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Does a Micro-Macro Link Exist Between Managerial Value of Reciprocity, Social Capital and Firm Performance? The Case of SMEs in China

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Abstract

With the deepening of China's economic reform, SMEs are starting to gain tremendous economic momentum and play an increasingly irreplaceable role in China's century-long bid for economic resurgence. Using a micro-macro link approach, this study investigates the effects of managerial value of reciprocity on both social capital and firm performance in China's rural SMEs. A structural equation modelling method was used to test hypotheses. Data from 177 SMEs in China provide supporting evidence that there exists a micro-macro link from managerial value of reciprocity, to social capital (trust) and to firm performance (both overall performance and competitiveness improvement).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing and International Business, Lingnan University, Hong Kong

    Wei-ping Wu

  2. Department of Management, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

    Alicia Leung

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  1. Wei-ping Wu
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  2. Alicia Leung
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Correspondence to Wei-ping Wu.

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Wu, Wp., Leung, A. Does a Micro-Macro Link Exist Between Managerial Value of Reciprocity, Social Capital and Firm Performance? The Case of SMEs in China. Asia Pacific J Manage 22, 445–463 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-005-4119-7

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