The measurement of guanxi: Introducing the GRX scale

This study posits and examines a measurement scale for measuring guanxi based on three Chinese relational constructs - ganqing, renqing and xinren. Focusing on Anglo-Chinese buyer-seller relationships, the research reports the findings from six qualitative in-depth interviews and survey data obtained from over 200 Taiwanese trading companies. Based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses the findings from the final second-order confirmatory factor analysis of the guanxi model identified 11 items for measuring ganqing, renqing, xinren and guanxi respectively. The results offer a useful starting point in order for business practitioners to assess their guanxi and at the same time provide academics with a scale for operationalizing the measurement of guanxi.     

Manufacturer-supplier guanxi strategy: An examination of contingent environmental factors

While guanxi is a cultural norm in China, the development and maintenance of guanxi can also be viewed as a business relationship management strategy that is leveraged by organizations in response to environmental conditions. The current research proposes that participation in guanxi is not equal to actively pursuing guanxi as a business strategy. Rather, firms respond to external environmental factors through guanxi management. Drawing on contingency theory and based on the perspectives of a China-based manufacturer respondent sample, a conceptual model of environmental factors that influence manufacturer-supplier guanxi is proposed and tested. The results indicate that supply and demand market uncertainties and legal environment complexity significantly affect levels of manufacturer-supplier guanxi, and that guanxi influences the use of non-coercive power by manufacturers. Contrary to expectations, manufacturer dependence on a major supplier did not influence levels of guanxi. The study findings and their implications extend current knowledge of inter-organizational guanxi and its influence on business-to-business relationships.     

The significance of trust and renqing in the long-term orientation of Chinese business-to-business relationships

While business relationships with China are receiving increased attention in both practitioner and academic discourse, very little empirical work however, has been undertaken to isolate and examine measures that focus on business-to-business relationships, and as such, research in this area is somewhat scant. In an attempt to bridge this gap, and add to the knowledge in this emerging discipline, the research aims to develop a conceptual framework to explore the relationship between trust and the long-term orientation in Chinese business-to-business market relationships. Based on a survey with Hong Kong companies that have a buyer-seller relationship with Chinese companies, the empirical findings indicate the mediating role and significance of ‘renqing’ for enhancing trust and contributing towards the long-term stability in relational exchange. The results highlight several implications for practicing managers to consider when aiming to establish and develop relationships in a Chinese business-to-business context.     

The many faces of trust and guanxi behavior: Evidence from marketing channels in China

This study examines how a trusting relationship influences firm boundary agents' guanxi behavior which involves saving face (wei hu mianzi), and affect investment (ganqing tou zi). At the individual level, we decompose trust into its competence and goodwill forms and examine their relative and interactive effects on guanxi behavior. A study conducted among 354 Chinese purchasing managers reveals that both competence trust and goodwill trust promote guanxi behavior, and these two types of character trust are substitutive for each other in terms of motivating the use of guanxi. At the firm level, calculative trust directly affects guanxi behavior and also negatively moderates the effect of competence trust on guanxi behavior. These results imply that calculative trust may substitute for competence trust in facilitating economic transactions and thereby reduce the use of guanxi in business interactions.     

The role of renqing in mediating customer relationship investment and relationship commitment in China

There is a growing research interest in guanxi marketing, which has been considered the Chinese version of relationship marketing. However, very little empirical research has investigated the implicit nature of renqing, the underlying mechanism that explains the cultivation and maintenance of guanxi. This study examines the role of renqing in mediating customer relationship investment and relationship commitment in the insurance industry. The authors surveyed 245 car insurance policyholders in China. The findings confirm the mediating role of renqing in such relationships and show that renqing explains a very high proportion of the variance in levels of customer relationship commitment. This result offers valuable insights and suggestions as to how to increase levels of customer relationship commitment in China.     

Guanxi vs. relationship marketing: Exploring underlying differences

The present paper attempts to explore the underlying mechanism between Western relationship marketing and Chinese guanxi by examining the construct equivalence of the two concepts. First, it distinguishes guanxi from relationship marketing in terms of the personal and particularistic nature of the relation. Second, it differentiates trust from xinyong, its counterpart in Chinese, based on a comparison of their roles in relationship building and maintenance. Third, it discusses the unique meaning of renqing, which is proposed as an underlying mechanism that guides behavior norms in guanxi and a mediator between trust or xinyong and long-term orientation. Finally, it concludes by discussing the managerial implications for international marketers who wish to succeed in the Chinese business market and the importance of adapting Western relationship marketing principles to guanxi marketing.     

Investigating guanxi dimensions and relationship outcomes: Insights from Sino-Anglo business relationships

This study aims to develop and test a concept for improving Anglo-Chinese business relationships. By piecing together and incorporating both Chinese and western relationship constructs into a cohesive framework and testing this on a sample of Taiwanese importers, the study conceptually and empirically advances our understanding of the discipline further. Specifically, three facets of guanxi, namely ganqing (an affective element), renqing (reciprocation and favor), and xinren (personal trust) are conceptualized to determine cooperation and coordination, which in turn lead to improved performance. Based on a sample of 208 buyers (surveying perceptions of their relationships with Anglo suppliers), we provide empirical support for our concept and reveal that ganqing, renqing and xinren are crucial for fostering the development of such Sino-Anglo relationships. By providing an international flavor in terms of the constructs outlined and the importer-exporter context, the study provides fresh insights to help broaden our horizon further and understand more about relationships in an international context. Several implications are extracted from the study which a) western marketers importantly need to practice as they grapple to enter Chinese markets and nurture business relations, b) Chinese buyers can consider when managing their supplier portfolios and c) academics can use to help measure important relational constructs and undertaking research in a Chinese context.     

