Ritual Capital

Ruan, Ji

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-40754-8_6

Cited by 6 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Local government bodies have established what are known as ‘key schools’ and are illegally charging school-selection fees or ‘voluntary’ donations (Cai, 2005). Since places in key schools are limited and entrance criteria are flexible, 1 many parents continue to use guanxi to influence headteachers – despite the condemnation that such corrupt practices have attracted from the media (Ruan, 2017a).…”

Section: Background and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Chinese ganqing is different from the Western concept of affection, since it always goes hand in hand with material obligation (Kipnis, 1997: 23). In close relations, people are more likely to do favors for others when they are driven by ganqing rather than by renqing (Ruan, 2017a: 143–145).…”

Section: Introduction: Bribery Guanxi and Ritual Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…One way to maintain one’s face, and to show one’s renqing and ganqing , is to practice interaction rituals, and guanxi practices are full of such rituals (Ruan, 2017a, 2017b). Goffman has explained that ‘societies everywhere, if they are to be societies, must mobilize their members as self-regulating participants in social encounters’, and that ritual constitutes ‘[o]ne way of mobilizing the individual for this purpose’ (Goffman, 1955: 231).…”

Section: Introduction: Bribery Guanxi and Ritual Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Collins (2004: 67) provides a further discussion of emotional energy solidarities, arguing that rituals are constructed from a combination of elements that grow to differing levels of intensity, and result in the ritual outcomes of solidarity, symbolism, and individual emotional energy. If a person is effective at using ritual to improve their social capital, they can be considered to possess ‘ritual capital’ (Ruan, 2017a: 121–134). Ritual capital refers to an individual’s ability to use ritual to gain resources or benefits in a social network (Ruan, 2017a: 128).…”

Section: Introduction: Bribery Guanxi and Ritual Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…If a person is effective at using ritual to improve their social capital, they can be considered to possess ‘ritual capital’ (Ruan, 2017a: 121–134). Ritual capital refers to an individual’s ability to use ritual to gain resources or benefits in a social network (Ruan, 2017a: 128). It can be regarded as social, cultural or symbolic capital for the actors who practice the ritual properly in guanxi.…”

Section: Introduction: Bribery Guanxi and Ritual Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Motivations for ritual performance in bribery: Ethnographic case studies of the use of guanxi to gain school places in China

Ruan

2019

Current Sociology

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According to Goffman, interaction rituals are underpinned by moral norms, and work in a moral fashion. The research discussed here, based on ethnographic case studies of the use of guanxi (Chinese personal connections) to gain school places in two Chinese cities, reveals that ritual performance in bribery guanxi can construct moral performance, implying justice and morality and thereby giving rise to a bribery subculture. Such moral performance, in turn, increases the social capital of the parties involved. The motivations for moral performance in this context differ. In some cases, the parties regard their practice as illegal and/or immoral, and ritual performance is employed to conceal the illegality of the transaction. In others, the practice of bribery is considered to fall within the renqing ethic, and ritual performance is used to mask the instrumental character of the transaction. Motivations for ritual performance also differ according to the closeness of guanxi ties between the briber and the bribed. This article identifies two forms of ritual performance – ‘ ketao ritual’, a form of renqing that attempts to mask instrumentality, and ‘tacit ritual’, which attempts to conceal illegality – and reveals how the individuals’ performance is related to different levels of closeness in guanxi. Although bribery takes place in many societies, the uses of ritual to morally validate bribery in China, especially the combination of ketao and tacit ritual, seems to be a particular cultural phenomenon.

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Section: Background and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Bribery Guanxi and Ritual Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Bribery Guanxi and Ritual Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Bribery Guanxi and Ritual Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Bribery Guanxi and Ritual Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Motivations for ritual performance in bribery: Ethnographic case studies of the use of guanxi to gain school places in China

Ruan

2019

Current Sociology

Self Cite

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Organizational trust in farmer organizations: evidence from the Chinese fresh apple industry

Jia

James

2018

BFJ

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role and importance of trust in a type of Chinese farmer cooperative organization called “Farm Bases” (FBs), considering the extent to which trust affects their performance and how the relationship between trust and FB performance is affected by perceptions of risk and uncertainty and other considerations. Design/methodology/approach The authors interviewed a random sample of 355 farmers, most of whom are from 42 different FBs in China. The authors operationalized organizational trust by assessing the perception of trustworthiness and competence that farmers have in FB managers. The authors conducted a regression analysis of the data to answer the research questions. Findings The findings support a nuanced role of trust for performance measures of FBs. Trust matters but in limited and specific contexts. Specifically, trust does not correlate with the marketing volume of Chinese FBs and only weakly correlates with FB compliance of production standards. Originality/value FBs play an essential role in China’s agribusiness policies and are pervasive in Chinese business practices. Very little research has been conducted on Chinese FBs and of the role of trust in organizational performance.

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Gender bias in team-building activities in China

Lou

Liu

Chen

et al. 2021

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how gender influences peer assessment in team-building activities in China. Design/methodology/approach A nine-player Werewolf game was adopted to conduct the experiment. Nine abilities were defined to evaluate players’ performances. Before the game, players filled out a self-assessment questionnaire (five-point Likert scale). After the game, players evaluated other game members’ performances using the same questionnaire. Data were analyzed using linear regression. Findings The results showed that gender bias clearly existed in team-building activities, with men more likely to receive better peer assessment than women. In addition, when women presented themselves as actively as men did, they received less favorable evaluations than men, whereas their failures were more likely to be exaggerated. Practical implications This study may help build harmonious teams for gender equality, and we give practical suggestions respectively from the perspective of female employees, their managers, and their companies. Originality/value Given the importance of team-building activities in teamwork, fair evaluations of team-building performances are essential. However, gender influences on peer assessment in team-building activities in China remain unclear. This study adds new and important knowledge to research on gender bias in teams.

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Ritual Capital

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Motivations for ritual performance in bribery: Ethnographic case studies of the use of guanxi to gain school places in China

Motivations for ritual performance in bribery: Ethnographic case studies of the use of guanxi to gain school places in China

Organizational trust in farmer organizations: evidence from the Chinese fresh apple industry

Gender bias in team-building activities in China

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