Business ethics and workplace guanxi in Chinese SOEs: a qualitative study
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese employees' perceptions on their ethical decision making in relation to the workplace guanxi context in stateowned enterprises (SOE). Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative method, two rounds of interviews were conducted with 18 participants in two SOEs to explore Chinese employees ethical perceptions and experiences in the workplace. A qualitative thematic strategy was adopted to analyze and interpret the data. Findings The authors identified three major themes on SOE employees ethical decision making in relation to workplace guanxi: the ethical self; malleable ethical standards; and submission to authority. The authors derived a conceptual framework to outline the relationship between the invisible hand of guanxi and the SOE employees' ethical decision making. Originality/value The paper contributes to the business ethics literature by presenting a threedimensional profile and a conceptual framework for Chinese business ethics research. It provides an indepth understanding of a complex dynamics of guanxi and its impact on employees' ethical decisionmaking behavior. 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited