| This dissertation is a sociological study of the real estate market in the mainland of China. By focusing on the phenomena of guanxi, the author attempts to explicate the order in the real estate market. Empirical findings show that guanxi, as a micro structuring principle, plays the role of a transforming mechanism of the formal rules in mediating the real estate market and the external institutional environments, while within the market, it also functions as a device of allocation of economic resources and shapes the formation of a real estate market profoundly. Under specific historical conditions, especially with the lack of capital, it is argued that, guanxi, working as a social force at the micro level, has helped to spur the growth and development of the Chinese real estate market. In examining the struggles of different interest groups in the real estate market, it is not difficult to find the mechanisms and the trends of development of social stratification in China today.; The dissertation constructs its theoretical framework along three dimensions. First, it treats guanxi as a cultural tradition that seeks to transform weak ties into strong ones, emphasizing its ontological significance in the context of Chinese society. Second, it interprets guanxi phenomena in the context of the theories of market constitution. Social relations in market can be divided into two types, namely, the inner-generated and the outer-generated. It is argued that both the characteristics of the market itself and that of institutional environments can facilitate the growth of social relations in the market. Finally, it tries to understand guanxi in the context of market transition, probing its implications for the future development of the of the Chinese market economy.; As a research site, the real estate market is characterized in this dissertation as a market which is heavily dependent upon its institutional environments. In order to highlight the features of the institutional environments of the Chinese real estate market, the dissertation reviews the institutional legacy of Chinese bureaucracy and its adjustment to as well as impact on the process of marketization. It then outlines the context of evolution and the characteristics of the institutional environment of the Chinese real estate market.; Having laid down revelent theoretical perspectives, together with an elaboration of the social milieu, the dissertation then moves to the real world of real estate market. It describes various guanxi practices in different stages of the development of real estate projects, and engages in an investigation of the types, strategies and their connotations of guanxi. It is suggested that the emotion-laden relationship of guanxi, which carries an indigenous meaning in Chinese society, represents the typical pattern of relationships in the real estate market. It also attempts to trace the origin of the forces that transform the real estate market into a guanxi-intensive market.; Based on the fieldwork in the real estate market in Nanjing, the dissertation proposes what may be called a "differentiation thesis"; which tries to project the trajectory of guanxi development in Chinese society, a topic fervently debated nowadays in the literature of China Studies. The thesis argues that the survival of guanxi is contingent upon its functions in the institutional environment and its compatibility with the market mechanism. It also makes an analogy between guanxi and the "black hole", expressing concern over the predicaments of the Chinese transition economy. |
