Dark triad and knowledge hiding in firms: Mediating role of perceived organizational politics

Negative behaviors at the workplace always disturb the management of the firms. This research investigates the link between the dark triad and various types of Knowledge hiding (Evasive hiding, Playing dumb, and Rationalized hiding) in firms. In addition, this study explores perceived organizational politics as a mediator. The design of this study is quantitative and positivist. The data were collected in three waves (45 days gap) with a random sampling approach from 383 personnel/staff working in Chinese commercial banking firms. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique and Smartpls-4 software. This study confirms that dark-triad has a positive relation with knowledge hiding, except psychopathy and Machiavellianism, which have no significant correlation with playing dumb and evasive hiding, respectively. Perceived organizational politics significantly mediate the association between dark triad personality traits and the types of knowledge hiding. Employees with political skills and a trust-based culture can counter the dark-triad personalities and discourage the knowledge-hiding culture. For effective management of knowledge-hiding issues in firms, codifying implicit and explicit Knowledge and developing knowledge repositories can discourage a knowledge-hiding culture.

When brokers start to fill structural holes: the cultural contingency of how entrepreneurs leverage structural holes to facilitate knowledge transfer

Purpose

This study aims to theorize and empirically examine how guanxi in Chinese collectivistic culture affects entrepreneurs to leverage the structural holes they occupy when it comes to promoting knowledge transfer.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the hypotheses, this study used a mixed-methods research approach where quantitative questionnaires and social network analyses were used through 365 Chinese entrepreneurs, and qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted through 50 Chinese entrepreneurs.

Findings

In a Chinese entrepreneur’s guanxi network, structural holes will impede knowledge transfer among network members, but guanxi will moderate this impeding effect.

Research limitations/implications

By revealing how “structural hole controllers” become “structural hole fillers” under the moderating influence of guanxi in Chinese collectivistic culture, this study recognizes the different roles that persons who occupy a structural hole play in different situations, which advances structural hole theory. In addition, by exploring how entrepreneurs orchestrate these structural holes to create a strong guanxi network that can be infinitely extended, this study reveals a means to achieve both advantages of bonding and bridging social capital simultaneously, which generates a theoretical contribution to social capital integration.

Practical implications

This study suggests Chinese entrepreneurs to cultivate guanxi to improve their needs in decision-making by giving renqing, returning renqing, earning mianzi and giving mianzi.

Originality/value

By showing how Chinese entrepreneurs leverage their guanxi and structural holes to facilitate knowledge transfer, this study identifies the critical entrepreneurial behavior that promotes business development, thereby contributing to the literature of knowledge management, entrepreneurship and social network.

Co-creating values for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements: research on the structural hole filling behavior of stakeholders

Purpose

This study aims to explore how stakeholders leverage their guanxi and structural holes to promote knowledge mobilization to increase the performance of sci-tech achievement transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted questionnaires, a social network analysis and semistructured interviews to examine its hypotheses by gathering data from a university and an enterprise in China.

Findings

Structural holes impede knowledge mobilization among stakeholders in their network, but guanxi moderates this impeding effect. In addition, knowledge mobilization promotes transformation performance.

Originality/value

By developing a mechanism to illustrate how stakeholders strategically leverage their guanxi and structural holes to affect the efficacy of knowledge mobilization to increase transformation performance, we reveal how stakeholders interact to co-create values for innovation, thereby contributing to the innovation and knowledge management literature.

Stakeholder relationships and corporate social goal orientation: Implications for entrepreneurial psychology

As the sensitivity to corporate social responsibility (CSR) continues to grow, the goal of enterprises has expanded beyond the sole pursuit of economic value. Corporate social goal orientation has therefore come to occupy a central position in entrepreneurs' psychology and the transition away from a market-only economy. This study uses secondary data from 4,288 samples of 725 Chinese-listed companies from 2009 to 2020 to explore the driving factors in social goal orientation based on the characteristics of sample companies and their industry groups from the perspective of stakeholder relationships. The results can be summarized as follows: (1) there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between government stakeholder relationships and social goal orientation, and there is a significant positive relationship between financial stakeholder relationships, market stakeholder relationships, and corporate social goal orientation. (2) The correlation between single-dual stakeholder relationships and social goal orientation is not consistent. In light of the nature of the roles of government and the market, the correlation between the government-market dual relationship and corporate social goal orientation is not significant. However, there is a significant correlation between the finance-government dual stakeholder relationship and social goal orientation; that is, the dual stakeholder relationship maintains the existence of non-institutional capital and corporate financial capital. Moreover, there is no significant correlation between the market-finance dual relationship and corporate social goal orientation, and there is substitutability between market and financial stakeholder relationships. With the deepening of our understanding of CSR, the core goal of enterprises is no longer confined to the pursuit of economic value, and their social goal orientation has come to be regarded as a major driving force in sustainable development. This study enriches the research on the relationship between stakeholder relationships and shows that stakeholder relationships also have important significance to both achieving corporate goals and shaping entrepreneurs' psychology.

