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Guanxi Practice and Quality: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Managers’ Business-to-Business and Business-to-Government Ties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2015

Nailin Bu  and
Jean-Paul Roy
Nailin Bu
Affiliation:
Queen's University, Canada
Jean-Paul Roy
Affiliation:
Queen's University, Canada
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Abstract

This study provides new insight into guanxi practice and quality differences between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) ties in China. The results, based on data obtained through structured interviews with 108 Chinese managers across eight cities in China, reveal stark differences between the practices used in developing B2B ties and those used in developing B2G ties. More specifically, these two tie types differ in a variety of guanxi initiation, building, and utilization practices. This study also builds upon the process model of guanxi development by highlighting the dissimilar role of gift giving practices in B2B and B2G ties. Furthermore, this study measures guanxi quality as a separate concept from guanxi process and demonstrates that guanxi quality is a multidimensional concept that is composed of affective attachment and felt obligation, both of which vary across B2B and B2G ties. Implications of these results for theory development and managerial practice in China are also discussed.

Keywords

Chinabusiness-to-business tiesbusiness-to-government tiesguanxi practiceguanxi quality
Type
Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 263 - 287
Copyright
Copyright © The International Association for Chinese Management Research 2015 

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