Guanxi, the Chinese term for social connections, has long been a key subject of interest in Chinese management research. Despite the conceptual and empirical efforts of earlier studies to address the nature, instrumentality, and managerial implications of guanxi, the extent to and the ways in which guanxi is deployed in the actual decision-making process in contemporary Chinese organisations remains ambiguous.

Social entrepreneurship (SE) has become a rapidly advancing domain of enquiry and holds a place in policy makers consideration around the globe. Opportunities have been regarded as critical in SE, but are often portrayed in abstract and unspecified ways. Research on this topic remains relatively scarce, theory building is not yet established and integrated, and the dearth of empirical studies further constrains theoretical development in SE. Researchers have thus called for more exploration and a comprehensive theoretical understanding of SE opportunities. The purpose of this study is to explore SE opportunities through empirical investigation and theoretical development. As an exploratory study, this study addresses two broad research questions: (1) What are SE opportunities? And (2) How do they emerge? To answer these questions, I draw on the broader entrepreneurship literature which provides two main alternative explanations: opportunity discovery (nexus theory) and opportunity creation (effectuation theory). While the discovery/creation debate is still ongoing, recent theoretical advancement has shown a possible path of forwarding entrepreneurial opportunity research, suggesting that research should incorporate structure and agency simultaneously in studying opportunities. Following this path, this study contributes to SE opportunity research by providing a comprehensive understanding of SE opportunities, it also helps address the discovery/creation debate in the context of SE. To make this contribution, this study first adopts critical realism as a research philosophy as well as methodology. Critical realism incorporates the effects of both structure and agency through its ontological assumptions of three domains of reality, while providing an explanatory framework to assess competing theories. Second, this study selects China as a context for empirical study. As a relation-oriented society, China provides a useful context for studying the causal relations between the social structure (guanxi) and SE opportunity. China s institutional context and fast growing social enterprise sector also provides a promising setting for exploratory research on SE opportunities. Based on critical realism, I used a three-step qualitative multi-case study to develop an explanatory framework in which guanxi and social capital theory provide theoretical explanations of the social structure and its causal powers, which lead to SE opportunity emergence in China. Data were collected from 45 interviews with Chinese social entrepreneurs, their employees and other key stakeholders in 36 organisations in Beijing, Hunan Province and Shanghai. My research findings show that SE opportunities develop in all of the three domains defined by critical realism. In the domain of empirical a world of human experience of social events a SE opportunity can be described as discovered, created, or as both discovered and created. In the domain of actual the social events under study a SE opportunity consists of three internal and necessary constituents: unjust social equilibrium (USE), social entrepreneurs beliefs (SEB), and social feasibility (SF). In the domain of real deeper structures, causal powers and mechanism that produce the social event the emergence of SE opportunities can be seen as the result of a resource acquisition and mobilisation mechanism whereby USE, SEB and SF are identified or formed through social entrepreneurs social capital embedded in guanxi. Building on these findings, this study concludes with a theoretical framework that offers a comprehensive explanation of SE opportunity emergence in China. This study is the first attempt to apply critical realism to the study of opportunities in the context of SE in China. It contributes to the SE and general entrepreneurship literature by developing a theoretical framework of SE opportunity emergence that provides an alternative explanation for the existence of discovery and creation opportunities, and by extending our theoretical understandings of some key concepts of SE. This research further provides an example of the use of qualitative methods to apply critical realism in SE and general entrepreneurship research, which contributes to the development of relatively rigorous research design and research methods in studying complex social events.

The core of this thesis is analysis of the political and economical field of China with focusing on the period from 1978 to the present with the impact of the changes on the entrepreneurial sector. The emphasis is put on the cultural environment of China that sometimes complicates doing business in this country for foreign entities. The thesis contains important cultural chinese aspects that should know every potential businessman before entering the chinese market. The aim of this thesis is to outline the political and economical development in China with estimation of the trends on the chinese market that are potential niche market.

