of this work has been conducted and published by US scholars and by Chinese scholars who have immigrated overseas. Jacobs 1980 examines how guanxi structured emerging political factions in a Taiwanese township in the 1970s. Gold 1985 argues that instrumentalism and commoditization has displaced both friendship and comradeship in guanxi relationships. It relates the cause of this to aspects of the Cultural Revolution and subsequent market reform policies. Likewise, Walder 1983 notes that, at the time, the role of state-owned enterprises in providing many of the needs of urban workers (such as housing and health care), coupled with their role in monitoring subordinates’ behavior and their display of “correct” political attitudes, created a form of worker deference that could not be simply attributed to a culture-based explanation of guanxi. Walder 1988 develops the notion that China’s political system of centralized organizational structures encourages particular kinds of personal relationships that cannot be explained through cultural accounts of guanxi. The author defines this system as “communist neo-traditionalism.” Wank 2001 studies market reforms in Xiamen in the 1990s, arguing that the reforms occurred within a clientelist political order. That is, marketization did not eliminate or reduce clientelism, as had been assumed, but actually reinforced the mutual dependency of officials and entrepreneurs connected through guanxi. More recently, the role of guanxi in China’s factional politics has been discussed in relation to Xi Jinping’s “Tigers and Flies” campaign. Boskin 2013 contends that the association between guanxi and corruption in official circles must be addressed if China is to avoid a “middle-income” trap. Li 2012 develops this theme in relation to the Bo Xilai case, highlighting the enduring problem of nepotism among China’s elites. Pei 2012 also examines Xi Jinping’s reforms and the Bo Xilai case, noting the enduring influence of guanxi on political promotions and the tendency for those without guanxi to engage in bribery and corruption in order to advance their careers.
  716.  
  717. Boskin, Michael J. “The Global Stake in China’s Anti-corruption Reform.” Caijing, 17 September 2013.
  718.  
  719. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  720.  
  721. Discusses the implications of Xi Jinping’s “Tigers and Flies” campaign in relation to reducing the influence of corrupt elites and strengthening the rule of law. Notes that these reforms require a change in culture and incentives, particularly in relation to using favors and relying on proxies, especially relatives.
  722.  
  723. Find this resource:
  724.  
  725. Gold, Thomas B. “After Comradeship: Personal Relations in China since the Cultural Revolution.” China Quarterly 104 (1985): 657–675.
  726.  
  727. DOI: 10.1017/S030574100003335XSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  728.  
  729. One of the first papers to discuss the link between the use of guanxi among political and other actors, emphasizing its association with corruption. Discusses major dimensions of personal relations in China at the start of economic reform. Argues that instrumentalism was the defining characteristic of guanxi.
  730.  
  731. Find this resource:
  732.  
  733. Jacobs, J. Bruce. Local Politics in a Rural Chinese Cultural Setting: A Field Study of Mazu Township, Taiwan. Contemporary China Papers 14. Canberra: Contemporary China Centre, Australian National University, 1980.
  734.  
  735. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  736.  
  737. This study, conducted in the 1970s, was an early attempt to study local politics in Taiwan through the lens of guanxi. It highlights the way in which political alliances are constructed and maintained through guanxi. Through an examination of these relationships, it outlines the structure of the factions that emerge.
  738.  
  739. Find this resource:
  740.  
  741. Li, Cheng. “The End of the CCP’s Resilient Authoritarianism? A Tripartite Assessment of Shifting Power in China.” China Quarterly 211 (2012): 595–623.
  742.  
  743. DOI: 10.1017/S0305741012000902Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  744.  
  745. An analysis of the Bo Xilai crisis that demonstrates the continuing influence of nepotism, patron-client ties, and factionalism in the political system. Identifies guanxi as part of the problem both in terms of undermining meritocratic appointment and encouraging those without influential guanxi to engage in bribery and corruption.
  746.  
  747. Find this resource:
  748.  
