A Responsibility–Benefit Dual-Drive Model of Cha-xu Sharing and the Reinforcing Effect of Social Norms

Characteristics such as ‘acquaintance society’ and ‘differential mode of association’ have been widely acknowledged as unique features of Chinese rural societies. However, quantitative evidence of these characteristics is not found in the literature. Applying methods in social network analysis, this paper presents a quantitative study of the social structure of Chinese villages. We measure various network statistics and topological properties of these villages using detailed data on major social relationships (including kinship, house neighbourhood, land plot neighbourhood and political relationships) in 10 rural villages located in central China. In this way, we provide a quantitative description of the structural characteristics of Chinese villages and quantitative evidence for some widely acknowledged features. Our findings are threefold: (1) the networks of Chinese villages are densely connected and highly decentralised; (2) the networks are typical small-world networks, referred to in network research as ‘acquaintance societies’; (3) individuals form neighbourhood ties according to the closeness of existing kinship ties, which corroborates the feature of ‘differential mode of association’.

The aim of this study is to discuss the impact of firm’ business acquaintanceships on innovation. We adopt a sociological perspective and apply the concept of “The differential mode of association” to construct a theoretical framework to explain the principle of firms’ business acquaintanceships on innovation. To provide real-world evidence, we also empirically test the theoretical hypotheses using ESIEC data and some econometric models. The results reveal that: (1) Business acquaintanceships have a significant positive impact on innovation, but the impact of business acquaintanceships on product and process innovation is asymmetric. (2) Under the theory of “The differential mode of association” and the principle of individual pragmatism, profitability mediates the relationship between business acquaintanceships and innovation. The business acquaintanceships can improve profitability, nevertheless profitability hinders innovation. (3) Under “The differential mode of association,” the government and shareholders acquaintanceships have moderating effects. However, once the government and shareholders acquaintanceships are involved in business acquaintanceships, they have a negative impact on innovation within firms. (4) Individual heterogeneity in entrepreneurs’ gender, government experience, and prior entrepreneurial experience also affects the impact of business acquaintanceships on innovation. This study emphasizes the impact of social relationship structures on business acquaintanceships and innovation, further provides a new research perspective and marginal contributions in terms of theoretical and empirical evidence. JEL Classification: B55 L26 M20 O32.

Promoting pro-environmental behavior is crucial for addressing environmental challenges and achieving sustainable development. Social norms, as a powerful situational force, are considered an effective strategy for encouraging environmental protection actions. However, the mechanisms and boundaries of different types of social norms remain unclear. This study focuses on the pro-environmental donation context, aiming to reveal how social norms influence donation intentions, particularly the mediating role of personal norms and the moderating effect of social distance. Through two online experimental studies, this study manipulates norm types and social distance while measuring participants’ personal norms and donation intentions. The findings suggest that injunctive social norms are more effective than descriptive norms in promoting donation intentions, with personal norms mediating this effect. Social distance moderates the effect of norm type: descriptive norms are more effective in close social distance, while injunctive norms have a stronger impact in distant social distance. This study not only systematically outlines the psychological pathway through which social norms drive pro-environmental behavior but also reveals a “norm type-psychological distance” matching effect, providing a theoretical basis and practical guidance for targeted and context-specific environmental communication and donation interventions.

Temporal distance, social distance and probabilistic distance are three basic dimensions of psychological distance. It has been proved that different kinds of psychological distance have similar effects on cognitive representations of events. In general, distant events are represented as high-level construals, whereas near events are represented as low-level construals. As events become more distant, the high-level construals become more influential in shaping preference whereas the low-level construals become less influential(Liberman, Trope, Stephan, 2007; Liberman, Trope, 2008; Trope, Liberman, 2010).This study investigates the effects of temporal, social and probabilistic distance on intertemporal choice and risky choice. We hypothesize that different kinds of distance have similar effects on intertemporal and risky choice, based on the assumptions that these three kinds of distance share the same nature as psychological distance, and that intertemporal choice and risky choice have common processes of option representation and weighting. When psychological distance increases, money magnitude as high-level construal becomes more influential while time and probability as low-level construals become less influential(Sagristano, Trope, Liberman, 2002; Trope Liberman, 2003). Therefore, participants in distant conditions would choose delayed and risky alternatives with larger monetary value.Experiment 1 investigated the effect of temporal distance on intertemporal and risky choices. Participants were told that they would participate in a visual experiment, but before that they needed to make an intertemporal choice as their rewards between "$50 immediately" and "$90 in 3 months"(experiment 1a), or between " $ 50 for sure" and " $ 200 with the probability of 20%"(experiment 1b). In near condition, the experiment would be conducted soon, and in distant condition the experiment would be conducted in 6 months.Experiment 2 investigated the effect of social distance. In near condition, participants would make choice for themselves, and in distant condition, for other people. Experiment 3 investigated the effect of probabilistic distance. In near condition, participants were told that they would participate in the experiment with 90%probability, and in distant condition, with 10% probability. The options of intertemporal choice and risky choice are similar to experiment 1. The results show that no matter what kind of distance was involved, there were more participants in distant condition who chose delayed or risky alternatives than those who did in near condition,which confirms the hypotheses.The similar effects of temporal, social and probabilistic distance on intertemporal and risky choices suggest that intermporal and risky choices share common psychological process, and these three kinds of distance are homogeneous psychological distance.

