Journal of Business Ethics 71 (3):301-319 (2007)
Abstract |
Guanxi (literally interpersonal connections) is in essence a network of resource coalition-based stakeholders sharing resources for survival, and it plays a key role in achieving business success in China. However, the salience of guanxi stakeholders varies: not all guanxi relationships are necessary, and among the necessary guanxi participants, not all are equally important. A hierarchical stakeholder model of guanxi is developed drawing upon Mitchell et al.’s (1997) stakeholder salience theory and Anderson’s (1982) constituency theory. As an application of instrumental stakeholder theory, the model dimensionalizes the notion of stakeholder salience, and distinguishes between and among internal and external guanxi, core, major, and peripheral guanxi, and primary and secondary guanxi stakeholders. Guanxi management principles are developed based on a hierarchy of guanxi priorities and management specializations. The goal of this application of instrumental stakeholder theory is to construct, for Western business firms in China, a means to reliably identify guanxi partners by employing the principles of effective guanxi. These principles are described in the form of testable propositions that advance social scientific research in this area of international business ethics.
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Keywords | China guanxi guanxi management stakeholder salience |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1007/s10551-006-9140-3 |
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References found in this work BETA
The Politics of Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Directions.R. Edward Freeman - 1994 - Business Ethics Quarterly 4 (4):409-421.
Is Guanxi Ethical? A Normative Analysis of Doing Business in China.Thomas W. Dunfee & Danielle E. Warren - 2001 - Journal of Business Ethics 32 (3):191 - 204.
Gift Giving, Bribery and Corruption: Ethical Management of Business Relationships in China. [REVIEW]P. Steidlmeier - 1999 - Journal of Business Ethics 20 (2):121 - 132.
Social Exchange in China: The Double-Edged Sword of Guanxi.Danielle E. Warren, Thomas W. Dunfee & Naihe Li - 2004 - Journal of Business Ethics 55 (4):353-370.
Entering Guanxi: A Business Ethical Dilemma in Mainland China? [REVIEW]Chenting Su & James E. Littlefield - 2001 - Journal of Business Ethics 33 (3):199 - 210.
View all 13 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
How Green Management Influences Product Innovation in China: The Role of Institutional Benefits.Chengli Shu, Kevin Z. Zhou, Yazhen Xiao & Shanxing Gao - 2016 - Journal of Business Ethics 133 (3):471-485.
Is Interpersonal Guanxi Beneficial in Fostering Interfirm Trust? The Contingent Effect of Institutional- and Individual-Level Characteristics.Lu Shen, Kevin Zheng Zhou & Chuang Zhang - 2020 - Journal of Business Ethics 176 (3):1-18.
Stakeholder Identification and Salience After 20 Years: Progress, Problems, and Prospects.Logan M. Bryan, Bradley R. Agle, Ronald K. Mitchell & Donna J. Wood - 2021 - Business and Society 60 (1):196-245.
Is Interpersonal Guanxi Beneficial in Fostering Interfirm Trust? The Contingent Effect of Institutional- and Individual-Level Characteristics.Lu Shen, Kevin Zheng Zhou & Chuang Zhang - 2022 - Journal of Business Ethics 176 (3):575-592.
Towards Enforceable Bans on Illicit Businesses: From Moral Relativism to Human Rights.Edmund F. Byrne - 2014 - Journal of Business Ethics 119 (1):119-130.
View all 16 citations / Add more citations
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