Crossing Boundaries

Business Socializing in Chinese Societies

Although accumulating personal relationships is in general beneficial to workers in all countries, Chinese societies place particular emphasis on the value of personal relationships (Wang, 2007). Reliance on personal relationships, or guanxi, is the norm for business operations, and its importance to a variety of organizational and professional outcomes is undeniable (see Luo, Huang, & Wang, 2012 for an overview). Guanxi is defined as a particularized dyadic tie based on reciprocal obligation and mutual affection (Bedford, 2011). It is a personal, emotional tie to a specific individual that may be used for instrumental purposes. Spending time with colleagues and clients/customers outside the workplace is an often-cited requirement for establishing and maintaining guanxi. In Mandarin, there is a specific term for this type of business socializing: ying chou.

Ying chou encompasses socializing outside the place of work for a work-related goal. The goal may be long or short term, tangible or intangible, personal (e.g., finding a new job) or organizational (e.g., sales). Empirical research has established a connection between ying chou and the socialization of masculinity in Taiwan (Bedford & Hwang, 2011; Boretz, 2004) and its importance for development of workplace relationships for men (Bedford & Hwang, 2013; Zheng, 2006), but women’s ying chou practices have not been empirically examined. That is, although a few studies have examined the career networks of Chinese women and observed gender differences in the content and use of these networks (e.g., Bozionelos & Wang, 2006; J. Huang & Aaltio, 2014), gender differences in the ying chou behaviors and the processes used to build guanxi relationships with clients for workplace goals have never been examined.

Given this cultural emphasis on relationship building, the necessity of business socializing may adversely impact women. On the one hand, there is a Chinese cultural imperative to build relationships, particularly in the workplace, which may produce greater support for women’s business socializing as a practical necessity. On the other hand, prior studies of men in business indicate that the context for building those relationships tends to entail male activities (Bedford & Hwang, 2011). Moreover, the after work hours requirements may intrude on home and family responsibilities, which are seen primarily as women’s concern.

Eagly and Karau’s (2002) role congruity theory posits that individuals are more positively evaluated when their characteristics are seen as aligning with their group’s typical social roles. This theory has been used to explain prejudice against female leaders due to inconsistencies between female gender stereotypes and expectations associated with leadership. Thus, according to role congruity theory, gender roles assigning family duties and lower status to women are likely to outweigh a woman’s positional role within the organization to the extent that women are identified with their gender first and their job role second, and this may undermine their effectiveness as leaders. Role congruity theory would predict that women experience barriers (e.g., sexism, exclusion) due to their gender that put them at a disadvantage in leadership positions.

However, the Chinese cultural emphasis on relationalism (as opposed to Western individualism) gives precedence to roles over individual traits (Hwang, 2000; K. S. Yang, 1992), meaning that the characteristics of the role a person occupies should outweigh the characteristics of the individual. Traditional Confucian texts do not supply any reason that women cannot achieve as much as men. The right to rule is determined not by heredity or genetics but by moral rectitude (Mencius 1B:14 in Chan, 1963). Division of labor should accord with virtue and ability (Mencius 4A:7 in Chan, 1963). The person with the most wisdom and virtue should be the leader; social roles should be assigned according to moral merit and competence.

The Confucian ethics for ordinary people further mandate that people follow the principles of respecting the superior; the role defines the required behavior, not the characteristics of the individual occupying the role. The implication would be that women are treated according to their role first and gender second, particularly if the woman occupies a high-level position or is older than her colleagues. Thus, although younger women in Chinese societies may face barriers similar to those posited by role congruity theory, it may be that older women, especially those with upper management positions, are less impeded by gender stereotypes because behavioral norms for treatment of individuals of higher role status take precedence over individual (e.g., gender) characteristics.

Findings in the Western literature indicate that even if Western employees view business socializing as important to the success of their jobs, it is seen as an extra-role activity (e.g., Bolino & Turnley, 2005; Eatough, Chang, Miloslavic, & Johnson, 2011). Research on extra-role behaviors has shown that employees who engage in activities that go above and beyond their job’s role requirements can experience higher levels of stress (Bolino & Turnley, 2005; Eatough et al., 2011). Employees’ perception that they are expected to engage in these extra-role behaviors can affect well-being (Bolino, Turnley, Gilstrap, & Suazo, 2010). Thus, according to Western theorists (e.g., Bolino, Turnley, & Niehoff, 2004), there is a potential for detrimental effects of participating in business socializing, regardless of the gender of the participants. In this article, I take the position that a cultural gender analysis must begin with examining the experience of women, in this case, within the business world of Taiwan.