Earlier research has repeatedly shown that people tend to follow group norms when using common pool resources. The present commons dilemma study seeks to extend these findings with two inherently relevant concepts: First, the ecological efficiency of the group norm, and second, the physical distance between the actors involved. Physical distance was manipulated by administering a web‐based commons dilemma task to participants in the laboratory versus participants in the Internet. Ecological efficiency was manipulated by giving participants feedback about an overusing or a conserving group norm while the pool was either big or small. Conformity effects were strongest when the perceived group norm was ecologically efficient and participants were physically closer. Moreover, the effect of physical distance was mediated by the importance a person attached to the group's behavior. When physically farther apart, individuals attached less importance to the group's behavior and, as a consequence, showed less conformity. The results are discussed in the light of previous commons dilemma research and social psychological theories, and consequences for natural resource management are reflected.

Psychiatric nurses face high turnover rates and increasing levels of turnover intention. Workplace violence is associated with turnover intention among psychiatric nurses. Social exchange theory suggests that ward atmosphere and social distance may play a significant role in this process. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. To explore how workplace violence influences nurses' turnover intention through ward atmosphere and social distance, and to provide strategies for promoting nurses' wellbeing. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 1,485 psychiatric nurses recruited through the Mental and Psychological Care Alliance from September to October 2024. Variables were measured using a demographic questionnaire, a turnover intention item, the Workplace Violence Scale, the Ward Atmosphere Scale, and the Social Distance Scale. Statistical analysis and model construction and validation were performed using SPSS 29.0 software. Ward atmosphere was negatively correlated with turnover intention (r = -0.423), social distance (r = -0.340), and workplace violence (r = -0.307). Turnover intention was positively correlated with both social distance (r = 0.221) and workplace violence (r = 0.214). Workplace violence was positively correlated with social distance (r = 0.159). Workplace violence directly affected turnover intention among psychiatric nurses (β = 0.181, p < 0.001). The workplace violence also indirectly affects turnover intention among psychiatric nurses through the simple mediating effect of ward atmosphere (β = 0.232, p < 0.001) and social distance (β = 0.010, p < 0.001). And the sequential mediating effect of ward atmosphere and social distance between workplace violence and turnover intention is also significant (β = 0.017, p < 0.01). Additionally, that ward atmosphere and social distance totally mediated the link between workplace violence and turnover intention (indirect effect = 0.259, 95% CI: 0.207-0.313), explaining 58.863% of the total effect. This study suggests that we should pay attention to the influencing factors of the turnover intention and take effective measures. It is imperative to mitigate the occurrence of workplace violence within the ward. Additionally, we should cultivate a positive ward atmosphere, enhance the attitudes of psychiatric nurses toward their patients, and diminish expectations of social distance. These actions may reduce nurse turnover.

A close examination of the effects of social (language) and physical distance on the global communication networks revealed that these two factors played important roles in global communication networks. The results of this study showed that language similar ities/differences (whether or not its citizens spoke the four languages - English, German, French, and Spanish) were significantly related to the structure of the four global communica tion networks, that is telecommunication, written, physical, and face-to-face communication, represented by telephone, mail, trade, and transportation networks respectively. There were also statistically significant relationships between a country's physical location and language similarities/differences and the structure of the four global communication networks. Physical distance added incremental variance in the explanation of the telecommunication, written com munication, physical communication, and face-to-face communication network structure. It was found that the effect of social distance on telecommunication and written communication was stronger than that of social distance on face-to-face communication. On the other hand, the effect of physical distance on face-to-face communication was stronger than that of physical distance on telecommunication and written communication.

