Keeping or Losing Face? How Mianzi Effects Direct Selling Under Chinese Culture

摘要

Guanxi is one of the most important cultural business practices in China. In this paper, we apply the social capital theory to explore how guanxi (especially mianzi) affects direct selling under Chinese culture. We also propose and articulate three main research questions that how three guanxi practices (mianzi, renqing and ganqing) may affect direct selling performance differently. Moreover, we argue that compared to ganqing and renqing, mianzi has a stronger influence on direct selling performance. Furthermore, we assert that cultures related with more power distance could have stronger effects on the relationship between mianzi, renqing and ganqing and direct selling performance.