Despite the importance of building personal relationships to Chinese business practices, and recognition that women may face unique challenges with business socializing, no previous study to date has explored women’s experience of business socializing in a Chinese society. The goal of this study is to identify the challenges that professional women in Taiwan face when socializing for business (ying chou), and the tactics they employ to address these challenges. The study explores what happens when these women cross the workplace boundary into the socializing space, how they manage the gender boundaries around business socializing, and how they break down interpersonal boundaries to forge personal relationships to achieve instrumental (business) goals.

Taiwan is selected as a research location for three reasons. First, recent qualitative studies have examined men’s ying chou practices in Taiwan (i.e., Bedford & Hwang, 2011; Boretz, 2004), which adds the potential for reflection on women’s ying chou practices in light of the findings regarding men’s ying chou practices. Second, there is a historical reason. China’s Cultural Revolution attempted to destroy the traditional values of Confucianism, so that the authority of the state would have priority. Around the same time period, Taiwan’s government initiated a Chinese culture renaissance movement, specifically designed to support traditional Confucian values in modern society. Thus, Taiwan may be a better context for examining the manifestations of traditional values in a modern Chinese society than China. Third, during recent decades, Taiwan has transformed itself from a traditional agricultural society to a modern post-industrial nation. Since the late 1980s, Taiwan’s economic activities have gradually shifted toward high-skill and knowledge-based production. Women have reached educational levels comparable to men and increased participation in management and professional occupations (Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics [DGBAS], 2015). For example, the percentage of female administrators and managers doubled between 1980 and 2010, increasing from 9.4% to 20.5%, and the percentage of female professional and technical employees increased from 35.7% to 47.3%, with a gender pay gap of only 10% in 2009 among business executives and managers (DGBAS, 2015), a smaller gap than in the United States, Japan, or Korea (Wei, 2015). Taiwan also has clear legislation supporting gender equality within the workplace. In 1985, the Employment Promotion Measures Law funded vocational training for women and daytime childcare services. The 1992 Employment Services Act promoted equal employment opportunities and the 2001 Gender Equality in Employment Act mandated maternity and paternity leave and prohibited sexual harassment and discrimination based on marriage or pregnancy. However, when women cross out of the workplace and into a social space, a new set of challenges may arise because the legal protections recently attained may not be seen as applicable, and because context can determine the salience of gender differences and dictate gender roles (West & Zimmerman, 1987). As business socializing in Taiwan entails crossing the boundary from a workplace with legal protection to a social space where this protection may not be seen as applicable, Taiwan provides an excellent context for examining how women navigate ying chou practices.

Challenges for Women in the Business Context

I identified two main areas of challenges women face through a review of the literature. First, business socializing tends to take place in locations that disadvantage women (see Bedford & Hwang, 2011, for examples); masculine activities coupled with men’s attitudes and actions tend to discourage women’s participation. Second, given these implicit and explicit challenges, many women choose to exclude themselves from opportunities to socialize. Each main area is discussed in the following sections.

Participants

Thirty-six working women in Taiwan (age range = 24–58, mean = 39.7) participated in this study. The majority of participants were single (n = 22, 61%). All participants had an undergraduate degree. The criteria for participation was at least 3 years of experience working in a job requiring frequent interaction with individuals external to the company such as clients, vendors, or suppliers. No two participants worked at the same organization. The following industries are represented in the sample (alphabetically): advertising (n = 1), architecture (n = 2), audiovisual services (n = 1), automotive (n = 2), banking/financial services (n = 5), construction (n = 3), corporate law (n = 2), electronics (n = 4), headhunting (n = 1), import-export (n = 5), insurance (n = 4), journalism (n = 4), media/publishing (n = 5), politics (n = 1), public relations (n = 2), and sports/fitness (n = 2). The women had positions ranging from sales associate to executive director. The minimum job tenure was 3 years and the maximum was 25. Six women had worked in more than one industry.

Sampling and Interview Procedure

We used respondent-driven sampling (Heckathorn, 1997) to recruit participants. That is, the first two interviewees were recommended by (Taiwanese) friends of the research assistant who conducted the in-depth interviews. (The interviewer, described below, was not an acquaintance of any of the interviewees.) We asked participants to name potential interviewees in another company or industry, who we then contacted about participating in the study. We invited these second-tier participants to refer additional participants who were not acquainted with their own referrer. After using this snowball method to identify and interview 24 participants, we realized that only 5 were married. To ensure that the perspective of married women was adequately represented, we then specifically asked participants to refer married women if they could, resulting in an additional nine married and three single participants. Across industries, most participants reported that the majority of women in jobs similar to their own were single. As we collected data, we conducted preliminary analyses and we followed the generally accepted convention (Wertz, 1986) of continuing to increase the sample until it was clear that no new themes or concepts were being encountered.

