Marketing as Innovation Strategy in Non Profit Sector in China: The Network of Influence “Guanxi”

Abstract

In a globalized world, not only the business market is overlapped but also marketing models take shape within economic systems. While there has been a proliferation in the implementation of marketing in the private sector, this paper provides a useful entry point for the understanding role of marketing within the nonprofit sector focused on China, the second worldwide economic power. A number of senior managers and directors from different Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were interviewed of what they understood marketing to be and how they considered and implemented marketing within organizational strategy. The findings showed that while marketing was identified as an interesting and influential concept, Chinese nonprofit managers generally had a limited understanding of a marketing theory. The article further discusses reasons behind the dynamic based on personalized networks of influence used and the potential implications for nonprofit entities in China, a sector that plays a very noteworthy role in transformative economies.