Guanxi och familjeföretag
En uppsats kring förutsättningar för entreprenörskap i Taiwan
This thesis aims to examine the conditions for entrepreneurship in Taiwan by the occurrence of cultural phenomenon guanxi. Based on the concept of familiness and guanxi, the family is central in this study of family business. Traditional descriptions of the Asian culture claim that guanxi is vital in the business context. Though, recent studies indicate that significance of guanxi seems to be changing. Therefore the purpose of this thesis is to create an understanding of the importance and relevance of guanxi in the context of Taiwanese family business.By travelling to Kaohsiung, Taiwan to interview six managers of Taiwanese family firms this study?s empirical material was gathered for further processing based on a qualitative approach. This material led to the theoretical fields of social capital, familiness, Confucian culture and guanxi. Furthermore four propositions were modelled to test the expressions of guanxi in the visited companies. By testing these propositions a wide dissemination of perceptions about family and business was identified in the result. How guanxi is embodied in Taiwanese family business is due to how the owning family is structured and how the owning family choose to relate to international influences. The conclusion of this essay is therefore that guanxi is expressed by individual values in the company and is not as visible in the company it self as traditions would claim. The family is still central in Taiwanese culture and business, but how the importance of the family is expressed has changed with the development of guanxi.