Exploring The Role of Guanxi in CSR performance and Knowledge Management of a Stakeholder Network: A Case of iStone, China

Background

CSR performance is significantly affected by the degree of knowledge exchange. As Chinese firms have increasingly engaged in CSR activities, significant attention has been paid to how groups of stakeholders share and exchange knowledge resources strategically to increase their CSR performance. A guanxi network is an important facilitator in the mobilization of knowledge in CSR activities. This study explores how stakeholders strategically leverage their guanxi and structural holes to affect the efficacy of knowledge exchange to increase CSR performance.

Methods

A mixed-methods research approach was employed to gather data from the stakeholders of a Chinese digital firm iStone. Specifically, 325 questionnaires and social network analyses were collected as well as 55 semi-structured interviews were conducted to test the hypotheses.

Results

As a result, structural holes impede knowledge exchange among stakeholders in their guanxi network, but guanxi moderates this impeding effect. In addition, knowledge exchange promotes CSR performance.

Conclusion

By developing a mechanism to reveal how stakeholders' structural hole filling behavior influences their CSR performance, our study places an emphasis on reciprocal resource exchange which generates several implications for CSR performance enhancement. In addition, by demonstrating how structural hole controllers' become 'structural hole fillers' under the moderating influence of guanxi, this study recognizes the cultural contingency that conditions the effect of structural holes on knowledge exchange. This study also suggests stakeholders to cultivate guanxi with their network members who own yet-to-be-filled structural holes to fill their holes and increase firms sustainable performance by giving renqing, returning renqing, earning mianzi and giving mianzi.

Factors Influencing Returning Migrants’ Entrepreneurship Intentions for Rural E-Commerce: An Empirical Investigation in China

Many Internet users have provided a favorable atmosphere for rural e-commerce to thrive, and the return of rural inhabitants starting their own companies has had a significant impact on rural economic development. Understanding the influencing elements for returning residents to carry out rural e-commerce operations can provide suggestions for the ongoing development of the economy in rural regions and the lack of talent faced in rural areas, especially in light of the trend of people returning to their hometowns. This work offers a research model based on the push–pull–mooring (PPM) theory to explain the factors that drive returning residents to engage in rural e-commerce entrepreneurship. The empirical results determined using the PLS-SEM method and SmartPLS 3.0 software to analyze the survey data of 151 returning residents revealed that urban employment obstacles, policy support, and infrastructure are positively connected with returning residents carrying out rural e-commerce entrepreneurship. Start-up costs are negatively correlated with rural e-commerce entrepreneurship by returning residents. Policy support plays an intermediary role in the price of starting a business and in the return of rural residents starting a rural e-commerce business. We recommend that the government strengthens policy support for returning entrepreneurs, improves rural e-commerce infrastructure, assists entrepreneurs in lowering their start-up costs, and initiates activities aimed at enhancing entrepreneurial intentions and sustaining entrepreneurial activities, based on the findings of this study.

The Relationship between the Chief Executive Officer's (CEO) Social Capital and Dynamic Capabilities: A Meta-Analysis of its Moderators

CEO social capital has shown a positive association with dynamic capabilities, although correlations have considerable heterogeneity among them. This meta-analysis estimates the correlation between CEO social capital and dynamic capabilities, and analyses moderator variables in explaining the heterogeneity in the results. Moderators are classified across four levels from macro to micro variables: country variables, firm environment, firm characteristics, and CEO variables. We apply a systematic search for studies in the Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO, ProQuest, and Google Scholar databases. Additionally, we used a three-level random-effect meta-analysis on 89 correlations published between 2008 and 2021 from 9,272 CEOs. Findings indicate a positive correlation between CEO social capital and dynamic capabilities. Furthermore, we identified a moderator effect in the country and firm environment level. We found that the country of the study, the perception of transparency and legality in the country, and the environmental dynamism in the market moderate the size of the correlations. We also reject other moderators, including the individualism-collectivism national culture, firm size, the sources of social capital (business or political ties), and the dimension of the social capital (structural, relational or cognitive). This study contributes to the exploration of the sources of dynamic capabilities from the micro-foundation, identifies moderator variables that explain the heterogeneity in the results, and highlights the social nature of management activities which always evolve in a social context.

