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Xinyong Or How To Trust Trust? Chinese Non-Contractual Business Relations And Social Structure :The Singapore Case, Thomas Menkhoff

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

One key for an understanding of Chinese economic behaviour in Singapore, Hong Kong or Malaysia is tmst - a term which has not been thoroughly dealt with in contemporary studies. With reference to the Chinese business community in Chinese-dominated Singapore and sociological concepts of trust, the article aims at analyzing the different levels of meaning of the trust mechanism (Chinese: xinyong) which is seen as essential lubricant in Chinese personalistic and non-contractual business relations. But trust in itself is no guarantee of cooperative behaviour. To enable interpersonal trust as precommitment and basis of local or international trading networks and commercial …