Det kinesiska samhället är i hög grad präglat av dess kulturella traditioner som i många aspekter skiljer sig från andra länder. I samband med att allt fler svenska företag väljer att etablera sig i Kina där svenska expatriater sänds ut som resurser, blir det alltmer väsentligt att förstå sig på landets kultur och värderingar. En central aspekt ligger i att bygga relevanta nätverksrelationer, vilket i Kina benämns som guanxi. Guanxi definieras som relationella utbyten mellan parter baserat på implicita principer av tillit, ömsesidighet och empati. Denna studie har syftat till att undersöka hur viktigt svenska expatriater upplever att guanxi är med kinesiska kollegor, samt på vilka sätt expatriaters personliga egenskaper påverkar relationsuppbyggandet. Vidare har studien avsett att undersöka vilka möjligheter och svårigheter guanxi kan innebära för expatriater under deras internationella uppdrag. En kvalitativ metod har tillämpats, där empirin bestått av åtta intervjuer med svenska expatriater inom olika multinationella företag i Kina. Studiens resultat påvisade att de flesta expatriater upplevde guanxi med lokala kollegor som viktigt vid anpassning till miljön. Personliga egenskaper, som ett intresse för kulturen och en öppensinnad inställning, bidrog även till en bättre förståelse för guanxis innebörd som underlättat utlandsvistelserna. Studiens resultat har vidare påvisat att högre uppsatta expatriater inte upplevde guanxi med lokala kollegor som lika relevant. Samtidigt som guanxi med lokala kollegor bidrar till nya möjligheter och nätverksrelationer, har även svårigheter påvisats relaterat till mutor och korruption.

La thèse vise à mieux appréhender les déterminants et les conséquences de l’implication organisationnelle des travailleurs du savoir en Chine ContinentalePlusieurs facteurs influençant l’implication organisationnelle sont ainsi mis en évidence.- Les facteurs liés aux caractéristiques du travail : la perception de l’autonomie au travail et la perception du caractère de défi du travail.- Les facteurs liés aux caractéristiques de l’organisation : la perception du prestige organisationnel et la perception de la justice organisationnelle, ainsi que les statuts de organisation (public, parapublic ou privé).- Les facteurs liés aux caractéristiques culturelles de la Chine : la forte distance hiérarchique et le collectivisme, ainsi que la qualité du Guanxi. Les conséquences de l’implication organisationnelle sont aussi mises en évidence dans le modèle : intention de départ, intention de partager le savoir explicite et tacite, comportement organisationnel citoyen dans sa dimension d’harmonie interpersonnelle. Les relations entre les traits culturels (qualité du guanxi avec les collègues et collectivisme horizontal) et l’intention de partager le savoir sont également modélisées. La thèse présente une étude qualitative avec des entretiens semi-directifs (24 entretiens) et une étude quantitative. L’étude exploratoire quantitative a ainsi porté sur douze organisations (quatre de chaque secteur : public, parapublic et privé). Au total, 960 questionnaires ont été distribués et 568 questionnaires renseignés, soit un taux de réponse de 59.17% . Pour mener à bien les tests d’hypothèses, les analyses de régression multiple et l’analyse de variance ont été privilégiées. Les résultats de chaque test d’hypothèse sont successivement détaillés. Les apports de la recherche dans la fidélisation et l’implication organisationnelle des travailleurs du savoir sont mis en évidence, ainsi que plusieurs résultats utiles d’un point de vue théorique et pratique / This PhD dissertation aims to better understand the determinants and consequences of organizational commitment of knowledge workers in varied sectors on mainland China. Several factors which influenced Chinese knowledge workers’ organizational commitment were highlighted : •job designed factors (the perceived job autonomy and the perceived job challenge). •organizational factors (the perceived organizational prestige, the perceived organizational fairness, organizational ownership). •cultural factors ( collectivism, power distance, guanxi quality towards superiors and colleagues). Several consequences of Chinese knowledge workers’ organizational commitment were emphasized in research model: turnover intention, intention to share explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge, organizational citizenship behavior in term of interpersonal harmony). The data of this dissertation was obtained from one qualitative study with 24 semi-direct interviews and one exploratory quantitative study with 12 organizations (four of each sector: public sector, para-public sector and private sector). In sum, 960 questionnaires were distributed and 568 questionnaires were returned. The response rate was 59.17%. In order to test the hypotheses, the regressions analyses and the variance analyses were utilized. The results of each hypothesis were demonstrated successively. Limitations and managerial implications are finally discussed

Based on research showing the serious environmental damage associated with conventional aquaculture, coastal marine ranching has been promoted by the Chinese government as an ecological and environmentally friendly way to produce aquatic products and simultaneously restore the marine environment. However, marine ranching is a general concept and there are significant differences among the three main types. This study initially focuses on commercial marine ranching to distinguish it from other types by identifying its unique features, functions and goals. Examining institutional frameworks of commercial marine ranching operations reveals the evolving interactions and interrelations between key actors in the network. The analysis adopts a modified social network theory approach that incorporates Chinese guanxi culture in a case study of the White Dragon Islet marine ranching project to research commercial marine ranching in China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect details from each group of key actors, including the private sector, government, and local communities. Key outcomes of the research include developing a better understanding of the types of marine ranching in China and important insights into changing relationships developed from acquaintance to intimacy and then to trustworthiness within the institutional framework of a successful commercial marine ranching project. The thesis concludes by highlighting key practical implications for government policy and for commercial marine ranching practitioners to improve the implementation of such operations in China. / Graduate

