Business-to-business relationships in Chinese contexts: conceptualising the interconnections and outcomes of key Guanxi constructs.

Abstract

Relational marketing is increasingly important in business. Various studies (Amber 1995; Chen 1995; Davis 1995; Wong, 1999) have acknowledged trust, dependency and reciprocity as key dimensions of China's "Guanxi" business relationships, but not identified the interconnections among these. This paper explores these relationships to provide a better understanding of the nature of long-term business-to-business relationships between Chinese and Western firms. In addition, the development of a conceptual framework including these key Guanxi constructs and linking them to relationship performance is proposed, together with proposed future research.