  749. Pei, Minxin. “The Myth of Chinese Meritocracy.” Project Syndicate, 15 May 2012.
  750.  
  751. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  752.  
  753. Discusses the increasing use of guanxi for political appointments and promotions, both before and after the Bo Xilai crisis. Notes that surveys of local officials show that patronage, not merit, is perceived to be the key route to political promotion. Discusses the trend toward maiguan 买官, or “buying office.”
  754.  
  755. Find this resource:
  756.  
  757. Walder, Andrew G. “Organized Dependency and Cultures of Authority in Chinese Industry.” Journal of Asian Studies 43.1 (1983): 51–76.
  758.  
  759. DOI: 10.2307/2054617Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  760.  
  761. Examines the “institutional culture of authority” in Chinese industrial enterprises in the post–Cultural Revolution period. Identifies a pattern of “organized dependency” in relation to opportunities for progression and material reward. This politically driven institutional culture encourages the creation of patron-client networks and the everyday cultivation of guanxi for individual gain.
  762.  
  763. Find this resource:
  764.  
  765. Walder, Andrew G. Communist Neo-traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Industry. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988.
  766.  
  767. DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520064706.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  768.  
  769. Argues that communist neo-traditionalism is a “clientelist” system where public loyalty to party ideology mixes with guanxi relationships between officials and clients. The main contribution is the emphasis on understanding the roots of clientelism in the structure of state socialist (“communist”) organization, rather than “traditional” culture or institutions. Originally published in 1984; reprinted as recently as 2011.
  770.  
  771. Find this resource:
  772.  
  773. Wank, David L. Commodifying Communism: Business, Trust, and Politics in a Chinese City. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
  774.  
  775. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  776.  
  777. On the basis of research in Xiamen, the study shows how, during the market reform period, a form of “symbiotic clientelism” emerged where officials favored entrepreneurs in their guanxi network who they believed could stimulate the economy. The entrepreneurs’ success, in turn, gave the impression that officials were competent in market reforms.
  778.  
  779. Find this resource:
  780.  
  781. Guanxi and Other Cultural Forms of Informal Networks
  782. The relative distinctiveness of guanxi as a form of social networking is assumed in many research papers, and there is often an implicit comparison with what might be loosely defined as “Western” networking. However, there is another body of work that seeks to explicitly examine the particular characteristics of guanxi by comparing it with other cultural forms of informal networking. Hutchings and Weir 2006 notes the parallels between guanxi and wasta, the latter term used in the Arab world. While both rely on developing informal trusting relationships, wasta has received much less attention in business research and may be perceived by Western managers as somewhat more problematic. Khatri, et al. 2006 makes a cross-cultural comparison on “cronyism” in the use of personal networks in business and includes Western forms of informal networking as well as guanxi and others. While nepotism and favoritism are key elements of cronyism, these are not necessarily found in all kinds of guanxi networks. Alston 1989 compares and contrasts three kinds of networking used in East Asia: wa (Japan), guanxi (China), and inhwa (South Korea). While all three share a common cultural heritage in Confucianism, they nevertheless have distinct local forms. Nolan 2013 also discusses similarities and differences between forms of informal networking in East Asia but draws out the institutional and historical roots of these differences, noting continuity and change in each nation. Jackson 2014 considers the importance of indigenous management research more generally, noting how Western research can “appropriate” concepts such as guanxi or ubuntu (the latter a form of African social networking) in a way that raises political and ethical issues for management researchers.
  783.  
  784. Alston, Jon P. “Wa, Guanxi, and Inhwa: Managerial Principles in Japan, China, and Korea.” Business Horizons 32.2 (1989): 26–31.
  785.  
  786. DOI: 10.1016/S0007-6813(89)80007-2Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  787.  
  788. Notes that while Confucian notions of harmony underpin social networking in Japan, China, and Korea, there are noticeable differences. In China the emphasis is on dyadic connections with kin and close friends; in Japan, connections focus on links within and between corporations; and in South Korea, kin-based “blood” relationships dominate.