Knowledge management in family business succession: current trends and future directions

Purpose

This paper aims to review the literature on knowledge management in the family business, addressing the research question as follows: “How is knowledge managed across generations in the family business?” This study synthesizes the literature, highlighting the role of multiple stakeholders who affect knowledge management along with the phases of the succession process. Stemming from these findings and embracing a practice-based view, this paper offers research directions to guide future contributions on knowledge construction in the family business. The purpose of this study is not only to conclude the previous research but also to provide insights for future research directions and to provide practical implications.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a systematic integrative literature review, this paper collects map and analytically examine 63 published peer-reviewed articles related to knowledge management in the family business from 39 academic journals. This paper applies a rigorous approach to identify the sample of articles, map descriptive information of the reviewed literature and map theoretical contributions according to a multi-stakeholder and multi-stage framework.

Findings

The sampled articles are analyzed according to a multi-stakeholder and multi-stage framework inspired by Daspit et al. (2016). This study identifies critical gaps emerging from the analysis, thus opening the way to future research directions. In particular, this paper prompts scholars to advance the understanding of family-related knowledge and to clarify the assumptions on knowledge in their research.

Research limitations/implications

This paper contributes to the debate on knowledge management in the family business, by systematizing the current literature. In addition, this study embraces a “knowledge from practice perspective” and offers research directions to guide future contributions on knowledge construction in family business succession and potential areas to further management research investigating the role of family-related knowledge. Practical implications are also provided to benefit family businesses, consultants and policymakers.

Originality/value

This study provides a systematic integrative literature review of the articles published on knowledge management in family business according to a multi-stakeholder and multi-stage framework. Moreover, it draws an agenda for future research advancing a “knowledge from a practice perspective” in the family business literature.

The influence of cronyism on entrepreneurial resource acquisition

This research focuses on how entrepreneurs utilize cronyism to acquire resources. A case study method allowed us to explore three firms in the private property development industry in China. These firms uniquely cultivated cronyism and achieved distinctly different outcomes. Our findings highlight Chinese entrepreneurs in start-up ventures and later-stage enterprises employ cronyism. The underlying rationale for using cronyism have common and heterogeneous motivations. The similarity and distinguishing rationale also apply to the impact of cronyism. We also find two contingency working mechanisms for cronyism: entrepreneurial characteristics and a staged model for cronyism. With the firm’s growth, cronyism remains important, but firms with more community involvement outperform others. This research contributes to the theory on strategic network utilization for resource acquisition during entrepreneurial development stages. We investigate how entrepreneurial strategies can assist in adapting to the “rules of the game” while utilizing resources within the set contextual constraints.

Promoting tacit knowledge application and integration through guanxi and structural holes

Purpose

This study aims to explore the impacts of structural holes (SH) and guanxi and their interaction on the application and integration of tacit knowledge among co-workers in inter-organizational arrangements.

Design/methodology/approach

The relationships were examined using a mixed-methods research approach through 305 questionnaires and 50 interviews collected from a university and a pharmaceutical company in China.

Findings

SH hinders the application and integration of tacit knowledge, while guanxi promotes these latter. In addition, guanxi moderates the negative impact of SH on tacit knowledge application (TKA) and tacit knowledge integration (TKI).

Research limitations/implications

By developing a framework to identify how co-workers strategically leverage their guanxi and SH to facilitate TKA and TKI, this study identifies the key factors that drive these latter in complex inter-organizational arrangements, contributing to the literature on knowledge management. In addition, the study makes a contribution to the advancement of SH theory by comparing guanxi with other social relationships in terms of their application to SH in different cultures, and recognizing the cultural contingencies that condition the effect of SH on knowledge management performance, thereby generating an important implication for the identification of the different roles that structural-hole owners play in brokerage situations. Finally, by comparing the difference between guanxi and interpersonal relationships in Chinese culture, this study provides a reasonable explanation for guanxi’s moderating effect on SH.

Practical implications

By uncovering the significance of guanxi cultivation with individuals who occupy yet-to-be-filled SH to make them more committed to the network, this study seeks to provide organizational leaders with helpful suggestions for the creation of incentives to fill SH.

