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Guanxi Dynamics and Entrepreneurial Firm Creation and Development in China

Part of: Guanxi Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Chun Guo  and
Jane K. Miller
Chun Guo
Affiliation:
Merrimack College, USA
Jane K. Miller
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
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Abstract

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Guanxi networks are critical for achieving entrepreneurial success in China. Informed by the literatures on network-based entrepreneurship and guanxi, this study used a multiple-case method to examine the development of Chinese entrepreneurs' guanxi networks in the entrepreneurial process. Data induction based on within- and cross-case analyses of six entrepreneurial firms revealed three major findings. First, guanxi network dynamics in terms of network structure, governance mechanisms, and network content change systematically across the stages of the entrepreneurship process. Second, the usefulness of guanxi ties (such as family, business associates, or government officials) is contingent on the stage of the entrepreneurial process as well as on industrial-level factors. Third, in knowledge-intensive industries, cultivating and maintaining guanxi can be achieved through knowledge and information exchange rather than traditional gift-giving or favours. The overall conclusion is that guanxi is still of paramount importance for Chinese entrepreneurs in the midst of China's transformation from a centrally planned to a socialist market economy. We propose a stage model of guanxi network development in the entrepreneurial process and discuss implications for future research.

Keywords

Chinaentrepreneurial processesfirm creationfirm developmentguanxi中国创业过程公司创立公司发展关系
Type
Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , July 2010 , pp. 267 - 291
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2010

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