The importance of Guanxi for Latin America companies doing business with China

Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.7867/1980-4431.2012v17n3p54-79

 

The relevance of this article is based on the importance of China as one of main commercial partners of several Latin America countries and the importance of understanding the cultural aspects of an Asiatic country as a competitive advantage in company strategy.   The commercial exchanges promoted by companies, and by nations, are also permeated by a series of less tangible components, which do not fit in the universe of economic-financial efficiency and other measurable elements. The business culture of countries is a preponderant factor among these elements. There are innumerous cultural traits, specifically Chinese traits, which express and interfere in the field of negotiations.  The intention is to contribute in the sense of increasing knowledge on one of the most important cultural traits, guanxi, and its relationship with other elements related to business administration practices. Due to the difficulty in finding an accurate translation for guanxi, we rely on the understanding that it represents the ​​ interpersonal network of relationships, or further, the network of personal connections. The most researched studies and incumbent hot topics are presented through a bibliometric analysis on the Web of Science database.