Originality/value

By developing a framework to identify how co-workers strategically leverage their guanxi and SH to facilitate TKA and TKI, this study provides a theoretically defensible and empirically supported solution to the problems experienced by co-workers in applying and integrating tacit knowledge effectively in complex inter-organizational arrangements.

Networking in Weak Institutions: When Is It Good for Small Business Investment? The Case of Vietnam

This study investigates the influence of business-specific, bank-specific, and political-specific networks on small firm investments in Vietnam. Also, I aim to explain how these social networks substitute the weaknesses of local institutions. Examining a set of more than 9,800 firm-year observations of small businesses in Vietnam from 2005–2015, I find that social ties with bank officials can boost firm investments; social ties with government officials can help firms overcome institutional voids; whereas social ties with businesspeople appear trivial to investment decisions. More importantly, I propose that networking, especially networks built upon connections with government officials, can substitute local institutions by addressing weaknesses in (1) inefficient legal enforcement, (2) corruption, (3) bureaucratic compliance, and (4) non-transparent governance system.

Filling structural holes? Guanxi-based facilitation of knowledge sharing within a destination network

Purpose

This study examines the relationships between structural holes, guanxi and knowledge sharing among groups of stakeholders within a Chinese destination network.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted surveys, social network analysis and semi-structured interviews to gather data from the stakeholders of a popular Chinese tourist destination to test its hypotheses.

Findings

Knowledge sharing within the destination network was impeded by structural holes but facilitated by guanxi. Furthermore, the impeding effect of structural holes on knowledge sharing is alleviated by guanxi.

Originality/value

This study illustrates the ways that stakeholders exploit structural holes and guanxi to promote knowledge sharing, and thus offers novel insights into how destination network structures affect the efficacy of stakeholders when it comes to sharing knowledge and promoting their destination.

Reconceptualizing and Redirecting Research on Guanxi: ‘Guan-Xi’ Interaction to Form a Multicolored Chinese Knot

Guanxiis one of the most popular topics in Chinese and Western scholarship concerning social ties in China. However, several problems in research onguanxipersist, and multiple debates are still ongoing without much consensus in sight. This study has two goals. First, we offer a systematic review of the current literature onguanxi, especially by differentiatingguandyads fromxinetworks. This reconceptualization ofguanxienables us to clarify the concept ofguanxiby differentiating its two dimensions. Second, based on this literature review, we propose a redirection of future research onguanxisuch thatguandyads andxinetworks are not examined in isolation; rather, their holistic and dynamic interaction is the most fruitful avenue for future research, especially the four mechanisms of their interaction. The proposed reconceptualization and redirection are our two contributions to the literature.

Understanding the Double-Level Influence of Guanxi on Construction Innovation in China: The Mediating Role of Interpersonal Knowledge Sharing and the Cross-Level Moderating Role of Inter-Organizational Relationships

Guanxi, a Chinese term that defines social networks of power and benefits, can be divided into inter-personal and inter-organizational relationships. Guanxi significantly influences construction innovation in China. Many studies have examined the relationship between guanxi and construction innovation at the project or organizational level. However, few of these studies explain how guanxi might affect an individual’s innovative behaviour from a double-level perspective. This paper builds on social capital theory and social exchange theory to examine guanxi’s role in motivating innovative behaviour in a China-specific construction context. It investigates the main effects of inter-personal relationships on innovative behaviour, the mediating effects of knowledge sharing, and the cross-level moderating effects of inter-organizational relationships. These elements were tested using a survey that received 178 responses from 35 different organizations. The results were analysed using Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) and revealed that inter-personal relationships have positive influences on innovative behaviour, thus highlighting the partial mediating effects of knowledge sharing. In addition, the analyses showed that inter-organizational relationships augment inter-personal relationships and knowledge sharing on innovative behaviour by cross-level interaction. The research findings enhance an understanding of guanxi and innovative behaviour in China-specific construction project settings, as well as verifying the significance of guanxi in stimulating innovative behaviour.

