Examining Chinese gift-giving behavior from the politeness theory perspective

Feng, Hairong; Chang, Hui Ching; Holt, Richard

doi:10.1080/01292986.2011.559257

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Thus, a promising direction for future research would be to integrate emotional intelligence into the current model. Finally, in contrast to some Western societies, the structure of social relations in China rests largely on person-centred social networks instead of fixed social institutions (Feng et al , 2011). Because this study just investigated the culture effect based on the specific connotation of politeness in one country, it would be fruitful to replicate the study to test this model by operationalizing the culture-specific variables in another culture to identify the different patterns of relative and interactive effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, politeness theory has been used to predict communicative behaviours (Feng et al , 2011). The main principle of this theory is that politeness is achieved through the protection of people’s “face”.…”

Section: Theoretical Underpinnings and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concept of respectfulness or politeness ( Li ) is closely related to many indigenous Chinese words, such as “ Guanxi ” (personal connections) and “ Mianzi ” (face), which are the most prominent Chinese cultural characteristics and have strong implications for interpersonal and interorganizational dynamics (Chang and Holt, 1991). All these indigenous Chinese concepts are embedded in the ancient Confucian philosophy of harmony and are fairly salient in social interactions as being in harmony with others is greatly emphasized in the Chinese culture (Feng et al , 2011). Failing to treat others with respect is sinful from the Chinese viewpoint (Chan, 2006).…”

Section: Theoretical Underpinnings and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integrating Chinese cultural philosophies on the effects of employee friendliness, helpfulness and respectfulness on customer satisfaction

Liu

Phau

et al. 2016

EJM

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Purpose This study aims to investigate the main and interactive effects of three employee attributes, namely, employee friendliness, helpfulness and respectfulness, on customer satisfaction in Mainland China. Design/methodology/approach A 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design enabled an eight-scenario study depicting a service experience manipulated by employee friendliness (high/low), helpfulness (high/low) and respectfulness (high/low). Findings It is found that the effect of respectfulness has the strongest impact on customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction generated by helpfulness is higher when respectfulness is high rather than low, while the interaction between helpfulness and friendliness is not found, even though helpfulness exerts a stronger effect than friendliness on customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is also maximized when all three positive interpersonal attributes all jointly presented. Interestingly, the absence of respectfulness tends to trigger a negative effect, while the display of friendliness results in a positive effect. Research limitations/implications Beyond the joint positive effects on service outcomes, different interaction patterns reveal that the display of friendliness is desirable and beneficial to enhance interpersonal outcome. However, the communication of respect is crucial, and, as such, managers and employees need to strive for a good balance on how to demonstrate these behaviours in critical moments such as service recovery. The findings from relative and interactive effects of three employee attributes are new in the literature and provide significant theoretical and managerial contributions for both researchers and managers. Originality/value This study takes the first step in decoding the cultural meaning of employee attributes through integrating Chinese traditional philosophy, Li (i.e. politeness), into a specific service setting by examining its comparative effects with other attributes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Underpinnings and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Underpinnings and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Integrating Chinese cultural philosophies on the effects of employee friendliness, helpfulness and respectfulness on customer satisfaction

Liu

Phau

et al. 2016

EJM

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“…For instance, the exchange may act as a “red envelope,” a new form of gift giving, which has been accepted and used by Chinese society (Wu and Ma, 2017). However, most Chinese prefer to send gifts face to face in rituals and regard it as respect with each other to form relationships (Feng et al , 2011). Additionally, we also found that personality – especially conscientiousness – moderated the relationship between intentions and behavior regarding SNS gifting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gift giving via social network services: the case of a WeChat mini-program used in China

Chen

2020

DTA

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine and explore the factors that drive users to gift through social network services (SNS).Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire method was applied to collect data from the sample of the WeChat users who have used mini-program. This paper employed the partial least squares method and used SmartPLS2.0 to analysis sample data, which examined the validity as well as reliability of the sample and further tested the hypotheses by the path coefficients.FindingsThe empirical results showed that pleasure, social relationship maintenance, convenience and comprehensiveness are significantly related to SNS gifting behavior, and conscientiousness moderates the relationship between intention and behavior in the context of SNS gifting. However, this study cannot find the effect of symbolic representation, impersonality and gift reciprocity motivations.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically, this study perfects the research of SNS gifting on the lack of exploring characteristics of comprehensiveness. Practically, this paper lends insights on how SNS providers attract users to adopt gifting.Originality/valueSNS gifting lacks a complete and effective promotion strategy, resulting in a small number of users as well as low profit. Besides, prior studies have focused on tradition gifting and online gifting. Little research talks about gifting on SNS phenomena, and thus it is necessary to perfect the theory of SNS gifting.

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“…This case will show that in a relation of asymmetry, agents will adapt to the paradigm of the one holding more power, for example, when adopting the main traits of the Asian model of PR, in which personal influence prevails (Grunig et al., 1995; Huang, 2000; Wu et al., 2016). This personal influence model is based upon the primacy of interpersonal relationships ( guanxi ) and a hierarchical conceptualization of social relations with strong Confucian bases (Feng et al., 2011; Huang, 2000). Thus, the case focuses on how Chilean firms – despite their organizational decision to manage stakeholders based on a global PR model – engage in guanxi practices, which are still present in Chinese PR, notwithstanding its current modernization and professionalization (Chen, 1996; Chen and Culberston, 2009; Huang, 2000).…”

Section: Introduction: Global Vs Cultural In International Public Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural and global perspectives to relationship management in international public relations: The Sino-Chilean case study

Labarca

Ruiz

2020

International Communication Gazette

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There is still debate on whether a global public relations model may be applied in any cultural setting. This article contributes to this discussion by presenting empirical evidence about how Chilean export firms develop public relations strategies to Chinese audiences and the dual dimension – global and cultural – of their practice. Two main findings are discussed: on the one hand, Chilean companies have mostly developed a global approach to reach general audiences. On the other, the actual practice of relationship management – through their firm’s executives – is carried out by placing culture as critical for successful public relations efforts. Specifically, Chilean executives use guanxi as the main driver of their relationship management.

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Examining Chinese gift-giving behavior from the politeness theory perspective

Cited by 13 publications

References 20 publications

Integrating Chinese cultural philosophies on the effects of employee friendliness, helpfulness and respectfulness on customer satisfaction

Integrating Chinese cultural philosophies on the effects of employee friendliness, helpfulness and respectfulness on customer satisfaction

Gift giving via social network services: the case of a WeChat mini-program used in China

Cultural and global perspectives to relationship management in international public relations: The Sino-Chilean case study

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