  789.  
  790. Find this resource:
  791.  
  792. Hutchings, Kate, and David Weir. “Guanxi and Wasta: A Comparison.” In Special Issue: Journeys along the Silk Road: Intercultural Approaches to Comparative Business Systems and Practices. Thunderbird International Business Review 48.1 (2006): 141–156.
  793.  
  794. DOI: 10.1002/tie.20090Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  795.  
  796. Notes the similarities between strong family networks both in China and the Arab world, examines the importance of trust and favor exchange in both regions, and notes their continued use in business communities. Emphasis is on how the expatriate manager can negotiate these networks.
  797.  
  798. Find this resource:
  799.  
  800. Jackson, Terence. “How Can We Encourage Indigenous Research?” International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 14.2 (2014): 135–137.
  801.  
  802. DOI: 10.1177/1470595814541360Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  803.  
  804. Considers how terms such as guanxi in China and ubuntu in Africa may be appropriated by Western scholars due, in part, to their potential to be packaged as “commercially useful” to the Western manager. Notes the difficulties for “indigenous” scholars to break out of conventions used by the Western academy.
  805.  
  806. Find this resource:
  807.  
  808. Khatri, Naresh, Eric W. K. Tsang, and Thomas M. Begley. “Cronyism: A Cross-Cultural Analysis.” Journal of International Business Studies 37.1 (2006): 61–75.
  809.  
  810. DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400171Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  811.  
  812. Considers how social networks and cronyism might be similar across a range of cultures. Using Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimension of individualism and collectivism, the authors note that cronyism has different motivational bases and power dependence relations. While guanxi may lead to favoritism, it is not, by itself, cronyism in all instances.
  813.  
  814. Find this resource:
  815.  
  816. Nolan, Jane. “Continuity and Change in Guanxi Networks in East Asia.” In Managing across Diverse Cultures in East Asia: Issues and Challenges in a Changing Globalized World. Edited by Malcolm Warner, 168–182. London: Routledge, 2013.
  817.  
  818. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  819.  
  820. Draws on modern evidence to compare the similarity and differences between guanxi and the social networks used in Japan (wa) and South Korea (inhwa). Considers the complex interactions between national cultures and institutional structures and how these may lead to changes in how social networks are used.
  821.  
  822. Find this resource:
  823.  
  824. Guanxi and Gender
  825. The use of informal guanxi practices for personal and organizational outcomes has a gendered dimension. As in other parts of the world, women can be excluded from informal after-work activities because of family commitments or a tendency for the activities to be male oriented. Bedford and Hwang 2013 notes the preference of male professionals in Taiwan to visit hostess clubs as a means of developing guanxi, and the implications of this for women. Osburg 2013 also discusses this theme as it relates to gender and sexuality in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Huang and Aaltio 2014 observes that there also tends to be power imbalances in male-female dyads in business guanxi where the older male is in the position of authority. This can be problematic in that, as Xu and Li 2014 shows, there may be reputational damage for women perceived to be good at guanxi building. Wylie 2003 also notes that women can feel uneasy about engaging in the necessary level of flattery required to build business guanxi. Yang 2000 discusses the shifting character of guanxi and family obligations in relation to the experience of shifting from the role of being a daughter to becoming a daughter-in-law. On the other hand, Scott, et al. 2014 argues that close family guanxi can help women build and finance their own businesses, and Zhang and Li 2003 demonstrates that, in rural areas, guanxi, as a form of information exchange, can help single women get nonfarm jobs, though this effect diminishes when they marry.
  826.  
  827. Bedford, Olwen, and Shu-Ling Hwang. “Building Relationships for Business in Taiwanese Hostess Clubs: The Psychological and Social Processes of Guanxi Development.” Gender, Work & Organization 20.3 (2013): 297–310.
  828.  
  829. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2011.00576.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  830.  