Power, conflict, and cooperation: The impact of guanxi in Chinese marketing channels

This paper tests the impact of guanxi on behaviors among firms in a Chinese marketing channel. Guanxi is operationalized in this paper as emotional closeness and interactive state. We find that the emotional closeness between channel-boundary personnel of firms has a positive impact on their exercise of noncoercive power, a negative impact on their exercise of coercive power, and a negative impact on the perceived conflict between them. In addition, emotional closeness has an indirect but positive impact on perceived cooperation. Interactive state between the boundary personnel of two firms has a positive impact on a firm exercising noncoercive power and a negative impact on perceived conflict between them. At the same time, it is positively related to a firm exercising coercive power. This shows not only the significant influence of guanxi on a firm's channel behaviors but also the constructive effects of both emotional closeness and interactive state on marketing channel behaviors in China.     

Near-optimal (r,Q) policies for a two-stage serial inventory system with Poisson demand

We consider a two-stage serial inventory system whose cost structure exhibits economies of scale in both stages. In the system, stage 1 faces Poisson demand and replenishes its inventory from stage 2, and the latter stage in turn orders from an outside supplier with unlimited stock. Each shipment, either to stage 2 or to stage 1, incurs a fixed setup cost. We derive important properties for a given echelon-stock (r, Q) policy for an approximation of the problem where all states are continuous. Based on these properties, we design a simple heuristic algorithm that can be used to find a near-optimal (r, Q) policy for the original problem. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.     

On the proportionality of EU spatial ex ante coexistence regulations: A comment

In their recent article in this journal, Demont et al. (2009) discuss the effects of alternative spatial ex ante coexistence regulations (SEACERs) in the context of the EU regulatory framework. We retain from Demont et al. (2009) that small pollen barriers should be considered as a possible regulatory option in all identifiable situations in which they are as effective as large isolation distances. This idea is in accordance with the proportionality principle of the 2003 EC Recommendation. But further analysis of how consumer choice and consumer welfare are affected should be conducted before supporting the idea that SEACERs should be flexible, that is that GMO farmers should always have the option of paying their non-GMO neighbours to implement the SEACERs in their own fields. We reject the authors’ argument that pollen barriers are necessarily more easily negotiable among neighbours (more “flexible”) than are isolation distances. We contest the relation of proportionality to the size of market signals for IP products. We contest the idea of shifting coexistence regulation from ex ante to ex post. We believe that any economic analysis of coexistence measures should include their welfare effects on consumers as well as on producers.     

Disaggregation and consolidation of imperfect quality shipments in an extended EPQ model

We consider a standard economic production quantity (EPQ) model. Due to manufacturing variability, a fraction P of the produced inventory will have imperfect quality, where P is a random variable with a known distribution. We consider a 100% inspection policy and further assume that the inspection rate is larger than that of production. Thus, all imperfect quality items will be detected by the end of the production cycle. For such an augmented EPQ model, we first derive the new optimal production quantity assuming that the imperfect quality items are salvaged once at the end of every production cycle. Then, we extend this base model to allow for disaggregating the shipments of imperfect quality items during a single production run. Finally, we consider aggregating (or consolidating) the shipments of imperfect items over multiple production runs. Under both scenarios we derive closed-form expressions for both the economic production quantity and the batching policy, and show that our desegregation/consolidation schemes can lead to significant cost savings over the base model.     

Impact of personal and cultural factors on knowledge sharing in China

Knowledge sharing has been the focus of research for more than a decade and it is widely recognized that it can contribute to the success of an organisation. However, in comparison with other countries, relatively little work on this topic has been done in the Chinese context. Knowledge sharing is particularly interesting to study in the Chinese context at the individual level, given the unique social and cultural characteristics of this environment. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model to explain how personal factors would affect people’s intention to share their knowledge. The Theory of Reasoned Action and Social Exchange Theory are used in this paper, as are the time dimension of national culture, face, and guanxi. A survey methodology is used to test the model. Face and guanxi orientation both exert a significant effect on the intention to share knowledge. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.

