Anglo-American Networking and Chinese Guanxi: Emic Differences and a Culture General Process Model

Creating relationships for more successful business is an etic (universal) practice. However, the nature of relationships may differ cross-culturally because of emic (culture-specific) dimensions that create differences in conception and expectations. I use the process of creating relationships to distinguish emic constructs in relationship building. From this comparison emerges a process that characterizes the general pattern of relationship building. Differences include tendencies towards achieved vs. ascribed relations, directness vs. indirectness, differences in business etiquette, and differences in time orientations. Chinese preferred ascribed relations when seeking jobs. Their business etiquette included giving gifts, hosting banquets, , and visiting people at their homes. In contrast, Americans were more direct when looking for jobs and working with the government. Their business etiquette included handshakes as well as exchanging phone calls, emails, and business cards. This dissertation makes the contributions of the first empirical work on networking vs. guanxi behaviors, the process model of relationship development, and the 58 item questionnaire.