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Guanxi vs networking: Distinctive configurations of affect- and cognition-based trust in the networks of Chinese vs American managers

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Abstract

This research investigates hypotheses about differences between Chinese and American managers in the configuration of trusting relationships within their professional networks. Consistent with hypotheses about Chinese familial collectivism, an egocentric network survey found that affect- and cognition-based trust were more intertwined for Chinese than for American managers. In addition, the effect of economic exchange on affect-based trust was more positive for Chinese than for Americans, whereas the effect of friendship was more positive for Americans than for Chinese. Finally, the extent to which a given relationship was highly embedded in ties to third parties increased cognition-based trust for Chinese but not for Americans. Implications for cultural research and international business practices are discussed.

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  1. In the literature on collectivism, researchers distinguished between group collectivism and relational collectivism (e.g., Brewer & Chen, 2007). Group collectivism refers to the extent to which people's orientation toward self and others is based on depersonalized relationships with others by virtue of common membership in a symbolic group. By contrast, relational collectivism refers to the extent to which people's orientation toward self and others is based on personalized relationships with particular close others and the network connections that extend from these specific dyadic relationships. We see familial collectivism as a form of relational collectivism, as it derives from highly personal relationships with family members.

  2. By norms we are referring to descriptive norms (i.e., common practices) as opposed to injunctive norms (i.e., what one ought to do).

  3. We also collected additional data in another MBA class (N=56) using the full trust scales from McAllister (1995). The objective is to demonstrate that our two item trust scales are highly correlated with the full trust scales. For the American subsample (N=45), Cronbach's alphas for the full cognition- and affect-based trust scales were 0.89 and 0.96, respectively. The two-item scales used in the present research correlated highly with the full trust scales: 0.94 for cognition-based trust (p<0.01) and 0.97 for affect-based trust (p<0.01). Similarly, for the Asian subsample (N=11) Cronbach's alphas for the full cognition- and affect-based trust scales were 0.91 and 0.97, respectively. The two-item scales used in the present research correlated highly with the full trust scales: 0.96 for cognition-based trust (p<0.01) and 0.98 for affect-based trust (p<0.01). We believe this should provide even more convincing evidence that our two-item scales adequately tap the trust constructs.

  4. Multilevel analysis is required for valid statistical inference when the units of observation are nested within clusters. In our case, trust measures were clustered within networks because each participant reported their level of trust in multiple members within his or her network. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis handles the nested structure of our data by allowing for the investigation of both within- and between-network variance in the observed trust measures.

  5. The negative association suggests that Americans not only experience tension in mixing affective closeness with economic pursuits, but also actively reduce affective closeness with those on whom they depend for economic resources. It is plausible that certain kinds of economic dependence (e.g., receiving a lucrative contract from a business associate) may be accompanied by a distancing of personal interaction so as to maintain perceptions of impartiality. It is an interesting question whether this comes primarily from subjective norms or whether it is driven in some cases by the pressure of American legal institutions.

  6. Although this way of inferring kin-like ties does not directly capture kinship related by blood, genetic kinship is less the issue than whether they have been in familial roles. In Chinese culture, relationships that were forged when one was young and continued well into adulthood are often described in family-like terms (e.g., a mentor/teacher, or an old neighbor who watches one grow up). Thus our method of capturing kin-like relationships includes not only relationship by blood, but also other important relationships that have kin-like qualities.

  7. We also computed kin-like ties using different cut-off ages (15 and 18 year old) and found similar results.

  8. We note that kin-like ties are positively associated with affect-based trust (kin-like peer: b=0.24, p<0.01; kin-like mentor: b=0.17, p<0.01) but not cognition-based trust (kin-like peer: b=−0.06, p<0.05; kin-like mentor: b=−0.04, p=0.44). Also, kin-like alters are unlikely to be of a difference race (kin-like peer: b=−0.41, p<0.01; kin-like mentor: b=−0.50, p<0.01). These findings are consistent with our assumptions that these variables indicate kin.

  9. To further explore the possibility that our findings were not solely the result of institutional factors, we conducted additional analyses on our US data by using Asian participants who were excluded in prior analyses. Specifically, we conducted the same analyses as in our current study but compared Asian with non-Asian participants within the US sample. We found trends in our results that are consistent with our hypotheses. In particular, the two types of trust appeared more intertwined in Asian than in non-Asian networks. The effects we hypothesized regarding economic dependence ties, friendship ties, and embeddedness, though not significant owing to the small Asian sample (N=29), are all in the expected directions. These results suggest that our findings could indeed be driven by differences in traditional cultural norms and values.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Departmental Editor, Professor Kwok Leung, and three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and editorial advice throughout the review process. We also thank members of the Morris Lab for comments and suggestions on earlier versions of this paper.

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  1. Harvard Business School, Boston, USA

    Roy Y J Chua

  2. Columbia University, Columbia Business School, New York, USA

    Michael W Morris & Paul Ingram

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Correspondence to Roy Y J Chua.

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Accepted by Kwok Leung, Departmental Editor, 14 November 2007. This paper has been with the authors for two revisions.

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Chua, R., Morris, M. & Ingram, P. Guanxi vs networking: Distinctive configurations of affect- and cognition-based trust in the networks of Chinese vs American managers. J Int Bus Stud 40, 490–508 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400422

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