Alliance Portfolio Management and Sustainability of Entrepreneurial Firms

The aim of the present work is to testify whether the alliance portfolio management capability has an impact on entrepreneurial firms’ sustainability. A moderating mediation model has been applied to a sample consisting of 101 entrepreneurial firms listed in New OTC Market (Over the Counter Market) in China. Based on the research design, second-hand data and first-hand data were used. The findings reveal that the two dimensions of the alliance portfolio management capability, i.e., partnering proactiveness and relational governance, can trigger a higher value of the alliance portfolio and result in the sustainable growth of entrepreneurial firms. What is more, when the board of directors has centralized power, the alliance portfolio management capability will increase the value of the alliance portfolio and improve the sustainability of entrepreneurial firms. Unlike the previous literature, this study discovers the internal mechanism between the alliance portfolio management capability and firms’ sustainability in the context of entrepreneurship. The theoretical condition of this relationship is provided from the perspective of the board of directors.

A Note on Business Survival and Social Network

We extend Burt, Burzynska, and Opper's cross-sectional network prediction of relative success among Chinese entrepreneurs by predicting which ventures are still active five years later. The cross-sectional analysis is corroborated in three ways (despite the vicissitudes of a national anti-corruption campaign): (1) Businesses run in 2012 by CEOs with a network rich in structural holes are more likely to be active five years later, in 2017. (2) Survival odds are improved if the large, open network around a CEO in 2012 was initially a supportive ‘cocoon’ closed network when the business was founded. (3) Both results are contingent on capturing theguanxities valuable early in the history of the business. The two network effects disappear when the network around a CEO is limited to his or her currently valued contacts. Beyond corroboration, we find that advantage is concentrated in ventures that began well and had become successful. Network advantage here does not compensate for weakness – it is a mechanism for cumulative advantage, amplifying the success of businesses already doing well.

How entrepreneurs’ Zhong-yong thinking improves new venture performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the cultural cognition of Chinese Zhong-yong thinking, which is deeply rooted in Chinese Confucius culture, and to examine how entrepreneurs’ Zhong-yong thinking is related to new venture performance through guanxi network, and also examine how environmental turbulence affects the influencing mechanism.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper follows an empirical design. Data are collected from a survey administered to entrepreneurs in new ventures of China. Regression analysis is used to test the hypothesis.

Findings

Results show that entrepreneurs’ Zhong-yong thinking is positively related to guanxi and new venture performance, and guanxi mediates the relationship between entrepreneurs’ Zhong-yong thinking and new venture performance. In addition, environmental turbulence moderates the relationship between entrepreneurs’ Zhong-yong thinking and guanxi such that the relationship is stronger under higher technological turbulence or lower market turbulence.

Research limitations/implications

This research uses cross-sectional data, so causal conclusions cannot be made. In addition, more moderators should be considered.

Practical implications

The present study enriches the understanding of how entrepreneurs’ Zhong-yong thinking affects new ventures, which helps entrepreneur understand how to strategize according to external environment and develop what kind of cognitive style to deal with complex situation of their own venture.

Originality/value

This study is a pioneer in exploring non-Western cognitive style–Zhong-yong thinking in entrepreneurial context. It not only enriches the understanding of how Chinese wisdom affects organizational strategy and organizational performance but also advances the cognition research in the field of entrepreneurship.

Technological Innovation Research in China and India: A Bibliometric Analysis for the Period 1991–2015

Although a substantial literature on the management of technological innovation exists, several scholars argue that much of this research has been rooted in Western contexts, where key assumptions are very different from those in emerging economies. Building on this viewpoint, we investigate the current state of knowledge on technological innovation in two of the largest and fastest growing emerging economies: China and India. We undertook a bibliometric analysis of author keywords and combined different quantitative approaches – frequency analysis, cluster analysis, and co-word analysis – to review 162 articles on technological innovation published about China and India for the period 1991–2015. From the analyses, the trends in technological innovation research in the two countries and the dominant themes of discussion were identified. These themes were further classified into eight sub-themes. Our key findings indicate a near absence of research on the management of technological innovation based on India, limited volume of research on indigenous aspects of innovation, and a lack of theory-building based on these countries’ contexts. Several suggestions for future research are offered based on the gaps identified.

Early Network Events in the Later Success of Chinese Entrepreneurs

We trace the social networks around Chinese entrepreneurs back to their firm's founding to learn about the role early events play in the later success of a business. We use name generator questions paired with career history questions to identify ‘event contacts’ missed by the usual focus on current business. We draw four conclusions from interviews with a large, stratified random sample of entrepreneurs: (1) Relations with event contacts stand out forguanxiqualities of high trust relatively independent of the surrounding network structure, and are critical to distinguishing more successful entrepreneurs from the less successful. (2) The substance of a significant event matters less than the fact that the entrepreneur deems it significant. (3) When family is turned to for support it is most likely at founding, but family is not the usual source of support at founding. Rather, entrepreneurs turn to people they have known for many years, typically people beyond the entrepreneur's family. (4) The transition from founding to first significant event stands out as distinctly consequential for later success. Entrepreneurs who turn for help on their first significant event to a person separate from, but especially close to, the founding contact are more successful in their business development. That early move is not visible in the later network around the entrepreneur.

Chinese Entrepreneurs, Social Networks, and Guanxi

Intending to clear space for rigorous integrative research bridging theory and research across East and West, we highlight four conclusions from exceptional data on the networks around Chinese entrepreneurs: (1) The broker networks associated with business success in the West are also associated with success in China; (2) The trust correlates of closed networks in the West are similarly correlated in China; (3) History and trust proven in events emerge as especially important to the Chinese entrepreneurs; (4) High-quality network data on Chinese business leaders are a practical reality. We use the results to define a network perspective on guanxi ties that can be common ground for integrating results across East and West, and guide future research on the role networks play in Chinese business.

Hybrid Strategies, Dysfunctional Competition, and New Venture Performance in Transition Economies

Conventional wisdom suggests that new ventures can employ a combination of two general strategies to confront the challenges of operating in transition economies or regions known for their weak institutional conditions: These ventures may succeed by enacting a market-orientation strategy, which focuses on providing value to customers and implementing rapid responses to competitive situations. They can also engage in a more traditional political-networking strategy that engages government officials, which may yield public resources and enhance their organizational legitimacy. However, research results are inconclusive regarding the effectiveness of these strategies when they are combined in a hybrid form. We argue that the advantages of a hybrid strategy are contingent on the perception of a specific condition: dysfunctional competition. In our analysis of new venture performance in China, we show that political networking indeed amplifies the positive influence of market-orientation strategies on performance, but only in contexts where dysfunctional competition is perceived to be low. When such competition is high, political networking becomes counterproductive, diverting attention away from swift responses to market demands. By addressing how multiple strategies work together, we offer insights into the extent to which the effectiveness of hybrid strategies – incorporating both market-orientation and political-networking – depend on the context in which they are implemented.

A Dynamic Typology of Informal Institutions: Learning from the Case of Guanxi

Currently, the mechanism in which informal institutions, recently discovered as an influential, new paradigm in business and management studies interact with and shape formal institutions remains unclear. Helmke and Levitsky (2004) proposed an outcome-based typology for the interaction of informal institutions with formal ones. By using a structured approach for literature aggregation, we test the proposed typology of Helmke and Levitsky by applying this method to 74 empirical studies to investigate the influence of guanxi on formal institutions. We conclude that guanxi fits into none of the proposed categories perfectly. As a result, we propose the relationship between guanxi and formal institutions as auxiliary as well as competing concurrently, leading to convergent and divergent outcomes, respectively. Moreover, we propose a third category to add to the existing typology, namely ‘formal institutions in transition’. We furthermore incorporate a dynamic aspect to the model by adding two further categories, concerned with the direction of the development. We believe the resulting extension to the original typology of Helmke and Levitsky accurately accounts for the dynamic nature of informal institutions as well as their important role in shaping effective formal institutions.

Institutional Transformation and Changing Networking Patterns in China

Drawing insights from the institutional embeddedness perspective, this article explores the changing patterns and significance of two types of strategic networking along with the institutional transformation in China. Using two-wave survey data on Chinese private firms, we find that after the state relaxed its control of resources the importance of networking with the state tends to decline, while ties with market actors become increasingly important. Determinants of network investment have shifted from managers’ perceived importance of different types of network ties to a firm's immediate institutional environment. Finally, the impact of networking on firm growth has also altered over time. These findings advance our understanding of the crucial role of the institutional environment in shaping firms’ networking strategies and have important theoretical and practical implications.

Research on Chinese Family Businesses: Perspectives

This introduction traces the disappearance of Chinese family businesses from 1949 to 1978, their revival since then, and their future challenges. It then summarizes the three papers included in this Special Issue and proposes an agenda for family business studies in China. The article first focuses on the nonmarket social and political network strategies that these family-centered business organizations have had to adopt in order to overcome the difficulties they faced in accessing opportunities and resources as a result of Chinese culture's traditional low esteem for merchants and the government's continuing preference for a state-dominated economy. Family firms have so far been able to grow disproportionately rapidly in China's economy because, by leveraging the shared interests and dedication of immediate and extended family members, they have been able to achieve lower cost and higher efficiency, respond quickly to market changes, and expand social and political networks. These nonmarket strategies, however, also have a dark side. Furthermore, as the liberalization of China's economy deepens, competition must rely critically on market strategies such as innovation, alliances, and internationalization. The proposed research agenda addresses these future challenges as well as some research questions unique to Chinese family businesses.

