eLearning Course
Guanxi in Chinese Culture and its Consequences
This eLearning topic is part of the Understanding China for Business (eLearning Mini-series).

Introduction
Intangible qualities and human resources are crucial when an organisation decided to enter the China market. Module 2: Entering China Market – Success Factors will explain some success factors which could be very useful when entering the China market.
This eLearning topic Guanxi in Chinese Culture and its Consequences is part of Module 2: Entering China Market – Success Factors in the “Understanding China for Business” eLearning mini-series. Please refer to the topic outline below for details.

Topic Outline
This eLearning course Guanxi in Chinese Culture and its Consequences will explain the importance of the personal relationships in the business culture. Guanxi (known as connections or networks) will take you miles in all business environment anywhere in the world. In China, it is the “lifeblood of Chinese business” and forms a significant part of the Chinese business culture.
What is Guanxi?
What are its key features?
Why is Guanxi so Important?
Guanxi in Chinese culture
Guanxi and institutional weakness
Guanxi and business performance
Does Using Guanxi Improve Business Performance?
What can foreigners do about Guanxi?
Is Guanxi declining its importance?
Expected Learning Time
1 hours - It may vary depending on your reading speed and learning progress.
eLearning Platform
PolyU-IAEE eLearning Platform
eLearning Portal Instruction
IAEE eLearning video demo
Q & A
Content
Content has been created in self-contained sized knowledge. You can exit and return at any point.

Professor Howard DAVIES
Visiting Lecturer
Institute of Advanced Executive Education,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- British, live in Hong Kong since 1990
- Head of Department, Dean, Associate Dean in Faculty of Business, retired 2013
- Economist by training – textbook in Managerial Economics
- Researched and published on China for 28 years, most recent book “Understanding a Changing China”, Routledge 2018
- Cited about 1,200 times, according to ResearchGate, around 2,000 times according to Google Scholar
- Consultant to family business in Jilin and Changchun, NE China
Professor Davies was born in the UK in 1948. He has a BA (Hons) and an MSc (Distinction) in Economics from the University of Lancaster in the UK and a PhD in business strategy, also from Lancaster.
Professor Davies worked at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 1990 until 2015, as a Professor, Head of Department, Dean, Associate Dean, Acting Dean and Advisor to the Dean. Since 2018 he has been a Visiting Professor and Advisor to the School of Economics and Management at Beijing Jiaotong University. He also advises a family business in North East China.
He has published a textbook on Managerial Economics and edited a book on China Business, and published more than 50 research papers in books and journals, including Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies and Design Studies. His latest book is Understanding a Changing China, published in September 2017.
Professor Davies is interested in business strategy and technology development in Hong Kong and in transition economies, especially in China. He is involved in curriculum development, including the ‘outcome-based approach to education’, and the introduction of Design Thinking to the business curriculum.
For Masterclass details, please contact Karen on +852 3400 2773 or iaee.enquiry@polyu.edu.hk.