Guanxi and business

"Interpersonal relationship (guanxi) is one of the major dynamics of Chinese society. Guanxi has been a pervasive part of the Chinese business world for the last few centuries. It binds literally millions of Chinese firms into a social and business web. In China's new, fast-paced business environment, guanxi has become more entrenched than ever, heavily influencing Chinese political landscapes, social behavior, and business practice. This book delineates social and cultural principles and philosophies underlying guanxi dynamics, along with guanxi's social norms that have been long embedded in the Chinese society. Although guanxi is embedded in almost every part of social life in China, companies demonstrate different needs and capacity toward guanxi cultivation. Chinese firms develop guanxi as a strategic mechanism to overcome competitive and resource disadvantages by cooperating and exchanging favors with government authorities and other stakeholders. This book presents an integrative framework about guanxi development according to institutional, strategic, and organizational factors. It further articulates how foreign firms adaptively develop their own legitimate and effective guanxi in China's highly dynamic and complex environment."

"Guanxi or interpersonal relationships is one of the major dynamics of Chinese society. A pervasive part of the Chinese business world for the last few centuries, it binds literally millions of Chinese firms into a social and business web. Any business in this society, including local firms and foreign investors and marketers, inevitably faces guanxi dynamics. In China's new, fast-paced business environment, guanxi has been more entrenched than ever, heavily influencing Chinese social behavior and business practice. However, as in other emerging economies, corruption in China is becoming more rampant, which makes guanxi and corruption often intermingled. As such, business executives need to place greater caution today in the practice and process of guanxi development and utilization. Due to the growing academic and practical interest in guanxi, this second edition provides a timely update to the systematic and vigorous exploration of the various social, economic, cultural, and business issues relating to the complex concept and practice of guanxi."

1. Definition, principles, and philosophy of guanxi. 1.1. Concepts. 1.2. Principles. 1.3. Philosophy. 1.4. Guanxi in social life. 1.5. Gifts, bribes, and guanxi. 1.6. Importance in the future. 1.7. Theoretical directions. 1.8. Practical examples -- 2. Economic perspective of guanxi. 2.1. Economic rationale of guanxi. 2.2. Guanxi versus western networks. 2.3. Guanxi as a critical capability. 2.4. Business implications. 2.5. The use of guanxi by overseas Chinese. 2.6. Practical examples -- 3. Guanxi and firm performance. 3.1. Conceptual background. 3.2. Guanxi and performance. 3.3. Managerial implications. 3.4. Practical examples -- 4. Organizational dynamics and guanxi. 4.1. Guanxi as inter-organizational network. 4.2. Organizational dynamics and guanxi. 4.3. Empirical evidence. 4.4. Practical examples -- 5. Guanxi-based business strategies. 5.1. Guanxi-based business strategies. 5.2. Impact of guanxi-based business strategies. 5.3. Managerial implications. 5.4. Practical examples -- 6. Foreign businesses and guanxi. 6.1. Foreign businesses in China. 6.2. Guanxi and foreign businesses. 6.3. Implications and examples -- 7. Business implications of corruption. 7.1. Nature of corruption. 7.2. Corruption in China. 7.3. Economics of corruption. 7.4. Business implications of corruption. 7.5. Practical examples -- 8. Practical guidelines to guanxi cultivation. 8.1. Constructing your own guanxi network. 8.2. Utilizing intermediaries. 8.3. Searching for the right people. 8.4. Implanting individual guanxi into organizations. 8.5. Hiring locals and dispatching ethnic Chinese. 8.6. Monitoring guanxi within an organization. 8.7. Maintaining guanxi relations. 8.8. Improving credibility. 8.9. Practical examples.