Indigenous research on Asia: In search of the emic components of guanxi

Abstract

Despite attempts to identify Asian indigenous concepts in the past 10 years, we found that a lot of proposed concepts have not been described clearly. People who are not familiar with Asian indigenous cultures may have difficulty in understanding why the concepts are distinct. Using the Chinese guanxi as an example, we attempt to describe its etic and emic components. In contrast to existing concepts about interpersonal relationship in the literature, the dominant element of the Chinese guanxi concept is the role of obligations and social and ethical norms. Thus, we define guanxi as “the closeness of a relationship that is associated with a particular set of differentiated behavioral obligations based on social and ethical norms.” The specific situation in Chinese society is described in details and agenda for future research questions is highlighted.