Badi, Sulafa;
Wang, Lisha;
Pryke, Stephen;
(2017)
Relationship marketing in Guanxi networks: A social network analysis study of Chinese construction small and medium-sized enterprises.
Industrial Marketing Management
, 60
pp. 204-218.
10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.03.014.
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Abstract
Despite the significance of Guanxi networking as the integrated approach to relationship marketing in the Chinese business environment, there remains, however, a limited understanding of the structural and relational characteristics of these stakeholder networks, within which value is jointly created and shared. In this study, the value-adding ego-networks of the business owners in four Chinese construction small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are examined. The relationship between the business owner and six main stakeholder groups was identified, quantified, analyzed, and visualized using SNA. Relationships were measured according to the frequency of communication, the value of favour exchanges, and the amount of emotional investment in the relationship. Comparative SNA studies were conducted, focusing on ego-network density, tie strength, and prominence of key stakeholders. The findings highlighted the high degree of the structural and relational embeddedness in Chinese SMEs with Guanxi ties (both strong and weak) dominating the construction business-owners' network. They also underlined the prominence of the internal markets of multiskilled employees and business-development managers. Transactional ties, albeit a minority, also exist in the business-owners' network, which confirms that both relational and transactional marketing coexist in the Chinese construction industry. The study draws managerial implications for entrepreneurial business owners and managers, and proposes directions for future research.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Relationship marketing in Guanxi networks: A social network analysis study of Chinese construction small and medium-sized enterprises |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.03.014 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.03.014 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Guanxi; Relationship marketing (RM); Social-network theory, social-network analysis (SNA); Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); Construction industry |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett Sch of Const and Proj Mgt |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1477041 |
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