A female Taiwanese research assistant (with business management experience and prior experience interviewing business people about workplace practices) conducted all the interviews in Mandarin. Interviews lasted 1 hour and took place at a coffee shop or in a private room with the door closed at the interviewee’s place of work or home. Before starting, participants were reminded they could refuse to talk about any topic or end the interview at any time (none did either). The interviewer asked for demographic details and then asked the participant questions according to the five themes outlined previously. The questions asked in the interviews included Is ying chou relevant to your professional advancement and ability to accomplish work goals? Is it necessary—are you required to do it? What are the benefits? Please describe some examples of your ying chou experiences. Have you encountered any challenges with business socializing? How have you handled those challenges? Do you have any tactics for handling those challenges? Are your tactics similar to those of other women? Does business socializing have any implications for your family life? Do you feel women have any advantage over male colleagues with business socializing? Do you have any particular advantages over your male colleagues?

The interviewer used reflective listening to prompt the participants through stories or to encourage explanations. The interviewer had memorized the sequence of questions and generally followed it, although if the participant jumped ahead, then the researcher followed the natural course of the discussion. She did not cue participants with specific targets. For example, she asked participants whether they had encountered any challenges associated with business socializing and if so to elaborate; she did not ask about specific challenges (except for about the impact of business socializing on family relationships).

Data Analytic Technique

To maximize comparability with previously published studies, I conducted three stages of thematic analysis as described in Bedford and Hwang’s (2011, 2013) studies of Taiwanese men. The first stage entailed data management and preliminary analysis. I hired a native Chinese speaker who was external to the research project and experienced in transcription to transcribe the recorded interviews. The interviewer (a native Chinese speaker fluent in English) and the author (a native English speaker fluent in Chinese with a decade of professional work experience in Taiwan) translated the transcriptions using the audio recording to ensure the context and tone of voice were accurately reflected in the translation. Next, I used QSR NVivo 10.0 software (QSR International Pty Ltd, 2012) to organize and manage the coding process. I coded each participant’s interview into themes mirroring the topics of the questions. For example, statements about the “necessity of business socializing” or “challenges encountered while business socializing” were grouped together for further examination. I remained open to the emergence of additional themes but identified no new ones.

In the second stage, I examined the statements grouped in each topic to code lower-order categories. I used an open coding procedure, such that new categories were formed for each meaning unit that did not fit the existing categories. For example, the material in the question about challenges was reviewed, and I identified and coded every instance of a challenge described by participants. I brought the emerging codes continually back to the data for verification and improvement. The end result was a codebook listing and defining all lower-order categories.

Two graduate students with training in qualitative research techniques and thematic coding (and who were blind to the purpose of the study) then used the codebook of lower-order categories to code the statements that had been grouped under each topic in the first stage. They were also encouraged to create new codes if needed, but no new lower-order categories emerged. Overall inter-rater agreement was 96.9%. Differences were resolved through discussion.

In the third stage, I examined the lower-order categories to identify higher-order categories. For example, statements about inappropriate touching by men and those about conversations with sexual innuendo were grouped together in the higher-order category of “inappropriate male behavior.” The emerging categories and patterns were continually brought back to the data for verification and improvement. To ensure that I maintained an emphasis on the participants’ perspective, I discussed my analysis with the female Taiwanese interviewer to ensure that the patterns rang true to her understanding of the participants’ stories.

Relevance, Necessity, and Benefits of Ying Chou

As expected, all participants endorsed the relevance of business socializing for performing their job and for career development. We also assessed the perceived necessity of business socializing. All but one participant reported that they considered ying chou to be an unwritten requirement of their job or that they would be unable to do their job without it. Overall, participants talked about ying chou as a pervasive cultural practice and noted that it is highly necessary for “any job in sales” and also for other work occasions such as to “kick off a project, or celebrate completion of a job.”

Two main benefits of ying chou were identified: socializing helps to obtain immediate benefits and future benefits. Emphasis was placed more on the second category than the first, but it is important to recognize that the two categories are intertwined. Better relations correspond to tangible benefits, and exchanging favors leads to better relations.

Immediate benefits

Immediate benefits include landing a client or making a sale. In this category, the target of business socializing was always professionals external to the organization. Being able to handle ying chou with a degree of expertise could have a direct impact on closing a deal with a client.

P20 (age 40, single): It is an art. You have to understand a lot. For me, since I was a young girl, my father had to do a lot of ying chou. I would see a lot, and I learned the rules. I saw the roles to play if you are a host or a guest—how to order, how to make both the host and the guest happy by ordering dishes. For example, you need to know what to order at a Vietnamese or a Cantonese restaurant. After you have chosen a good restaurant, you have to know what the client likes to eat. My father would remind me not to order a northern dish in a Cantonese restaurant. That would be really strange. That means you don’t know what the specialty is in each region. Getting it right can close the deal.