羧甲基壳聚糖-Cu2+配合物催化分解H2O2的研究

研究羧甲基壳聚糖-Cu²⁺配合物对H₂O₂分解的催化活性及影响因素。以壳聚糖为原料,制备水溶性羧甲基壳聚糖(CMC),再以其为配体制备CMC-Cu²⁺配合物,并将CMC-Cu²⁺配合物应用于催化H₂O₂分解的反应,考察了w(CMC)/w(CuCl₂)、体系pH值对H₂O₂分解的影响。结果表明:温度为25℃,w(CMC)/w(CuCl₂)为5∶1时形成的CMC-Cu²⁺配合物,在pH值为7附近,对质量分数为5%的H₂O₂的分解率12h为92.5%,24h为99.5%,说明CMC-Cu²⁺配合物对H₂O₂分解有良好的催化作用。     

瓜蒌配方颗粒指纹图谱研究

为了全面反映瓜蒌配方颗粒所含多种组分,明确瓜蒌配方颗粒HPLC指纹图谱的测定方法,对10批瓜蒌配方颗粒进行了HPLC指纹图谱测定及相似度评价。采用HPLC方法,色谱柱为GL Sciences公司InertSustain AQ-C_(18)柱(4.6 nm×250 nm,5μm),以甲醇-0.1%甲酸水溶液为流动相,梯度洗脱,检测波长为260 nm,流速为0.8 mL/min,柱温为25℃,对瓜蒌配方颗粒指纹图谱测定结果进行了相似度评价。结果表明,10批瓜蒌配方颗粒指纹图谱中呈现16个共有峰,相似度均大于0.960,表明瓜蒌配方颗粒具有良好的一致性;此外,在16个共有峰中指认出腺嘌呤、尿苷2个化学成分。瓜蒌配方颗粒指纹图谱反映了瓜蒌配方颗粒的多组分面貌,可为瓜蒌配方颗粒的多组分质量控制提供参考依据。     

Investing in guanxi: An analysis of interpersonal relation-specific investment (RSI) in China

This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of relation-specific investment (RSI) in interfirm exchanges by introducing a construct for interpersonal RSI. Drawing on economic sociology and qualitative findings, we examine interorganizational RSI and interpersonal RSI as distinct constructs and uncover their roles in relationship performance. In particular, our study focuses on the Chinese interfirm context, in which interpersonal RSI, based on the indigenous practice of guanxi (cultivating social connections), is known as guanxi investment. We adopt a qualitative approach to explore the elements of guanxi investment, and then develop a behavioral measurement scale as a tool for further research. We employ an empirical survey to test and affirm the validity of the scale. The results confirm that in addition to their respective effects, interorganizational and interpersonal RSIs exert an interactive effect on interfirm relationship performance. We offer managerial implications for firms that operate in China.     

An examination of the foreign market knowledge of exporting firms based in the People's Republic of China: Its determinants and effect on export intensity

Although the critical role of knowledge in generating organizational advantage has been increasingly recognized in the strategic management field, there is little research examining firm-specific foreign knowledge, the construct itself, its determinants, and impact on export performance. This study seeks to extend the foreign market knowledge literature in three ways. First, the current study develops a conceptual model of determinants of foreign market knowledge, based on the social capital theory. It explains how structural and relational social capital affects the creation of foreign market knowledge. Second, this study substantiates the theoretical link between foreign market knowledge and export intensity, which has been put forward by the internationalization process model with empirical evidence. Third, to expand the generalizability of the present foreign market knowledge model, this study tests the model using firms from different industrial types and product categories in a newly developing country, that is, the People's Republic of China.     

石家庄市大气颗粒物TSP，PM10和PM2.5主要成分研究

为了研究石家庄市大气颗粒物TSP,PM_(10)以及PM_(2.5)中的主要成分,在不同季节分别采集了该市6个点位的颗粒物样品,对其主要成分的浓度与含量进行了分析。研究表明,TSP,PM_(10)以及PM_(2.5)中的主要成分为SO~(2-)_4,NO~-_3,NH~+_4,Al,Si,Fe,OC,EC等,这些主要成分在各粒径中呈现季节性变化的特点。春季以扬尘污染为主,冬季燃煤污染显著,夏秋季为复合型污染。市区6个点位主要成分的变化规律基本一致,"西南高教"与"西北水源"的颗粒物污染较为严重,可能与其周围污染源分布有关。     

山楂标准汤剂的HPLC特征图谱研究

为了进一步研究山楂配方颗粒的质量控制方法,以山楂标准汤剂为研究对象,采用高效液相色谱仪与GL science C_(18)(4.6 mm×250 mm,5.0μm)色谱柱,以乙腈-0.4%磷酸为流动相,柱温为30℃,流速为1.0 mL/min,检测波长为254 nm,应用特征图谱技术以及中药指纹图谱相似度评价软件提取山楂标准汤剂特征图谱中的特征成分。研究表明,15批山楂标准汤剂中共确定了7个特征峰,分离度较好,且峰面积较大,易于识别,使用参照物标定了3个特征峰成分,各共有峰相对保留时间的RSD值小于2.5%。所建立的山楂标准汤剂HPLC特征图谱方法可靠、稳定,为山楂配方颗粒质量控制提供了一定的参考。     

The influence of firm,industry and network on the corporate social performance of Japanese firms

We develop and test the thesis that corporate social performance (CSP) constitutes a socially constructed and shared strategic asset, which is not only influenced by factors specific to a firm, but also by the social performance of firms in its industry and inter-corporate network. Using variance decomposition, we analyze data from 130 large Japanese firms and find that both firm-specific and industry-level factors account for significant variance in CSP, but network-level factors do not.