Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2016, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (5): 36-63.

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Lost Trust and Dissolved Guanxi Circles: A Case Study of the Collective Resignation Event in Tianyuan Tea Company

SHUAI Man   

  1. Department of Sociology, Institute for Empirical Social Science Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University
  • Online:2016-09-20 Published:2016-09-20
  • Supported by:

    The research was supported by the Youth Program Sponsored by Humanities and Social Science Fund of Ministry of Education (16YJC840019), the Special Foundation of China Postdoctoral Sciences (2016T90898), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2015M582629), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (sk2016027), Research Support Program for New Teachers in Xi'an Jiaotong University.

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Abstract:

The mainstream explanation on employee turnover is either cause-effect factor analysis or interaction analysis. The former is effective in identifying causal relations between factors and the latter in showing the dynamics of interpersonal relationship. Combining the benefits of both methods,this study applies guanxi circle theory. It places various turnover factors under the framework of interpersonal interaction and uses the social network structure as an analytic point to examine the dynamic evolution of trust within the organization. The study finds that in the case of Tianyuan Tea Company,the collective resignation is largely caused by the collapse of trust within the guanxi circles that informally operated in the company social network centered on the management authority who had the power of hiring,firing and promotion. Five conclusions are proposed:1) The formal hierarchical structure of power can either coincide with or separate from the informal guanxi circles. When the two are in accordance,resignations rarely happen while discordance of the two is often an indication of potential resignations. 2) Organizational changes most likely cause guanxi circles outsiders to resign. 3) Members of the top guanxi circle in hierarchy do not resign because of discordant relationship with lower level managers,instead,they get relocated with promotion. 4) The collapse of "bridge" between guanxi circles can cause collective resignations. 5) Those who survive organizational shakeups are members of the top guanxi circle in hierarchy and the "bridge" people of guanxi circles. This study contributes to the research of employee turnover by introducing a new perspective of guanxi circle theory as well as drawing attention to the important function of the "bridge" coordinating between circles,and by offering theoretical understanding and practical guidance for social governance.

Key words: guanxi circle theory, trust, social network structure, turnover