Guanxi Mechanisms in Income Attainment and Job Search: Theoretical models and empirical evidence

关系网络对收入的作用机制是社会网络领域研究的热点问题之一。本研究认为,对求职结果产生影响的并非关系的形式与结构,而是关系中的资源。在此基础上,建构了基于求职者、招聘方与求职环境互动的关系网络模型,通过探讨不同求职环境下,求职者关系资源的选择及其收入效应呈现的差异性,捕捉关系资源背后的收入作用机制。本研究认为,关系资源对入职收入有三种作用机制:招聘/求职成本降低、社会交换与互信机制。研究发现,招聘方的资质需求与求职竞争性越高,基于人情资源的社会交换机制的作用空间将被压缩,而基于信息资源与混合资源的搜寻成本降低机制、互信机制更有益于求职过程。同时,招聘方资质需求与求职竞争性越高,关系资源的收入效应受到制约,但对人情资源的制约最强。

The mechanism of how social networks affect income is one of the hot issues in social network research. We propose that it is the resources embedded in a social network, rather than its form and structure, that influence the outcome of job search. Based on this proposition, we develop a guanxi network model of the interactions among job seekers, employers and labor market environments, which is aimed at capturing the income mechanism of network resources by exploring the job seekers1 choices of network resources and the variations of income effect under different labor market conditions. We contend that there are three mechanisms through which social network resources affect the income of first jobs; reduction of job search cost mechanism, social exchange mechanism, and mutual trust mechanism. The results of data analysis show that the higher the level of qualification requirements from the employers and the competitiveness among job seekers, the more compressed the space for job seekers to use the social exchange mechanism, and the more efficacious to use cost reduction mechanism or mutual trust mechanism. Furthermore, the results indicate that the higher the level of qualification requirements from the employers and the competitiveness among job seekers, the weaker the effect of guanxi resources, particularly so for favor-giving.

张顺 郝雨霏

国家社会科学基金项目“产业更新背景下的再就业与职业流动”(12BSH072)；“社会分层流动的和谐互动机制”(11AZD022)；国家自然科学基金委员会与英国经济社会研究委员会的国际合作项目“社会资本与社会流动:中英比较研究”(71071128)的支持

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