Seminar

Guanxi and the Network Theory of Fei Xiaotong

Date
Thu October 23rd 2014, 12:00pm
Event Sponsor
Stanford Institute for Research in the Social Sciences & Stanford Sociology Department
Location
SCANCOR Conference Room (CERAS #123)
Guanxi and the Network Theory of Fei Xiaotong

Jamber Li (MS&E) & Jacob Reidhead (Sociology)

Abstract & Presenters

Guanxi, defined as relationships of reciprocal obligation, is a significant organizing force in Chinese society. In Xiang-tu Zhong-guo (From the Soil), Chinese sociologist Fei Xiao-Tong proposes a structural theory contrasting the relation-based associations of rural China with group-based associations of urban society and the West.

Jacob Reidhead (Sociology) will present Fei's original theory and propose two empirically testable extensions to contemporary cross-societal comparisons.

Jamber Li (MS&E) tackles the question of whether particular cultures confer competitive advantage in the international community. Drawing on his research of high-tech entrepreneurial ventures in China, Jamber will highlight the utilities and hazards of extending Fei's structural model of rural China to Chinese society at large.