A study of how mainland Chinese small and medium privately owned businesses engage in networking

Privately owned businesses in mainland China are a recently revived business form. Although small and medium business are the vast majority, and the main drivers of the Chinese economy, published research about how these businesses have engaged in networking to improve their performance is lacking. Drawing on relevant literature pertaining to business networks, this paper reports on the development and testing of a model that seeks to explain mainland Chinese small and medium privately owned businesses' (POBs) networking as a set of strategic actions. The purpose is to ascertain whether POBs engage in networking, to determine its main aspects, and to examine the extent to which these networking aspects impact on POB performance. The findings confirm five common networking aspects and that these aspects have a positive impact on POB performance. The development and confirmation of the model has practical implications for both POBs and any Western associates.