Future benefits

Socializing strengthens relationships (guanxi) that can provide unspecified assistance and future benefits that directly impact one’s current job performance and career prospects. Building a closer relationship and establishing trust and loyalty with the target individual were the main goals of ying chou. The targets of socializing were mostly external professionals, but some participants also mentioned the importance of socializing with colleagues so as to ensure they could count on them should problems arise. Those in upper management positions also used socializing to reward or motivate employees. Most participants indicated that socializing with their boss/manager is important, not only because having good guanxi with the boss is helpful, but also because the act of participating demonstrated loyalty and commitment to the job. Frequency of business socializing ranged from multiple times per week to every few months.

Under the future benefits category, all of the women also mentioned use of ying chou to achieve the general goal of building long-term guanxi relationships that would extend beyond their immediate position; they were building personal friendships.

P21 (age 34, single): I like to maintain a relationship with my client. Even if we don’t have a client/salesperson relation anymore, I still want them to treat me as a friend—a long-lasting relationship.

Context/Venues for Business Socializing

I identified two higher-order categories pertaining to the context of business socializing: a group context and one-on-one socializing. The former was the most common; the latter was used for meetings of lesser importance.

Group context

A group of people, around 10–20 with half from each side, get together for dinner followed by other activities, which may include karaoke (also called KTV in Taiwan) and drinking until 11 pm or 12 am and then progresses to “part two” or “the second place,” which refers to visiting a hostess club. All participants reported that the majority of people joining these business socializing activities were male; none reported being the only female on such an occasion. Higher-level people (vice presidents or the CEO) may be included to “give face” to the other side, which generally means the other organization would also send someone of equal status. The implication is that ying chou with clients is also an opportunity to spend time around one’s own manager or even the CEO of one’s own company, depending on the importance of the client. Another possible group activity was playing golf, although only three of our participants had done so before, and for two, it was when they worked in more masculine industries (automotive and construction). Participants who had worked in traditionally masculine industries indicated that socializing frequency was higher but the venues and activities used were much the same.

One-on-one socializing

For one-on-one socializing, having lunch or coffee together were possible ying chou activities, although the implications of daytime business socializing clearly differed from evening events.

P19 (age 44, single): The most common way is having a meal together. If you have it at lunch time rather than dinner time, the meaning is different. If they are willing to spend private time during dinner it shows that you are an important person for them to know. Otherwise you have lunch together because in any case you need to eat. But, the level of having lunch or dinner is different.

Challenges Encountered

Six higher-order categories of challenges with ying chou were identified from the participants’ descriptions: exclusion from all or parts of activities, sexual advances by men, not being taken seriously, dislike of some of the ying chou activities, long hours, and family impact. The women were not directly asked about any specific challenges (except for family concerns), so the material reflects topics that were spontaneously brought up by participants.

Exclusion

Exclusion was described in some form by most of the women. About half mentioned that male clients could not be as free with them in making requests as they could be with men, or noted the difficulty in treating male clients to hostess club visits. They felt disadvantaged in comparison to their male counterparts both because of the sexualized nature of the context and because of the requirement for drinking.

P1 (age 46, single): That is one thing females tend to lose out on compared to men. Some clients would like you to take them to a hostess lounge for entertainment but they do not like to ask us as we are females. He is embarrassed to ask, in fear that you will look down on him. The client would find male representatives of another company so he can openly bring up his entertainment requirements. If they do express their interest in entertainment, I must be willing to listen and then inform my boss of the need to take the clients to a hostess bar after dinner.

Bad behavior by men

Bad behavior by men (which ranged from vomiting or falling asleep to “getting touchy” or trying to “take advantage on the pretext that they were drunk”) was described by nearly all participants. For example, P24 described the need to be on guard when socializing.

P24 (age 34, single): If you are a young sales person, the client might consider courting you. He may want to develop another kind of friendship with you or try to have body contact with you, so you have to protect yourself.

Not being taken seriously

About half the participants mentioned not being taken seriously as a professional and being “treated as a girl instead of as a sales person.” Most women who mentioned this were younger or at an early stage in their career. They noted the problem arose not only with clients but also when colleagues, and even the boss, denigrated them. Participants highlighted the double-standard that applied to women.

P12 (age 42, single): Sometimes when women have success the way other colleagues explain it is: the colleague or client was interested in you, or that you tricked them, instead of saying that you are skillful. They would not say that to a male colleague.