Chapter 5 - Business Networks and the Emergence of Guanxi Capitalism in China: The Role of the ‘Invisible Hand’

Since 2016, community group buying has grown significantly in China, largely driven by its efficient logistics, supply chains, low prices, and convenience.This model has been further popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic due to its effectiveness in meeting daily needs while minimizing human-to-human contact.A key component of this business model is the "group leaders"-influential individuals within a community responsible for managing group buying activities, which include order collection, supplier liaison, and goods distribution.Their primary task is to form and sustain a reliable community group buying consortium, a task that demands excellent organizational and interpersonal skills.This paper examines this phenomenon using the lens of the differential mode of association, a theoretical model explaining interpersonal relationships in traditional Chinese society.The research indicates that group leaders, through regular interaction with consumers, are able to alter their social network position, increase their influence, understand consumer needs, provide satisfying services, and enhance trust, thereby transforming consumers into loyal group buying participants.This transformation not only brings stability to group buying activities but also reinforces the community influence of group leaders, thus fostering the growth of community group buying.

ABSTRACTExtending Fei's ‘differential mode of association’ (1992) and Cao et al.'s argument that Chinese trust is layered and hierarchical (2015), this study explores the differential confidence in the different levels of police agencies and brings various forms of trust into the study of confidence in the police. Results from a household random sample reveal that Shanghainese make a distinction between hierarchical levels of the police. Their confidence level toward their municipality police department is similar to that toward the Ministry of Public Security while their confidence levels toward the police at stations and Paichusuo are more alike. In addition, the multi-variate regression analyses indicate that institutional trust is the dominant factor for explaining confidence in both local and upper-level police. Media trust, sense of safety, financial satisfaction and collectivism are significant predictors in both models. Obeying the law, gender and class influence confidence in the local police but not the upper-level police while intermediate trust and education have a significant effect only on confidence in the upper-level police. It is concluded that assessment of local police is central to the understanding of public confidence in China.

Using a sample of Chinese family firms from 2008–2015, we investigate the impact of trust on the choice of whether to hire a family member or a professional manager as CEO. We find that the presence of a professional CEO is negatively associated with a higher level of trust in family members. In contrast, it is positively associated with a higher level of trust in non‐family members. Our findings suggest that the trust mode in Chinese family firms is like the ‘differential mode of association’, which describes Fei's (1992) social structure of Chinese society. Moreover, a higher level of trust in family members is associated with native entrepreneurial activities, which strengthens the negative relationship between trust in family and the presence of a professional CEO. Furthermore, the role of trust in family firms’ appointment decisions is more pronounced in regions with relatively weak legal protection and firms with relatively poor governance. Our results hold when we control for endogeneity and after a series of robustness checks. This research links the governance of family firms to the informal institution of trust, enriching the literature on trust and family firm behaviours.

The behavior decisions in social dilemmas are highlighted in sociological, economic, and social psychological studies. Across two studies, the iterated prisoner’s dilemma is used as a basic paradigm to explore the effects of social distance and asymmetric reward and punishment on an individual’s cooperative behavior. Experiment 1 (N = 80) used a 2 (social distance: intimacy vs. strangeness) × 2 (symmetry of rewards: symmetric rewards vs. asymmetric rewards) within-subject design and demonstrated that when there were only two options, namely, cooperation and defection, cooperative behavior was influenced by social distance and symmetry of rewards, respectively, and the interaction was not significant. Experiment 2 (N = 80) used a 2 (social distance: intimacy vs. strangeness) × 2 (symmetry of punishment: symmetric punishment vs. asymmetric punishment) within-subject design and showed that the cooperative behavior of participants decreased when the punishment option was added, and the two levels of symmetry and asymmetry were set. Specifically, compared with the symmetric punishment group, the asymmetric punishment group was more likely to choose a defection strategy and less likely to use a punishment strategy. Moreover, there was a marginal interaction effect between social distance and symmetry of punishment, and symmetry of punishment was a significant mediator in the relationship between social distance and individual cooperation. Specifically, asymmetric punishment reduced only the cooperation rate (CR) between participants and their friends. In conclusion, in dilemma situations, asymmetric reward did not influence individual cooperative behavior at different social distances, while asymmetric punishment did, because the sense of loss was more likely to awaken an individual’s social comparison motives.

