Guanxi networks and members' effectiveness in Chinese work teams: Mediating effects of trust networks

The present study examined 33 teams with a total of 206 team members (excluding team leaders) to explore the effects of intrateam guanxi and trust networks on individual effectiveness in Taiwan. Guanxi networks included non-job, departmental and past team networks, while trust networks included affective and cognitive trust networks. Results showed that: (i) guanxi networks could better explain members' effectiveness compared with relational demography, and different guanxi networks had different effects; (ii) the more central an individual's position was in the cognitive trust network, the higher the individual's effectiveness; (iii) the past team guanxi network of a team member displayed a positive effect on the centrality of cognitive trust network, while non-job and departmental guanxi networks showed negative effects; and (iv) the effects of members' guanxi networks on individual effectiveness were mediated by the centrality of trust networks.