Effect of channel relationships and guanxi on the performance of inter-province export ventures in the People's Republic of China

Ambler, TFJ, Styles, C and Xiucun, W (1996) Effect of channel relationships and guanxi on the performance of inter-province export ventures in the People's Republic of China. Working Paper. London Business School Centre for Marketing Working Paper.

Abstract

Relationship marketing in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is examined in the context of interprovince trade i.e. "exports" from one province of China to another. In particular, this paper is concerned with dyadic channel relationships between the exporter and the importer/distributor in the new province. The paper first explores the recent adoption of marketing in the PRC and the importance of relationships and guanxi (loosely translated as "connections"). Relationship marketing as it has emerged in the West is briefly presented for comparison. A set of hypotheses is then developed using the hybrid model of export performance from Styles and Ambler (1994). This framework combines variables from both the relational and conventional marketing mix paradigms. The hypotheses are tested using data collected from 102 interprovince export ventures within the PRC. The results suggest that the nature the channel relationships and guanxi has a positive impact on the performance of these ventures.