Knowing Guanxi from the perspective of Tao: a mixed methodological approach

Purpose

– This paper aims to, from a Taoism perspective, one of Chinese inveterate cultures and mindsets, add knowledge into how Chinese indigenous cultures and mindsets will affect the way of Chinese people perceive and process guanxi. Specifically, this paper outlines the mechanism of guanxi from a culture perspective. Cultures significantly affect local people behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

– A mixed-methods survey (Study 1) – analyzed with one-way ANOVA – and interview (Study 2) – analyzed with grounded theory – were used to answer the research questions. In total, 248 surveys were collected for Study 1, and 34 interviews for Study 2 that were transcribed into a word file, which consists of 609 pages with 327,463 Chinese characters, were processed.

Findings

– The findings show that guanxi is determined by positive and negative forces between instrumental and affective components. Further, two essential conditions – fitness of personality and clear contract, which would determine when a positive or negative force would emerge in a guanxi – were identified.

Originality/value

– The main contribution is that this paper clarifies the guanxi mechanism based upon one of the most significant Chinese cultures and mindsets. Or guanxi is viewed from a new perspective – how Taoism affects Chinese people’s perception and evaluation of guanxi. This paper also finds evidence for the main arguments based upon the two studies.

Hiring of Personal Ties: A Cultural Consensus Analysis of China and the United States

Although employees react negatively when employers hire individuals with whom the employers have personal ties, the practice is prevalent worldwide. One factor contributing to the discrepancy between reactions to the practice may be differences in cultural beliefs and institutions regarding perceptions about hiring decisions. To examine cross-national differences in perceptions about hiring personal ties, we conducted a consensus analysis on the perceived fairness, profitability, and overall evaluation of hiring decisions in China and the United States. We find cross-national differences in consensus levels as to whether people believe it is fair or unfair to hire moderately qualified candidates with employer ties (kinships or close friends with the employer) and whether people positively or negatively evaluate the hiring of unqualified candidates with stakeholder ties (ties to business associates or government officials). We also find contrasting areas of consensus about whether hiring unqualified candidates with stakeholder ties is profitable. Implications for research on cultural comparisons of perceptions of hiring practices and guanxi are discussed.

Learning from socially driven service innovation in emerging economies

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into indigenous, solution-based business models and their relevance for inclusive service innovation within specific social contexts in emerging economies, with particular emphasis on the role of culture and technology.

Design/methodology/approach

– A proposed framework illustrates four factors that nurture socially driven service innovation in emerging economies: solution, inclusion, culture, and technology. Extant literature from studies in India, Latin America, and China illustrates distinct indigenous innovations and service relationships that exist at the base of the pyramid (BoP), which provides a foundation for a better understanding of socially inclusive service innovations.

Findings

– A conceptual model of inclusive service innovation reflects an integrated, virtuous cycle, composed of service relationships that stem from the BoP at various levels of analysis across different income segments. These findings suggest notable research directions.

Practical implications

– This study reinforces the importance of a solution orientation as a competitive business model to gain customer engagement.

Social implications

– Researchers and practitioners in emerging and advanced economies can use the approach suggested by this paper in their efforts to build sustainable business cultures and improve the well-being of society.

Originality/value

– Previous research has not addressed the social or communal roles of service innovation; this study proposes an innovative switch from a traditional strategy of selling services toward a proactive approach that involves low-income customers as active resources to co-create social and business value.

Trust, Reciprocity, and Guanxi in China: An Experimental Investigation

We examine the influence of social distance on levels of trust and reciprocity in China. Social distance, reflected in the indigenous concept of guanxi, is of central importance to Chinese culture. In Study 1, some participants participated in two financially salient trust games to measure behaviour, one with an anonymous classmate and the other with an anonymous, demographically identical non-classmate. Other participants, drawn from the same population, completed hypothetical surveys to gauge both hypothetical behaviour and expectations of others. Social distance effects on actual and hypothetical behaviour were statistically consistent. The results together corroborated the hypothesized negative relationship between trust and social distance. However, reciprocity was not responsive to social distance. Study 2 found that affect-based trust, but not cognition-based trust, played a mediating role in the relationship between social distance and interpersonal trust in a hypothetical scenario. We conclude that close guanxi ties in China engender affect-based trust, which is extended to shouren classmates. This is true despite the fact that no more cognition-based trust is placed nor reciprocity received or expected from classmates compared to demographically identical shengren non-classmates.

Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in China

As the largest and fastest growing transition economy in the world, China's entrance onto the global stage has been swift and dramatic. As such, almost every facet of entrepreneurship, from the identification of nascent opportunities to the challenges of managing triple-digit growth to the transformation of firms from dying to emerging industries, can be studied as natural experiments. The four papers in this issue are dedicated to exploring entrepreneurial innovation in the Chinese private economy. They include two clinical studies, one on the impact of the Beijing Olympics on entrepreneurship, and the other on the co-evolution ofguanxinetworks and entrepreneurial growth. Two studies test theories explaining the organizational drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship. In the best traditions, these four studies offer theoretical insights on the broader implications of entrepreneurship research in the Chinese context. We locate the findings offered by these four papers in the systems, organizational and social contexts of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship research. Finally, we offer some suggestions for future research and ways in which advances in the theoretical conversation should proceed.

External Knowledge Search Strategies in China's Technology Ventures: The Role of Managerial Interpretations and Ties

Drawing on the threat-rigidity hypothesis, we examine how managerial opportunity and threat interpretations of external environments affect a technology venture's choice of external knowledge search strategies in an emerging market. Results from a sample of 141 technology ventures in China reveal that opportunity interpretation directly and positively influences both the breadth and depth of external search, whereas threat interpretation directly and negatively influences only external search depth. Furthermore, managerial ties strengthen the positive relationship between opportunity interpretation and external search breadth but weaken the positive relationship on external search depth. Managerial ties weaken the negative relationship between threat interpretation and external search breadth but strengthen the negative relationship on external search depth. Implications for both research and practice are offered.

Guanxi and Organizational Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Guanxi, a social network tie drawing on connections in business relations, has been identified as a powerful strategic tool helping organizations maintain competitive advantages and achieve superior performance. However, prior empirical studies on die gM/m-performance link provide indefinite conclusions. The purpose of this study is to systematically review and quandfy the guanxi-performance link in a meta-analytic framework by decomposing guanxi into business ties (i.e., guanxi with business partners) and government ties (i.e., guanxi with government authorities) and organizational performance into economic performance and operational performance. Based on effect sizes from fifty-three studies encompassing 20,212 organizations, we estimate that the overall effect size of the guanxi-pertormance relationship is positive and significant, thus endorsing the argument that guanxi does enhance organizational performance. Specifically, our meta-analysis results demonstrate that both business and government ties lead to both economic and operational performance. However, business ties have a bigger impact on operational performance, whereas government ties exert larger effects on economic performance. Further meta-analytic regression results suggest that ownership (state-owned vs. non-state-owned) and location (Mainland vs. overseas China) explain some of the variations of the guanxi-performance link. Both business and government ties are more important to organizations in Mainland China than to those in overseas China. Government ties are more important to state-owned than to non-state-owned organizations. Lasdy, while business ties remain a valuable strategic tool in China, the importance of government ties is time-variant and has been declining with the development of the institutional environment in China.

ChineseGuanxi: An Integrative Review and New Directions for Future Research

In this article we review research on Chineseguanxiand social networking in the past twenty years and identify the major perspectives, theories, and methodologies used inguanxiresearch at micro and macro levels. We summarize the main findings of over 200 journal articles onguanxiresearch in terms of its conceptual definitions and measurements, its antecedents and consequences, and its dynamics and processes. Furthermore, we identify the gaps between different levels ofguanxiresearch and discuss future directions to advance our understanding of the complex and intricateguanxiphenomenon.

Doing Better Research on Organizational Behaviour in Chinese Cultural Settings: Suggestions from the Notebooks of Two Fellow-Travellers

In this article, we describe the development of cross-cultural research in organizational behaviour over the last few decades. Distinguishing four epochs of cross-cultural research, i.e., the Aristotelian, Linnean, Newtonian, and Einsteinian, we explain research questions, empirical approaches, and research designs that have guided contributions to each epoch. Based on this description, we outline a route for future research that takes Chinese indigenous constructs as points of departure to describe how individual outcomes of interest are embedded in their cultural environment. Finally, we provide concrete implications for future research in this area.