Guanxi and Business Strategy

"Guanxi and Business Strategy" elaborates upon a topic of paramount importance to both academic scholars and managers doing business with China: the impact of personal relationships (guanxi) on business affairs. In the Chinese cultural and socio-economic environment, how are the ubiquitous practices of guanxi to be considered in entrepreneurial strategies?

Rather than explaining the emergence of guanxi and its persistence in spite of the existence of a market economy with Confucianism, the author applies the phenomenon to the methodology of New Economic Sociology. By integrating guanxi into a business context, he shows that the commercial utilization of guanxi with suppliers, customers, competitors and authorities yields significant sustainable competitive advantages. As guanxi practices, however, may pose risks to unsuspecting managers, guanxi-based business strategies are also assessed in terms of compliance with legal and ethical standards.

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext
Eike A. Langenberg, Magister und Doktor der Sinologie (Universität Hamburg) und Diplomkaufmann (Universität Hamburg), arbeitet seit mehr als fünf Jahren als Geschäftsführer bei Siemens Ltd., China in der Eisenbahnindustrie. Die Erkenntnisse seiner wissenschaftlichen Analysen des chinesischen Eisenbahnwesens hat Dr. Langenberg in dieser Position verifizieren können.
Die vorliegende Analyse zählt zur Pflichtlektüre für Industrie- und Dienstleistungsunternehmen, die den chinesischen Eisenbahnmarkt bedienen; sie ist ebenfalls interessant für Akademiker, welche sich mit den Herausforderungen des chinesischen Verkehrssektors befassen.

Inhalt
Introduction: The Ubiquitous Phenomenon of Guanxi; Review of Previous Research; Methodological Considerations.- The Guanxi System: The Cultural Embeddedness Argument; Conceptualizing Guanxi; Transitory Considerations.- Guanxi-Based Business Strategies: What Is Strategy? The Role of Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Typology of Guanxi-Based Business Strategies; Notes on Strategy Implementation.- Discussion: Assessment from a Legal Perspective; Implications for Business Ethics; Outlook: Durability of Results.