From Guanxi 1.0 to Guanxi 4.0: A Conceptual Framework of Guanxi in the Digital Transformation of Chinese B2B Relationships_Vol. 2 No. 4 (ESH 2025)_Economic Society and Humanities

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From Guanxi 1.0 to Guanxi 4.0: A Conceptual Framework of Guanxi in the Digital Transformation of Chinese B2B Relationships

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.62381/E254418

Author(s)

Xuezhou Yang*

Affiliation(s)

University of Bolton, Bolton, BL3 5AB, UK *Corresponding Author

Abstract

This paper discusses the transformation of guanxi under the influences of digitalization in Chinese B2B environment. With the basis in Confucian principles and personal trust, guanxi has historically become the centrepiece of business relations. Nevertheless, these practices are put to test due to the accelerated process of digitalisation in China that necessitates theoretical rethinking. The framework is based on the Social Capital Theory (SCT) and the Relationship Marketing Theory (RMT) and suggests four stages, including Guanxi 1.0 (kinship-based ties), 2.0 (institutional extension), 3.0 (IT-mediated CRM interface), and 4.0 (platform-based, AI-enabled guanxi). Based on 61 semi-structured interviews in ICT, manufacturing, and construction sectors in China, it was found that although guanxi is still culturally implicit, it currently commingles with scalable, data-driven reciprocity and trust mechanisms. The research demonstrates how digital technologies are changing relational depth, transparency, and scalability not by destroying cultural logics. It offers theoretical knowledge as well as practical solutions to navigating dual guanxi systems in the modern platform economy. The study contributes to the knowledge concerning guanxi as a dynamic construct based on digital infrastructures and cultural resilience in non-Western business environments.

Keywords

Guanxi Evolution; Social Capital Theory; Relationship Marketing; China B2B Relationships; Digital Transformation

References

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