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Because philanthropic support from alumni and their families is an important source of revenue for American colleges and universities, identifying ways to connect with Chinese students and cultivate philanthropic support from their parents is an essential component of fundraising efforts. In this study, I explored how American university advancement officers could employ guanxi to cultivate relationships with Chinese parent donors in order to increase U.S. higher education philanthropy efforts. The concept of guanxi, an important aspect of building and sustaining relationships in China, served as the focus for understanding Chinese parents’ connections with their children’s American universities. I employed a qualitative collective case study design using purposeful criterion sampling and conducted research with seven participants. The research findings inform the practice of American university fundraising. The researcher generated specific strategies for American university development officers to build and cultivate guanxi with Chinese parents in order to receive more donations from them. Recommendations for further research are also provided.

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Aim and starting point: The aim of the Bachelor thesis is to examine and define the paramount knowledge Chinese businessmen need in order to succeed with their establishment in Sweden. The authors also seek to answer what incentives attract Chinese businessmen to come to Sweden, as well as how Chinese establishments in Sweden can be predicted to appear in the future. Results/conclusions: The study outlines key areas in which Chinese businessmen should have knowledge in order to succeed with their establishment in Sweden. The results also gives an indication on how Chinese business establishments in Sweden will appear in the future, into which areas the Chinese mainly invest/establish in, as well as why and how these are done. On the basis of this material the authors generate proposals for educational packages which among others can be sold to Chinese businessmen. Knowledge overview: Here relevant theory connected to the area of study is presented. The knowledge overview presents the Swedish in relation to the Chinese perspective in areas such as: culture, hierarchy, relations, Face, communication, HRM, education, CSR and labour law. The knowledge overview can itself contribute to fostering an understanding of differences between Sweden and China. Method: The area of research has been accessed by a combination of methods. The study is both deductive and explorative. The main channel of information and data collection are in-depth interviews which are used as a deductive starting point, an expert investigation and as a Grounded Theory. As a complement the authors have also conducted a delphi study in which an expert panel answered questions concerning the future of Chinese establishments in Sweden. The deductive and explorative parts have been analyzed individually and have each generated a conclusion. These conclusions have then been interwoven in a synthesis that highlights and creates new knowledge. / Syfte och utgångspunkt: Syftet med kandidatuppsatsen är att undersöka vilka kunskaper kinesiska affärsmän främst behöver för att lyckas med sina etableringar i Sverige. Författarna söker även svar på vad som kan locka kinesiska affärsmän till Sverige, samt hur kinesiska etableringar i Sverige kan komma att te sig i framtiden. Resultat/Slutsats: Studien genererar nyckelområden inom vilka kinesiska affärsmän bör ha kunskaper för att lyckas med etableringar i Sverige. Resultatet ger även indikationer på hur kinesiska affärsetableringar i Sverige kommer att te sig i framtiden, inom vilka områden kineserna främst investerar/etablerar sig i, samt varför och hur dessa görs. Genom detta underlag genererar författarna förslag till utbildningspaket som bland annat kan säljas till kinesiska affärsmän. Kunskapsöversikt: Här presenteras relevant teori kopplad till området som undersökts i studien. Kunskapsöversikten presenterar det svenska respektive det kinesiska perspektivet inom områden som kultur, hierarki, relationer, ansikte, kommunikation, HRM, utbildning, CSR och arbetsrätt. Kunskapsöversikten kan i sig bidra till att skapa förståelse för olikheter mellan Sverige och Kina vilka kan påverka affärsrelationer. Metod: Forskningsområdet har undersökts genom en metodkombination. Studien är såväl deduktiv som explorativ. Den huvudsakliga informations- och datainsamlingskanalen är djupintervjuer som används till såväl en deduktiv utgångspunkt som expertutredning och grundad teori. Som komplement har även en delphiundersökning gjorts där en expertpanel besvarat frågor angående framtida kinesiska etableringar i Sverige. Den deduktiva och de explorativa delarna har analyserats var för sig och genererat varsin slutsats. Dessa slutsatser har sedan vävts samman i en syntes som förtydligar och skapar ny kunskap.