Dislike of particular aspects of ying chou

Experiences in this category were described by about a third of the participants. Lower-order examples in this category included not liking karaoke, having to eat food they do not like or that would make them fat, or having to participate and appear to be having fun, which took a lot of energy.

Long hours

Fifth, about half the participants expressed that although overall they enjoyed ying chou, they also felt that it could be tiring because of the long hours it involves.

P4 (age 30, single): Actually, it’s the same for many men. When our team talks about it, they say they are also very tired because every day they have to do sales, which is already very tiring, and they still have to ying chou at night and be on time in the morning. Once in a while it’s ok. But you have to do it often; most likely our bodies cannot take it.

Family impact

Family impact was the final higher-order category identified. Most of the participants were single. The majority reported that their female coworkers in a similar line of work were also single. Most did not feel that ying chou intruded on their personal life in an immediate way; impact was negligible. For example, “It is hard for me to say if it impacts family. Most of my colleagues are single like me and they do not have family responsibility. They are not influenced by those factors” (P15, age 28, single).

About half of the single women anticipated that marriage and a family would complicate their lives, although over half of those women were not particularly concerned about it at present.

P10 (age 40, married): If we need to build personal relationship with clients, I have to spend more time out of the office to build that. That is extra investment. So, I cannot handle a family and do the relationship maintenance at the same time. Anyway, it’s not my problem.

Methods for Overcoming Challenges

I identified three higher-order categories of tactics for overcoming the challenges of ying chou: managing drinking, managing sexual advances, and time management. Most of the examples, spontaneously mentioned by the participants, revolved around the first two higher-order categories of managing drinking and sexual advances by men. Women with experience (generally the older women, who also tended to have the higher positions, and a greater proportion of whom were married) seemed to have an advantage in both areas.

Managing drinking

Drinking tactics included complete refusal to drink, setting limits, trying to keep up with the men, and even outdoing them. One executive was proud of her drinking ability and expressed that it helped her to connect with her male employees and external peers. She said, “At that time very few females could drink with the men. I would go and drink with the men and pay for the expenses. And then they would be very happy going home” (P8, age 53, single).

A couple of participants would initially drink a lot to show up and embarrass the men, so that thereafter they would not be pressured to drink.

P12 (age 42, single): You have to make a good first impression, so I kind of bluff them. When they first meet me that is important. Yes, so I build that impression. I drank 12 glasses of red wine—bottoms up. I could still talk about my project. They were like, waa …. They thought they would see me drunk but they didn’t. I could still talk about my project. And they thought, “How can she? How would she do that? How great is she? How many can she drink?” … The next time they see me they all ran away. They do not want to drink with me!

Managing sexual advances

Sexual advances were managed with tactics similar to those for drinking. For example, several of the married women noted that advances were not a problem: “If you are single, men will pay attention to you. If you are married, it is like a protective shield” (P23, age 55, married). Age and experience can be an advantage that makes the process easier. Older participants talked about a learning curve with managing drinking and sexual advances. When they were younger or newly starting the job, setting boundaries had been more difficult. Many felt they had mastered that skill and now did not feel it was as much of a problem.

P12 (age 42, single): If you can hold your position you can be very strict. They do not touch you. The line is very hard to keep. If you are younger it is easy to fall into a trap, because the other person is a VP or a president. These days a lot of young girls could fall for it easily. I know how to draw a line here. I make sure my whole team knows.

Time management

The majority of participants described time management tactics. About half the married women explicitly mentioned that they did not want to become overly tired or let business socializing conflict with family responsibilities: “If the ying chou is frequent it will influence your family life. If it’s just once a month it’s ok.” For example, some refused to ying chou on weekends. Single women also described ways in which they control the amount of time spent business socializing, for example, by departing early, pre-arranging an excuse or deadline, going for tea instead of a meal, and even turning down invitations they considered unimportant.

Perceived Advantages Over Men

Overall, despite recognizing challenges and disadvantages in certain situations, most participants felt they had certain advantages over their male colleagues, especially in achieving the main goal of ying chou, which is to build long-term personal relations. All the women identified differences in their ways of handling male versus female clients as well as differences in the way they handled their clients in general that contrast with how they see their male colleagues doing it. Most felt that business socializing with women is easier than with men, and described socializing with women with statements like, “you don’t have to care about formality,” there is “no restriction, no taboo,” and “you don’t have to have a big budget.” In particular, when socializing with women there is less need for concern about appropriate boundaries.

P18 (age 45, single): With a male client you definitely keep a distance. On the one hand you want to keep good contact, on the other you need to make it clear that it is professional. With female clients it is more relaxing. No matter the topic or the body language, you avoid a lot of misunderstanding with a female client.

