Relationship portfolios and guanxi in Chinese business strategy

Purpose-This paper aims to investigate relationship portfolio management in a Chinese context. It has an electronic component manufacturing company active in China's business-to-business markets as its focus. Design/methodology/approach-As the research was exploratory, a qualitative approach to data collection was taken. This involved taking a case study approach and conducting a number of individual depth interviews with a range of sales engineers and sales managers. Findings-The findings showed that although some of the relationship portfolio dimensions used in Western research were mentioned by the interviewees, the most important dimensions in a Chinese context are sales volume, customer's strategic importance, and trust. Additionally, emphasis on a network perspective is needed and it was found that although guanxi is important in a Chinese business context, it is a supporting factor rather than a dimension of customer assessment. Research limitations/implications-The research was exploratory in nature and the findings should not be generalised to the population as a whole. Practical implications-The findings stress the importance of considering cultural elements such as the importance of personal trust and understanding network effects when doing business in China. They also show that relationships portfolio analysis can be transferred to culturally dissimilar contexts. Originality/value-This research was conducted in mainland China among Chinese nationals and provides insight into the elements they consider important in business relationships.