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The Implications of Culture in Irish-
Chinese Business Transactions
Alan Geoghegan
Student Name: Alan Geoghegan
Student Number as per Student Card: 1743611
Course Title: MBA, Executive Leadership
Institution: Dublin Business School
Submission Date: August 2014
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Table of Contents
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... 4
List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 5
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 6
1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 7
1.1 Research Question .................................................................................................................. 9
1.2 Research Objectives ................................................................................................................ 9
2 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................... 10
2.1 What is Culture ..................................................................................................................... 10
2.2 National Culture and Major Cultural Frameworks ................................................................ 11
2.3 Impact of Chinese Culture on Business Transactions ........................................................... 18
2.4 Chinese Culture and the Concept of Guanxi ......................................................................... 19
2.4.1 What is Guanxi? ............................................................................................................ 19
2.4.2 Is Guanxi Relevant? ....................................................................................................... 21
2.4.3 Building and Maintaining Guanxi .................................................................................. 21
2.4.4 Trust and Guanxi ........................................................................................................... 22
2.4.5 Guanxi in the West? ...................................................................................................... 23
2.4.6 Benefits and Risks of Guanxi ......................................................................................... 25
2.5 Literature Review Conclusion ............................................................................................... 26
3 Research Methodology ................................................................................................................. 27
3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 27
3.2 Research Philosophy ............................................................................................................. 28
3.3 Research Approach ............................................................................................................... 30
3.4 Research Strategy ................................................................................................................. 30
3.5 Research Choice .................................................................................................................... 32
3.6 Time Horizon ......................................................................................................................... 32
3.7 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 32
3.7.1 Secondary Data Collection ............................................................................................ 32
3.7.2 Primary Qualitative Data Collection .............................................................................. 33
3.7.3 Primary Quantitative Data Collection ........................................................................... 34
3.7.4 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 36
3.8 Population and Sample ......................................................................................................... 37
3.9 Ethical Issues ......................................................................................................................... 39
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3.10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 39
4 Analysis, Findings and Discussion ................................................................................................. 40
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 40
4.2 Background of Respondents (Quantitative Data) ................................................................. 41
4.3 Perceived Characteristics of Guanxi (Quantitative Data) ..................................................... 45
4.4 Perceived Characteristics of Guanxi (Qualitative Data) ........................................................ 48
4.4.1 Personal Relationships .................................................................................................. 49
4.4.2 Giving Face (Respect) .................................................................................................... 50
4.4.3 Trust .............................................................................................................................. 51
4.4.4 Hierarchy ....................................................................................................................... 53
4.5 Survey Groupings .................................................................................................................. 55
4.6 Guanxi and the Marketing Mix ............................................................................................. 59
4.7 Perceived Benefits and Disadvantages of Guanxi (Quantitative Data) ................................. 60
4.8 Perceived Benefits and Disadvantages of Guanxi (Qualitative Data) ................................... 62
4.9 Correlation Analysis .............................................................................................................. 66
5 Conclusion, Recommendations and Limitations ........................................................................... 68
5.1 Limitations of this Research .................................................................................................. 70
5.2 Areas for Further Research ................................................................................................... 71
6 Self-Reflection ............................................................................................................................... 73
6.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 73
6.2 Learning Theories and Styles ................................................................................................ 73
6.3 Process .................................................................................................................................. 75
6.4 Use of Sources ....................................................................................................................... 76
6.5 Dissertation Formulation ...................................................................................................... 76
6.6 Own Learning ........................................................................................................................ 77
6.7 Action Plan ............................................................................................................................ 78
Bibliography and References ................................................................................................................ 79
Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 87
Appendix 1: Theme Sheet from Semi-Structured Interviews ........................................................... 87
Appendix 2: Survey Questionnaire ................................................................................................... 88
Appendix 3: Emails to Fock and Woo................................................................................................ 91
Appendix 4: Replies from Fock and Woo .......................................................................................... 91
Appendix 5: Survey Invitation Email ................................................................................................. 92
Appendix 6: Survey Reminder Email ................................................................................................. 93
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Appendix 7: Coefficients of Correlation ............................................................................................ 94
List of Tables
Table 2-1: Hofstede’s Indices for Ireland & China ................................................................................ 13
Table 2-2: Comparative Characteristics of a Culture. ........................................................................... 16
Table 2-3: Dimensions from the Generic Framework of Culture .......................................................... 18
Table 2-4: Traits of Guanxi .................................................................................................................... 20
Table 3-1: Coding Summary from Semi-Structured Interviews ............................................................ 37
Table 4-1 - Coding Summary from Semi-Structured Interviews ........................................................... 40
Table 4-2: Sex of Respondent ............................................................................................................... 41
Table 4-3: Respondent Age ................................................................................................................... 42
Table 4-4: Company Size ....................................................................................................................... 43
Table 4-5: Education ............................................................................................................................. 44
Table 4-6: Experience in China .............................................................................................................. 45
Table 4-7 - Relative Importance of Guanxi Characteristics ................................................................... 46
Table 4-8: Characteristics of Guanxi (Mean Rating) ............................................................................. 48
Table 4-9: Demographic Profile of Clusters .......................................................................................... 56
Table 4-10: Cluster Analysis on Perception of Guanxi .......................................................................... 58
Table 4-11: Relative Importance of Guanxi and Strategies of the Marketing Mix ............................... 59
Table 4-12: Benefits and Disadvantages of Guanxi .............................................................................. 60
Table 4-13: Perceptions on Benefits and Disadvantages of Guanxi (with Standard Deviations) ......... 62
List of Figures
Figure 2-1: Hofstede’s Indices for Ireland & China ............................................................................... 13
Figure 2-2: The Generic Framework of Culture .................................................................................... 17
Figure 3-1: The Research 'Onion' .......................................................................................................... 28
Figure 4-1 - Chart Male vs Female ........................................................................................................ 42
Figure 4-2: Respondent Age .................................................................................................................. 43
Figure 4-3: Company Size ...................................................................................................................... 44
Figure 4-4: Experience in China ............................................................................................................ 45
Figure 4-5: Relative Importance of Guanxi ........................................................................................... 46
Figure 4-6: Cluster Quality .................................................................................................................... 55
Figure 4-7: Demographic Profile of Clusters ......................................................................................... 57
Figure 4-8: Relative Importance of Guanxi and Strategies of the Marketing Mix (All Respondents) ... 59
Figure 4-9: Benefits and Disadvantages of Guanxi ............................................................................... 61
Figure 6-1: Kolb’s Learning Styles Including Honey and Mumfords. .................................................... 74
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Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to thank all of the MBA lectures in Dublin Business School for all of
their help throughout the course. It has been a challenging yet rewarding course and I have
truly enjoyed the experience.
In particular I would like to express my gratitude to my research supervisor Dr. Shakeel
Siddiqui, for his help, valuable guidance, support and constructive feedback during the
development of this dissertation.
I would like to thank my brother and MBA classmate for his support and encouragement over
the 2 years of the course and particularly during the dissertation process. He has been
instrumental in keeping me motivated while also making the MBA experience an even more
enjoyable one.
My greatest appreciation is to my fiancée (our wedding is 1 week after the submission of this
thesis) Sharon for her support, comfort and encouragement over the last 2 years where I’ve
been juggling the MBA programme, work commitments and constant overseas travel while
also trying to find time to be a Dad. This thesis is dedicated to you.