Leveraging social conventions

Many participants expressed that an advantage in socializing with male clients is that the social conventions for the treatment of women are in their favor: “Most people are more polite and less severe to girls” (P15, age 28, single) and “Men do not like to say no to women” (P30, age 37, single), and even that “women can act cute” (like a child) to get their way (P6, age 39, single).

P4 (age 30, single): There really is a difference. When I did sales, I started out by teaming up with another guy who did not have a background in this area. Sometimes he was stumped by questions. Then, the client would tell him, “Ai-ya, I think you should go back and study more before promoting your products to me.” He was this direct. But for us girls, it’s different, if he asks and I don’t know, I’d say: “That’s why I am learning from you, ah.” That’s what we usually tell the clients. My boss said that’s why he recruited me—because he did sales and saw that girls have an easier way out.

Leveraging gender stereotypes

Gender stereotypes were another perceived advantage. Participants said that, because women are naturally more charming and have better social skills, they are better in general at socializing than men are. For example, several participants emphasized the important role that women play in ensuring that everyone has fun at dinner. P4 (age 30, single) asserted that the men would not have a good time if there were no women to “stir things up” because “men don’t chat with other men, which is why they need to go to hostess clubs.” Most women also felt they had an advantage over their male colleagues because the emotional aspect is emphasized more with female clients, and they believed that they are better at handling emotions than men are.

P21 (age 34, single): For male clients, if you are a good listener that is already enough. Most of them want to take the lead in the choice of topic at dinner.… For female clients, they want to talk more on the emotional side. They talk about things that are inside their heart—not necessarily romantic things, they will talk about how they treat their parents, or problems they have with their children.

Family roles

The final higher-order category identified was the ability to assume a family role instead of a buddy role. Older participants felt that assuming an elder sister role was an advantage they had over their male counterparts. They need not fool around with silly games in hostess clubs. They could work directly on connecting with the target person.

P22 (age 44, single): For a male client we talk mostly about business. I will also ask about his family or girlfriend. This is my advantage. Now I am older than the male clients, I play the role of a big sister.… My clients are connected to me.

Business Socializing Challenges and the Taiwan Context

In general, the challenges identified for women in Taiwan, particularly drinking and unwanted sexual advances, were similar to those reported in the literature for Western women (e.g., Geiger & Turley, 2005; Morgan & Martin, 2006). Two main differences were observed. First, Taiwanese women socialize with their superiors. Studies of Western women’s business socializing have only described activities with clients. Socializing with a superior has not been targeted. For the participants, the opportunity to spend informal time with a superior allowed them to demonstrate loyalty and commitment to their work, which is significant because in Taiwan loyalty may be as important as ability when it comes to promotion (Han & Altman, 2009). Second, the participants did not see themselves as entirely excluded from socializing activities. Most not only regularly participated in dinner socializing, but also, at least on occasion, accompanied the men to hostess clubs. Women were not blocked from attending. They knew where and when the men were going and they could choose whether to join them. Overall, Taiwanese women expressed concern with pressure to socialize more than they wanted, rather than with being physically excluded. In contrast, past research on Western women has reported complaints of being entirely excluded, especially from visits to strip clubs and other male-focused venues (Gregory, 2009; Morgan & Martin, 2006).

Cultural variation may explain this difference. Whereas Western corporate ethics policies may relegate particular business socializing activities to a grey area, or even explicitly forbid them, in Taiwan they are seen as a normal (and pervasive) part of business. As such, it is expected that women, like men, will need to spend time with clients building relationships. In addition, our participants reported that their male colleagues sometimes prefer to have them present. For example, at dinner the women can assist with ensuring an enjoyable atmosphere or good conversation—the same role that the hostesses play in the clubs. In other words, participants indicated that female Taiwanese colleagues may be seen as entertainment resources by men. Indeed, some of the women also spoke about their younger, prettier colleagues in this way. Although it seems likely that pretty, young female employees are also used in this way in a Western context, research on Western business socializing has not identified this observation among Western men or women.

The salience of engaging in sports represents another potential cultural difference in exclusion of women from business socializing. Western studies found that talk about sports and watching sports is a way that men exclude women (Morgan & Martin, 2006), but, other than golf, no participants in the current study raised sports as a way men exclude women. Due to our research design, which only captured participants’ spontaneous responses and did not probe for comparisons with Western findings, it is not possible to conclude whether sports activities in the process of ying chou exclude women in Taiwan, or whether our participants just did not happen to mention it.

Our participants described the difficulty in balancing family obligations with career demands, which might cause them to self-exclude from business socializing. However, participants who are single described little if any career/family conflict, and they reported that most of their female colleagues were also single with little career/family conflict. If our sample reflects a wider trend, one possible explanation is that the demands of business socializing are so heavy that women who want a family exclude themselves from this type of work. I return to this point at the end of the following section.

