Guanxi in Contemporary Chinese Business

<p>Does <i>guanxi</i> 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?</p><p>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 <i>guanxi</i> in the workplace. In terms of firm performance there is still much to be gained by MNE and Chinese firms through cultivating <i>guanxi</i> 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 <i>guanxi</i> connections. Similarly some women may find themselves shut out when attempting to navigate conventional <i>guanxi</i> relationships based on Confucian paternalism. In brief these practices may also exclude a large pool of emerging talent. This book clearly shows that <i>guanxi</i> 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. </p><p>The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of the <i>Asia Pacific Business Review</i>.</p>