Guanxi, How China Works

Yanjie Bian is Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota and Xi’an Jiaotong University

“Yanjie Bian is the pre-eminent scholar on social networks and guanxi in China and this monograph is the benchmark of his theoretical and methodological analysis of guanxi and its global implications. A must-read for scholars and students on social networks everywhere.”Nan Lin, Duke University“Combining deep knowledge of Chinese culture with expertise in global network theory, Professor Yanjie Bian offers the definitive book on guanxi – the interpersonal connections through which personal achievement happens in China, and often (by other names) in the West.”Ronald S. Burt, University of Chicago“[This] book provides valuable information regarding the complicated and myriad ways in which Chinese society functions and how this actually affects the politics and economics of society.”Asian Affairs

• Map xChronology xiPreface xiv1 What is Guanxi? 1Guanxi in Everyday Chinese Life 2Guanxi as Local Knowledge 7Theoretical Models of Guanxi in the Social Sciences 12A SNA Approach toward Guanxi 19Guanxi as Resource Mobilizer: A Concluding Note 252 Guanxi and Network Building 28Guanxi Interaction as an Everyday Phenomenon 28Guanxi Cultivation and Expansion through Banquets 38Guanxi Exchanges at Events of Cultural Significance 47Guanxi Networks and Social Class 54A Concluding Note: Rural-Urban Differences 623 Guanxi and Jobs 66The Maoist Era 67The Post-Mao Era 72The Dynamics of Guanxi 77Empirical Evidence from Large-Scale Social Surveys 82Summary 994 Guanxi and Business Founding 102China's Business World: An Overview 102Guanxi as Mechanisms of Self-Employment 107Guanxi as Mechanisms of Business Founding 115Entrepreneur Networks in Business Founding and Later Success 1215 Guanxi and Organizational Development 128Theoretical Perspectives on Guanxi-Organization Relations 128Guanxi as Mechanisms of Organizational Governance 141Guanxi as Mechanisms of Organizational Performance 154Foreign Organizations in Guanxi Culture 1616 Guanxi and Politics 168Nepotism and Guanxi Networks in a Local Government 168Guanxi Favoritism and the Politics of Promotion 176Guanxi Favoritism in the Politicized Legal System 1917 Guanxi and Social Structure 202The Internal and External Logics of Guanxi 202Guanxi Networks and Social Structure 207Guanxi Networks as Social Structure 212A Research Agenda 218Bibliography 223Chinese-Language References 242Index 246