Perceived Advantages: Leveraging Gender Roles and Stereotypes

While studies of Western women identified the challenges they face (e.g., Morgan & Martin, 2006), such studies did not probe women’s methods for managing obstacles. It seems likely that Western women, like our participants, cooperate and compete with other women and that some might try to assume male roles to manage business socializing. However, some of the tactics and advantages identified in the present study are connected to traditional Chinese cultural norms and therefore may not be effective for Western women. I next discuss participants’ use of traditional Chinese role relations to ensure success at business socializing, and their use of business socializing to break through traditional gender expectations.

Enacting traditional role relations

Western researchers have identified a “queen bee” syndrome in which women tend to see each other as rivals in the workplace (Ellemers, van den Heuvel, de Gilder, Maass, & Bonvini, 2004; Mavin, 2008) or dissociate from female coworkers in order to promote their own career progression (Staines, Tavris, & Jayaratne, 1974). (Mavin, 2006, noted the shortcomings of the phrase “queen bee syndrome” and emphasized acknowledgement of the embedded gendered context for women in senior management.) In particular, successful women may purposefully diminish the opportunity for other women to excel (Warning & Buchanan, 2009). Although participants in this study took advantage of less experienced peers, letting them take the brunt of drinking, the higher-status women all described taking care of their subordinates and helping to educate them on socializing tactics. One explanation might be that in Taiwan, there is a traditional role requirement that a superior take care of subordinates in exchange for their loyalty (Hwang, 2000). Research has shown that leaders in Chinese societies who demonstrate benevolence in response to loyalty gain higher status and power to control the subordinates (Farh & Cheng, 2000).

Another important strategy described by participants was to emphasize role expectations with respect to age. Of course, older participants also tended to have higher status positions than the younger women, yet the emphasis in their descriptions was not on how they leveraged the power of the position, but on how they enacted the role requirements for interaction between older and younger people. In Chinese culture, status comes with age and is a source of power and respect (Sung, 2001). The traditional basis for respecting those of an older generation is the Confucian teachings of filial piety found in the Confucian Analects and The Book of Rites. Some of the more experienced women were able to leverage this status by assuming the role of an older sister in their relations with clients, which put them in a position of authority even with peers. Previous research supports this postulation: perception of a familial climate enhances loyalty in Taiwanese organizations (Jen, Chou, Lin, & Tsai, 2012). In general, women face greater challenges than men in the workplace as they age (Barnett, 2005; Tang, 2000). However, it may be that women in Taiwan are sometimes able to leverage traditional values regarding respect for elders and family relations to their benefit, in a way that may not be available to Western women.

Overall, my results provide preliminary evidence showing Eagly and Karau’s role congruity theory (2002), though still relevant, may not apply in the same way in Chinese societies as it does in the West. Role congruity theory is relevant, in that the ying chou role requirements are the same for men and women: in a subordinate position, one must be entertaining, regardless of age; with a high-level position, one must be able to allocate resources and lead socializing activities. However, the participants in this study clearly believe that the ways men and women enact these roles and their strategies for success are different. Yet, role congruity theory predicts a disadvantage for women in leadership due to the conflict in gender roles and work roles. Many participants expressed that, although they had to use different tactics from their male counterparts in order to be successful at ying chou, they felt they had an advantage over men. In other words, they perceived their gender as an advantage, not a disadvantage. Some participants reported they were able to emphasize a female role (elder sister) to gain an advantage in their work role; not all of the women experienced a net disadvantage due to conflict between gender roles and leadership roles. Role congruity theory predicts that individual gender characteristics may outweigh work role expectations for Western women (Eagly & Karau, 2002). Some of the Taiwanese participants were able to emphasize other roles (family and age-related) to gain respect and compliance (in accordance with the principles of Chinese relationalism; Hwang, 2013), and these roles took precedence over, or at least ameliorated, gender stereotypical roles that conflict with a leadership role; incongruity was not a disadvantage. This possibility should be targeted for further exploration in a future study.

Use of socializing requirements to avoid traditional gender roles

Across industries participants reported a greater proportion of single women in jobs requiring socializing, and many of the single participants indicated it would be difficult to continue to fully meet the job requirements if they had a husband and children. Whereas Western women may feel that (ideally) it should be possible to have both a family and a career despite the challenges (Gammon, 2014), it may be that Taiwanese women feel the need to decide between the two. Women who choose to have a family may be either unlikely to select this line of work in the first place or else likely to resign upon marriage, resulting in fewer married women in these types of jobs. Research suggesting that family views in Taiwan are more traditional even than in Hong Kong or China (F. L. Chen, 2000) and that work and family are regarded as incompatible (McDonald, 2002) support this interpretation.

