The Theory of Guanxi and Chinese Society

2021 Business & Economics

Author : Jack Barbalet
Release : 2021
Genre : Business & Economics
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 739/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis The Theory of Guanxi and Chinese Society by : Jack Barbalet

Download or read book The Theory of Guanxi and Chinese Society written by Jack Barbalet. This book was released on 2021. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of guanxi is used extensively in Chinese society. Loosely understood as 'connections' or 'networks', it refers to long-term mutually reinforcing exchanges between individuals based on affective and normative commitments. This book comprehensively examines the nature and background of this extremely significant and distinct feature of Chinese social, political, economic, and business relations. It takes account of the major theoretical frameworks that relate to the long-term connections that are developed to pursue instrumental advantage in a society marked by relatively weak legal and regulatory institutions. The book locates such theorizing in the major features of the rapidly evolving Chinese market society. Yet it also pays attention to the historical origins and cultural sources of a highly particularistic approach to the acquisition of social and material resources -- an approach which relies on obligatory relations of favour exchange between persons who self-consciously and strategically select their associates and goals. This sociological treatment of guanxi challenges many dominant conventions and introduces a novel research approach which captures the pertinent psychological dispositions, cultural expressions, and institutional frameworks that underpin the phenomenon.

Guanxi, How China Works

2019-03-04 Business & Economics

Author : Yanjie Bian
Release : 2019-03-04
Genre : Business & Economics
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 421/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Guanxi, How China Works by : Yanjie Bian

Download or read book Guanxi, How China Works written by Yanjie Bian. This book was released on 2019-03-04. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do social relations, or guanxi, matter in China today and how can this distinctive form of personal connection be better understood? In Guanxi: How China Works, Yanjie Bian analyzes the forms, dynamics, and impacts of guanxi relations in reform-era China, and shows them to be a crucial part of the puzzle of how Chinese society operates. Rich in original studies and insightful analyses, this concise book offers a critical synthesis of guanxi research, including its empirical controversies and theoretical debates. Bian skillfully illustrates the growing importance of guanxi in diverse areas such as personal network building, employment and labor markets, informal business relationships, and the broader political sphere, highlighting guanxi’s central value in China's contemporary social structure. A definitive statement on the topic from a top authority on the sociology of guanxi, this book is an excellent classroom introduction for courses on China, a useful reference for guanxi researchers, and ideal reading for anyone interested in Chinese culture and society.

Guanxi in Contemporary Chinese Business

2020-12-30 Business & Economics

Author : Jane Nolan
Release : 2020-12-30
Genre : Business & Economics
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 407/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Guanxi in Contemporary Chinese Business by : Jane Nolan

Download or read book Guanxi in Contemporary Chinese Business written by Jane Nolan. This book was released on 2020-12-30. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does guanxi still matter in 21st century Chinese business and management? Is it really still a culturally distinct form of social interaction, impenetrable by outsiders? Or does it simply resemble the countless other elite networks embedded in business and political spheres across the globe? This book answers these questions through a combination of new empirical insight and nuanced conceptual development. Research examples include investigations of multinational enterprise corporate performance, governance structures in Chinese private firms, organisational justice in Chinese banks, entrepreneurial learning and knowledge acquisition, and the gendered and sexualized nature of guanxi in the workplace. In terms of firm performance, there is still much to be gained by MNE and Chinese firms through cultivating guanxi in different domains, including the political sphere at both the local and national level. However, in terms of employee performance, there is evidence that some younger employees have a strong desire to move towards more merit-based systems and resent being judged on guanxi connections. Similarly, some women may find themselves shut out when attempting to navigate conventional guanxi relationships based on Confucian paternalism. In brief, these practices may also exclude a large pool of emerging talent. This book clearly shows that guanxi is a complex concept that holds a persistent power in Chinese societies. To understand it fully we must acknowledge the dynamic nature of both its dark and light sides. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of the Asia Pacific Business Review.

Producing Guanxi

1997 History

Author : Andrew B. Kipnis
Release : 1997
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 736/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Producing Guanxi by : Andrew B. Kipnis

Download or read book Producing Guanxi written by Andrew B. Kipnis. This book was released on 1997. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout China the formation of guanxi, or social connections, involves friends, families, colleagues, and acquaintances in complex networks of social support and sentimental attachment. Focusing on this process in one rural north China village, Fengjia, Andrew Kipnis shows what guanxi production reveals about the evolution of village political economy, kinship and gender, and local patterns of subjectivity in Dengist China. His work offers a detailed description of the communicative actions--such as gift giving, being a host or guest, participating in weddings or funerals--that produce, manage, and deny guanxi in a specific time and place. Kipnis also offers a rare comparative analysis of how these practices relate to the varied and variable phenomenon of guanxi throughout China and as it has changed over time. Producing Guanxi combines the theory of Pierre Bourdieu and the insights of symbolic anthropology to contest past portrayals of guanxi as either a function of Chinese political economics or an unchanging Confucian social structure. In this analysis guanxi emerges as a purposeful human effort that makes use of past cultural logics while generating new ones. By exploring the role of sentiment in the creation of self, Kipnis critiques recent theories of subjectivity for their narrow focus on language and discourse, and contributes to the anthropological discussion of comparative selfhood. Navigating a path between mainstream social science and abstract social theory, Kipnis presents a more nuanced examination of guanxi than has previously been available and contributes generally to our understanding of relationships and human action.

Popular eBooks

The Theory of Guanxi and Chinese Society

Guanxi, How China Works

Guanxi in Contemporary Chinese Business

Producing Guanxi

You may also like...