Entrepreneurs' Networking Styles and Normative Underpinnings during Institutional transition

Chenjian Zhang; Tao Wang; David Ahlstrom

doi:10.1515/erj-2021-0200

Entrepreneurs' Networking Styles and Normative Underpinnings during Institutional transition

Chenjian Zhang, Tao Wang, David Ahlstrom

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Abstract

Existing network research has mainly adopted functional and/or structural approaches to study the instrumental goals behind entrepreneurs’ networking as well as the influence of personal position on access to resources and eventual performance. The variety of entrepreneurs’ networking styles and their normative underpinnings have not been adequately explored. Contextualized in China, this study asks: How do entrepreneurs’ understandings of social norms shape their networking styles? Through an inductive comparison of two entrepreneur generations in China, we identify three networking styles: guanxi-oriented networking, market-based networking, and mixed networking. We theorize that three types of norms shape these styles: market-inferred norms, dyadically formed norms, and identity-induced norms. This study provides new insights into the understanding of Chinese entrepreneurs’ distinctive networking styles and their normative underpinnings. Further, it suggests implications both for the wider study of entrepreneurs’ networking behaviors in transition economies, and for practitioners wishing to enhance their network building in China.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	457-489
Journal	Entrepreneurship Research Journal
Volume	14
Issue number	2
Early online date	7 Jan 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2021-0200
Publication status	Published - 30 Apr 2024

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author team would like to acknowledge the thoughtful guidance and suggestions of the editor Xiaoyu Yu and two anonymous reviewers. We are grateful for helpful suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper from Andrew Brown, Sally Maitlis, Shenghui Ma, Feng Liu, Francisco Liñán, Ulla Hytti, Andrea Herepath, Shanyang Zhao, Yuhuan Liu, Hao Yuan, seminar participants at Centre for Research on Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Bath University, 4 Paper Development Virtual Seminar at Universidad de Sevilla, School of Management at Shanghai University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, The School of Humanities, Economics and Law at Northwestern Polytechnical University, China. Tao Wang acknowledges funding support from Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 21K13345).

Keywords

Chinese entrepreneurs
guanxi
institutional transition
networking
norms

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Business and International Management
Strategy and Management
Management of Technology and Innovation

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Cite this

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title = "Entrepreneurs' Networking Styles and Normative Underpinnings during Institutional transition",

abstract = "Existing network research has mainly adopted functional and/or structural approaches to study the instrumental goals behind entrepreneurs{\textquoteright} networking as well as the influence of personal position on access to resources and eventual performance. The variety of entrepreneurs{\textquoteright} networking styles and their normative underpinnings have not been adequately explored. Contextualized in China, this study asks: How do entrepreneurs{\textquoteright} understandings of social norms shape their networking styles? Through an inductive comparison of two entrepreneur generations in China, we identify three networking styles: guanxi-oriented networking, market-based networking, and mixed networking. We theorize that three types of norms shape these styles: market-inferred norms, dyadically formed norms, and identity-induced norms. This study provides new insights into the understanding of Chinese entrepreneurs{\textquoteright} distinctive networking styles and their normative underpinnings. Further, it suggests implications both for the wider study of entrepreneurs{\textquoteright} networking behaviors in transition economies, and for practitioners wishing to enhance their network building in China.",

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Entrepreneurs' Networking Styles and Normative Underpinnings during Institutional transition

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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