The referral bonuses program is one of the most effective ways to attract potential customers to attend online group-buy sites. This study tends to explore the underlying mechanism on why and how the social distance between a proposer and a responder influences the proposer's sharing behavior and responder's acceptance behavior. Drawing upon the ultimatum game theory as well as social norm and market norm literature, we design three experiments to investigate this problem. The results suggest that the proposers would like to share more to the socially closer people than the distant ones, and the responders are more likely to accept the referrals from their socially closer friends than the socially distant ones. Interestingly, the result also reveals that sharing amount deviates from the fair value when social distance is near rather than far. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of physical and phenomenological distance on self-disclosure. Two physical distances, culturally appropriate and culturally inappropriate, and three degrees of phenomenological closeness were selected. Differences in physical and phenomenological distances had significant effects upon the subjects' (n = 60) durations of self-disclosure. Subjects' feelings toward the experimenter and experiment were affected by differences in physical distance. No significant interactions between physical and phenomenological distance were evident.

BackgroundThe COVID‐19 pandemic, caused by the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, has resulted in illness, deaths and societal disruption on a global scale. Societies have implemented various control measures to reduce transmission of the virus and mitigate its impact. Individual behavioural changes are crucial to the successful implementation of these measures. One commonly recommended measure to limit risk of infection is distancing. It is important to identify those factors that can predict the uptake and maintenance of distancing.ObjectivesWe aimed to identify and synthesise the evidence on malleable psychological and psychosocial factors that determine uptake and adherence to distancing aimed at reducing the risk of infection or transmission of COVID‐19.Search MethodsWe searched various literature sources including electronic databases (Medline ALL, Child Development &amp; Adolescent Studies, ERIC, PsycInfo, CINAHL &amp; Web of Science), web searches, conference proceedings, government reports, other repositories of literature and grey literature. The search strategy was built around three concepts of interest including (1) context (terms relating to COVID‐19), (2) behaviour of interest and (3) terms related to psychological and psychosocial determinants of COVID‐19 Health‐Related Behaviours and adherence or compliance with distancing, to capture malleable determines. Searches capture studies up until October 2021.Selection CriteriaEligibility criteria included observational studies (both retrospective and prospective) and experimental studies that measure and report malleable psychological and psychosocial determinants and distancing (social and/or physical) at an individual level, amongst the general public. We defined physical distancing as, maintaining the recommended distance from others when physically present. And social distancing being defined as, minimising social contact with those outside of your own household. Screening was supported by the Cochrane Crowd. Studies' titles and abstracts were screened against the eligibility criteria by three independent screeners. Following this, all potentially relevant studies were screened at full‐text level by the research team. All conflicts between screeners were resolved by discussion between the core research team.Data Collection and AnalysisAll data extraction was managed in EPPI‐Reviewer software. All eligible studies, identified through full‐text screening were extracted by one author. We extracted data on study information, population, determinant, behaviour and effects. A second author checked data extraction on 20% of all included papers. All conflicts were discussed by the two authors until consensus was reached. We assessed methodological quality of all included studies using an adapted version of the Joanna Briggs Institute Quality appraisal tool.Main ResultsA total of 91 studies were suitable for inclusion in the review, representing 199,604 participants. The vast majority of studies had samples from the general public, with 15 of the studies focusing on specific samples. The majority of studies included participants over 18 years old, with 5 reporting on specific ages (adolescents and adults over 65). The quality of 29 of the studies was rated as unclear, 48 were rated as low, and 14 rated high risk of bias, predominately due to lack of reporting of recruitment, sample characteristics and methodology. Overall the majority of these relationships were weak. Stronger relationships were observed between attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural control and both social and physical distancing. And between worry, response effectiveness, self‐efficacy and social distancing. However, there is a high level of heterogeneity in the findings. This heterogeneity might be, partly, due to the differences in measurement of the determinants and distancing across studies.Authors' ConclusionsThe findings from this review indicate that social distancing behaviours are more likely to be undertaken by people who are worried about COVID‐19 and who believe that social distancing is an effective way of avoiding COVID‐19. Physical distancing behaviours are more likely to be undertaken by those who believe that they can control physical distancing from others, who believe that physical distancing is the social norm and who have a positive attitude to engaging in this behaviour. It is important to understand how to strengthen these behavioural determinants to develop effective interventions to promote distancing behaviours in any potential future waves of COVID‐19, and other respiratory infections.