At the beginning of the reform period, though informal institutions as a substitute for formal institutions efficiently promoted the development of private enterprises, it eroded and destroyed the authority and execut...At the beginning of the reform period, though informal institutions as a substitute for formal institutions efficiently promoted the development of private enterprises, it eroded and destroyed the authority and execution efficiency of formal institutions with guanxi behaviors and implicit rules. With the progress of marketization, how to restrain and guide the evolution of informal institutions is an tmavoidable obstacle for the development of private enterprises-- transforming their competitive strategy from ＂non-market＂ dominance to ＂market＂ dominance. Based on survey data of 2,628 private enterprises from 31 provinces in China, we establish a regional commercial culture index to empirically investigate the different influences of guanxi behavior between entrepreneurs of different ages and regional guanxi culture. The results show that, compared with entrepreneurs who started businesses in recent years, i.e., after the 1990s, those who started businesses during the 1970s and the 1980s are more dependent on guanxi behaviors. Meanwhile, the higher the level of education, the less an entrepreneur is likely to be dependent on guanxi behaviors. However, compared with the constraint of the degree of regional marketization, regional guanxi culture promotes entrepreneurs＇ guanxi behaviors. Further research indicates that the more enterprises depart from regional guanxi culture, the stronger the ability to innovation. This study can not only enrich the institutional analysis of entrepreneurs＇ guanxi behaviors, but also provide a theoretical foundation for further expansion and deepening of reform.展开更多
Whether market- and guanxi-based strategies are complementary or substitutable in shaping adaptive capability is a critical yet controversial issue. This paper tackles this problem by adopting the ambidexterity perspe...Whether market- and guanxi-based strategies are complementary or substitutable in shaping adaptive capability is a critical yet controversial issue. This paper tackles this problem by adopting the ambidexterity perspective. Specifically, using a sample of 185 Chinese private firms, this study examines the independent and interactive effects of market orientation （MO） and guanxi orientation （GO, i.e., emphasizing on building business and political ties） on adaptive capability of firms in transition economies. Our results suggest that both direct impacts and complementary impacts of MO and GO strongly exist in shaping firms＇ adaptive capability, indicating the importance of ＂strategic ambidexterity.＂ These findings have several theoretical implications for studies on ambidexterity and adaptive capability, and practical implications for finn strategies in transition economies.展开更多
The increase in the movement of people from rural to urban areas since the mid-1980s represents the largest labor migration ever experienced in China. Because migration is a process of selection, it is imperative tha...The increase in the movement of people from rural to urban areas since the mid-1980s represents the largest labor migration ever experienced in China. Because migration is a process of selection, it is imperative that the major dynamics determining the selection are studied. What are the critical characteristics of migrants that help them to realize their mobility from rural areas to urban areas？ While educational attainment, gender, age, marital status and personal skills are important variables in the selection process, the present paper examines how social networks （guanxi connections） play a significant role in the process of migration selection in China. A case study from one of the northern villages in rural China is used to explore how social networks have shaped and given meaning to migration. The present paper elaborates on how people＇s social mobility has coincided with and been reinforced by people＇s physical mobility.展开更多
This paper poses a question:How many types of social relations can be categorized in the Chinese context?In social networks,the calculation of tie strength can better represent the degree of intimacy of the relationsh...This paper poses a question:How many types of social relations can be categorized in the Chinese context?In social networks,the calculation of tie strength can better represent the degree of intimacy of the relationship between nodes,rather than just indicating whether the link exists or not.Previou research suggests that Granovetter measures tie strength so as to distinguish strong ties from weak ties,and the Dunbar circle theory may offer a plausible approach to calculating 5 types of relations according to interaction frequency via unsupervised learning(e.g.,clustering interactive data between users in Facebook and Twitter).In this paper,we differentiate the layers of an ego-centered network by measuring the different dimensions of user's online interaction data based on the Dunbar circle theory.To label the types of Chinese guanxi,we conduct a survey to collect the ground truth from the real world and link this survey data to big data collected from a widely used social network platform in China.After repeating the Dunbar experiments,we modify our computing methods and indicators computed from big data in order to have a model best fit for the ground truth.At the same time,a comprehensive set of effective predictors are selected to have a dialogue with existing theories of tie strength.Eventually,by combining Guanxi theory with Dunbar circle studies,four types of guanxi are found to represent a four-layer model of a Chinese ego-centered network.展开更多
This paper explores how the concept of social capital developed by Bourdieu and Coleman as well as the Chinese concept of guanxi(关系)or relationships facilitates students’access to postgraduate education in a case s...This paper explores how the concept of social capital developed by Bourdieu and Coleman as well as the Chinese concept of guanxi(关系)or relationships facilitates students’access to postgraduate education in a case study of a university in southeast China.The study comprises an initial survey of 381 first-year postgraduate students and a series of interviews with 30 participants.Social capital and guanxi inform analysis of the data.The results reveal that students from different social backgrounds employ different forms of social capital and guanxi networks in their decision-making about postgraduate education.They contribute to conceptualizations of how social capital is generated through guanxi in the Chinese educational context.展开更多
基金We are grateful to Shuye Wang, Hai Guo, and seminar participants at Renmin University for helpful comments. Xinchun Li acknowledges the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China （NSFC projects No. 71232009 and No. 71172167）. All errors are our own.
