Bringing Strong Ties Back in: Indirect Ties, Network Bridges, and Job Searches in China

Granovetter's (1973, 1974) "strength-of-weak-ties" argument has led to fruitful research on how individuals are matched to jobs in market economies. In analyzing the institution for assigning jobs in China, I make distinctions (1) between information and influence that flow through ne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	American sociological review 1997-06, Vol.62 (3), p.366-385
Main Author:	Bian, Yanjie
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Access to information Business networking China China, People's Republic of Chinese culture Economic resources Factors Friendship Hypotheses Intimacy Job hunting Job Search Job searching Labor Labor market Labor markets Labor Markets in China and the United States Market economies Marsden, Peter Modeling Network Network Analysis Occupations Party membership Peoples Republic of China Professional relationships Scope of employment Social Networks Sociology Sociology of work Sociology of work and sociology of organizations Urban Areas Work Workers Working population. Employment. Women's work
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Summary:	Granovetter's (1973, 1974) "strength-of-weak-ties" argument has led to fruitful research on how individuals are matched to jobs in market economies. In analyzing the institution for assigning jobs in China, I make distinctions (1) between information and influence that flow through networks during job searches and (2) between direct ties and indirect ties used by job-seekers. I find that in China personal networks are used to influence authorities who in turn assign jobs as favors to their contacts, which is a type of unauthorized activity facilitated by strong ties characterized by trust and obligation. In a 1988 survey in Tianjin, I find that (1) jobs are acquired through strong ties more frequently than through weak ties, (2) both direct and indirect ties are used to obtain help from job-assigning authorities, (3) job-seekers and their ultimate helpers are indirectly connected through intermediaries to whom both are strongly tied, and (4) job-seekers using indirect ties are more likely to obtain better jobs than those using direct ties.
ISSN:	0003-1224 1939-8271