GuanxiManagement as Complex Adaptive Systems: a Case Study of Taiwanese ODI in China

Journal of Business Ethics · 2010 · Volume 91 · Issue 3

Abstract

In China,guanxiis the basis on which Chinese exchange a lifetime of favors, resources, and business leverage.Guanxiis considered a unique construct and a product of Confucian values and the contemporary political and socioeconomic system in Chinese society. With its cultural embeddingsguanxi, as the social norm of conduct, functions as complex adaptive systems that expand and interconnect to become well-knit social networks; meanwhile the functions of well-fixing and self-reinforcement of theguanxinetworks (chuens) are synergetically activated internally, externally, and interactively, which shows their extreme flexibility of adaptation. Taking as a case study an outside direct investment (ODI) Taiwanese firm in China, we address and conduct a survey to examine the effect ofguanxion management. Results of the research suggest thatguanxiis not limited to interpersonal links; it is also the switch that activates social networks and that reconciles interpersonal and internetwork mismatches to influence management efficacy.

Keywords

culture, guanxi, complex adaptive systems

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