  831. Focuses on the process of developing guanxi in male-male dyads through visits to hostess clubs. Uses qualitative interviews with men in a range of occupations, noting the importance of the visits for bonding with and “testing” other men. Such practices exclude female colleagues and serve to reinforce hegemonic masculine identity.
  832.  
  833. Find this resource:
  834.  
  835. Huang, Jiehua, and Iiris Aaltio. “Guanxi and Social Capital: Networking among Women Managers in China and Finland.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 39 (March 2014): 22–39.
  836.  
  837. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.09.002Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  838.  
  839. Compares the social networks used by women information technology (IT) managers in China and Finland. In both countries, female-to-male dyads are based on a power imbalance when the influential connection is an older male. In Finland, networks are more likely to be differentiated on the basis of function.
  840.  
  841. Find this resource:
  842.  
  843. Osburg, John. Anxious Wealth: Money and Morality among China’s New Rich. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013.
  844.  
  845. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  846.  
  847. Discusses the “beauty economy” and the use of young, attractive women by influential men as “commodities” for guanxi building, either as mistresses or as casual sexual partners in hostess bars. Some female participants found this practice to be repellent, while others took an instrumental approach, seeing it as a means of acquiring financial capital.
  848.  
  849. Find this resource:
  850.  
  851. Scott, Jonathan Matthew, Richard T. Harrison, Javed Hussain, and Cindy Millman. “The Role of Guanxi Networks in the Performance of Women-Led Firms in China.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 6.1 (2014): 68–82.
  852.  
  853. DOI: 10.1108/IJGE-03-2013-0014Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  854.  
  855. A small-scale qualitative study looking at the use of guanxi by women trying to establish and grow their own business. Guanxi support from close family, especially parents and spouses, was particularly important, as was the identification of an appropriate mentor.
  856.  
  857. Find this resource:
  858.  
  859. Wylie, Clodagh. “Femininity and Authority: Women in China’s Private Sector.” In Chinese Women—Living and Working. Edited by Anne E. McLaren, 41–62. Women in Asia. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.
  860.  
  861. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  862.  
  863. A qualitative study of women and men in managerial positions. Women felt that guanxi networking with male managers required a lot of flattery, which made them feel uncomfortable and insincere. Suggests that internet social networking might help women build supportive professional contacts with other women.
  864.  
  865. Find this resource:
  866.  
  867. Xu, Kaibin, and Yangzi Li. “Exploring Guanxi from a Gender Perspective: Urban Chinese Women’s Practices of Guanxi.” Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography (2014): 1–18.
  868.  
  869. DOI: 10.1080/0966369X.2014.917279Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  870.  
  871. Uses interview data to show the complexity of using guanxi for professional women in China. While the women acknowledged that guanxi was important, there was a perception that the women who were good at practicing guanxi risked reputational damage on the basis of their attendance at social events.
  872.  
  873. Find this resource:
  874.  
  875. Yang Yiyin 杨宜音. “Zijiren: Cong zhongguoren qinggan geju kan poxi guanxi (自己人: 从中国人情感格局看婆媳关係).” Bentu xinlixue yanjiu 13 (2000): 277–317.
  876.  
  877. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  878.  
  879. Describes the link between obligatory and genuine affection in guanxi relationships, which are based on kin. Examines how the parent-daughter relationship changes once the daughter is married. Considers the conflicted feelings that emerge in the daughter-in-law role.
  880.  
  881. Find this resource:
  882.  
  883. Zhang, Xiaobo, and Guo Li. “Does Guanxi Matter to Nonfarm Employment?” Journal of Comparative Economics 31.2 (2003): 315–331.
  884.  
  885. DOI: 10.1016/S0147-5967(03)00019-2Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  886.  
  887. Using survey data, Zhang and Li show that guanxi has a significant impact on the probability of securing a nonfarm job in rural areas. For women, however, marriage affected their ability to gain nonfarm employment, but this did not apply to men.
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