文摘At the beginning of the reform period, though informal institutions as a substitute for formal institutions efficiently promoted the development of private enterprises, it eroded and destroyed the authority and execution efficiency of formal institutions with guanxi behaviors and implicit rules. With the progress of marketization, how to restrain and guide the evolution of informal institutions is an tmavoidable obstacle for the development of private enterprises-- transforming their competitive strategy from ＂non-market＂ dominance to ＂market＂ dominance. Based on survey data of 2,628 private enterprises from 31 provinces in China, we establish a regional commercial culture index to empirically investigate the different influences of guanxi behavior between entrepreneurs of different ages and regional guanxi culture. The results show that, compared with entrepreneurs who started businesses in recent years, i.e., after the 1990s, those who started businesses during the 1970s and the 1980s are more dependent on guanxi behaviors. Meanwhile, the higher the level of education, the less an entrepreneur is likely to be dependent on guanxi behaviors. However, compared with the constraint of the degree of regional marketization, regional guanxi culture promotes entrepreneurs＇ guanxi behaviors. Further research indicates that the more enterprises depart from regional guanxi culture, the stronger the ability to innovation. This study can not only enrich the institutional analysis of entrepreneurs＇ guanxi behaviors, but also provide a theoretical foundation for further expansion and deepening of reform.
文摘Whether market- and guanxi-based strategies are complementary or substitutable in shaping adaptive capability is a critical yet controversial issue. This paper tackles this problem by adopting the ambidexterity perspective. Specifically, using a sample of 185 Chinese private firms, this study examines the independent and interactive effects of market orientation （MO） and guanxi orientation （GO, i.e., emphasizing on building business and political ties） on adaptive capability of firms in transition economies. Our results suggest that both direct impacts and complementary impacts of MO and GO strongly exist in shaping firms＇ adaptive capability, indicating the importance of ＂strategic ambidexterity.＂ These findings have several theoretical implications for studies on ambidexterity and adaptive capability, and practical implications for finn strategies in transition economies.
文摘The increase in the movement of people from rural to urban areas since the mid-1980s represents the largest labor migration ever experienced in China. Because migration is a process of selection, it is imperative that the major dynamics determining the selection are studied. What are the critical characteristics of migrants that help them to realize their mobility from rural areas to urban areas？ While educational attainment, gender, age, marital status and personal skills are important variables in the selection process, the present paper examines how social networks （guanxi connections） play a significant role in the process of migration selection in China. A case study from one of the northern villages in rural China is used to explore how social networks have shaped and given meaning to migration. The present paper elaborates on how people＇s social mobility has coincided with and been reinforced by people＇s physical mobility.
基金project number:20182001706the support of Tsinghua-Gottingen Student Exchange Project IDS-SSP-2017001.
文摘This paper poses a question:How many types of social relations can be categorized in the Chinese context?In social networks,the calculation of tie strength can better represent the degree of intimacy of the relationship between nodes,rather than just indicating whether the link exists or not.Previou research suggests that Granovetter measures tie strength so as to distinguish strong ties from weak ties,and the Dunbar circle theory may offer a plausible approach to calculating 5 types of relations according to interaction frequency via unsupervised learning(e.g.,clustering interactive data between users in Facebook and Twitter).In this paper,we differentiate the layers of an ego-centered network by measuring the different dimensions of user's online interaction data based on the Dunbar circle theory.To label the types of Chinese guanxi,we conduct a survey to collect the ground truth from the real world and link this survey data to big data collected from a widely used social network platform in China.After repeating the Dunbar experiments,we modify our computing methods and indicators computed from big data in order to have a model best fit for the ground truth.At the same time,a comprehensive set of effective predictors are selected to have a dialogue with existing theories of tie strength.Eventually,by combining Guanxi theory with Dunbar circle studies,four types of guanxi are found to represent a four-layer model of a Chinese ego-centered network.
基金supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Grant(No.2019M652836)Social Sciences and Humanities Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China(No.20YJCZH091)Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(No.2019A1515110873).
文摘This paper explores how the concept of social capital developed by Bourdieu and Coleman as well as the Chinese concept of guanxi(关系)or relationships facilitates students’access to postgraduate education in a case study of a university in southeast China.The study comprises an initial survey of 381 first-year postgraduate students and a series of interviews with 30 participants.Social capital and guanxi inform analysis of the data.The results reveal that students from different social backgrounds employ different forms of social capital and guanxi networks in their decision-making about postgraduate education.They contribute to conceptualizations of how social capital is generated through guanxi in the Chinese educational context.
