AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings - Academy of International ...

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individualism, and customer orientation advocacy associated with each country can be used to anticipate
similarities and differences in USBs between countries. This research offers important theoretical contributions
and implications for more effectively managing sales forces and reducing USBs across countries. (For more
information, please contact: Ning Li, George Mason University, USA: nli@gmu.edu)
Guanxi Gatekeeping in Chinese-Western Business Relationships
Hongzhi Gao, Victoria University of Wellington
John G. Knight, University of Otago
David Ballantyne, University of Otago
Culturally based relationship norms are collectively known as guanxi () in Chinese markets. A review of the
international business and management literature reveals that coverage of intercultural guanxi dynamics is
superficial despite the increasing recognition of guanxi in developing Chinese-Western business relations. The
aim of this article is to explore how go-betweens (gatekeepers) facilitate the development of relationships
between foreign outsiders and Chinese insiders in an intercultural environment, and to bring to the surface the
cultural nuances of guanxi. Based on interviews with 58 managers in China and New Zealand, the workings of
Chinese-Western business relationships are explored. Empirical findings reveal two key gatekeeping roles,
namely reciprocal and symbolic, used for enabling or constraining the development of intercultural business
relationships. This paper concludes with strategic implications of guanxi gatekeeping for foreign outsiders and
recommends practical approaches for reaching the decision makers and resource integrators in guanxi
networks. (For more information, please contact: Hongzhi Gao, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand:
hongzhi.gao@vuw.ac.nz)
Eclectic Perspectives on Inter-Organizational Cooperation: A Case Analysis of Korean Car Company
Taehoon Park, Osaka City University
As the hybridization of the Japanese and US types of cooperation in the automobile industry advance, the
eclectic theory proposes that transaction cost theory, resource-based theory and embeddedness theory should
be combined to explain the present state of inter-organizational cooperation. In the eclectic theory, it is said
that the formative factors in the product development and production processes are identical. However,
through the case analysis of Hyundai motors company, we investigated that how the types of interorganizational
cooperation between the product development and production processes are different and how
we should combine formative factors which are relevant to establishing cooperation in product development and
production processes. The results of our case analysis are as follows: Firstly, there is a degree of freedom in
how different types of product development and production processes are combined. Secondly, it is necessary
to explain eclectically by taking into account of the factors that affect the process of product development and
the factors which influence production. While the acquisition of resources is the major factor that effects the
formation of a product development process, the reduction of production cost is the factor which leads to the
formation of inter-organizational production process. (For more information, please contact: Taehoon Park,
Osaka City University, Japan: taehoon@gscc.osaka-cu.ac.jp)
Creating Legitimacy for International New Ventures: The Role of Business Model Storytelling across Institutional
Contexts
Poul Houman Andersen, Aarhus University
Morten Rask, Aarhus University
Based upon a conceptual model of legitimizing the business model through storytelling reflecting the difference
in institutional contexts across national borders we use the Better Place venture as our case with which to
explore how the storytelling efforts of new business ventures interact with institutional contexts to create
legitimacy. Better Place provides infrastructure services for combining electrical vehicles and power grid
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