The results of this study are congruent with the idea that a generation gap may be developing with regard to handling this incompatibility. Marriage in Taiwan was formerly “early and universal” and now it has “shifted toward late and less marriage,” particularly among younger Taiwanese (Y. H. Chen, 2009, p. 44). In 2010, a greater percentage of women aged 34–39 in Taiwan were single than those in the United Kingdom or United States (21% vs. 13–15%; The Economist, 2011). Y. H. Chen (2009) explained this development as the result of new non-traditionalist attitudes favoring lifestyle over traditional gender roles. Along these lines, some of the participants expressed interest in a career, not just a temporary job, until they start a family. Others implied that they had selected this line of work in order to stave off parental pressure to start a family. Taking on this type of job may be one way for young women (and perhaps gay men) to resist family pressures to get married—a very intriguing topic for future investigation.

Culture and Work Relationships

Results highlighted two cross-cultural differences that may be important in conceptualizing future investigations of workplace relationships: the boundary around what is considered the workplace and interpersonal boundaries around workplace relationships. First, Taiwanese professionals view business socializing as a critical tool for achieving work-related goals. However, organizational researchers have tended to focus on the internal office context (Murphy & Kram, 2010); few studies have followed employees out of the office to investigate how employees build relationships. Given that professionals around the world are increasingly directing their own careers, instead of allowing a single company to do so, the ability to build long-term social connections is more important than ever; a person’s career will likely span multiple organizations. Research investigating work relationships developed outside the workplace and across organizational boundaries is of increasing importance to men and women alike in the dynamic, global work environment. The present study extends the conceptualization of work relationships (commonly found in the Western literature) to interactions that take place outside the workplace.

Second, participants articulated their explicit goal of developing personal, emotional relationships with instrumental benefits in mind (the definition of guanxi; Bedford & Hwang, 2013); they purposefully blended personal and professional relations, a contrast with the norms of Western culture in which emotional and instrumental concerns are expected to remain distinct—both in a work context and in a personal friendship context (Kram & Isabella, 1985). In fact, this inclination to form personal relationships within the workplace and across workplace boundaries, as exemplified by the participants in this study, may be a source of advantage for Taiwanese women. Westerners normally maintain friends and colleagues in separate categories (Kram & Isabella, 1985), so mixing emotion and business gives rise to tension because it violates the cultural norm (Zelizer, 2005). A study of Western women found that they were significantly more likely than men to describe the benefits of workplace friendship in terms of social and emotional support, while men focused mainly on the instrumental benefits friends provided in their career, or on functional aspects of getting the job done (Morrison, 2009). In the Western context there may be a mismatch between what women do or what they are good at and the general expectation for workplace relationships.

In contrast, participants in the current study purposefully cultivated relationships that blended emotional and instrumental components. Their descriptions match Morrison’s (2009) findings regarding both the social and emotional support of the Western women and the instrumental goals of the Western men. Because there is no inherent cultural assumption of a boundary between professional and personal relationships, it may be that women in Taiwan are more freely able to draw on their own perceived advantage (over male colleagues) in building relationships, by strengthening personal connections and providing emotional support with regard to colleagues and clients’ private lives.

Limitations and Future Directions

A number of limitations of the present study should be considered in interpreting the results of the analysis as they indicate potential areas for future research. First, the sample may have limited generalizability. The majority of the participants embraced ying chou; they had figured out how to succeed in their jobs and felt pride in their socializing skills. They may be especially skilled in negotiating relationships. This sample may not be representative of the larger population of Taiwanese women with positions requiring business socializing. A broader survey is needed to establish whether women in such positions indeed tend to be single, and whether nontraditional women are drawn to such careers. Industry differences in the frequency of socializing and the proportion of women present while socializing may also influence the participation rate of married versus single women. Furthermore, the current study examined assumptions of male–female relationships but did not address how gay men, lesbian women, and transgender persons negotiate ying chou.

Second, as part of the research design we specifically did not cue participants regarding particular applications and benefits of socializing. Thus, it remains an open question as to whether some applications of business socializing that have been identified in previous studies of men in Taiwan (such as to test the character of employees or potential business partners, Bedford & Hwang, 2013) are not used by women, or whether examples of this type of application did not happen to arise in the interviews. Also, we did not collect information regarding the frequency of use of various types of venues and activities. It may be that there are gender differences in frequency of use of particular types of venues/activities instead of in the range of activities. For example, women may engage in particular activities, such as lunch time ying chou, more than men do. Third, power is another important direction for future investigation. The power dynamics of socializing with one’s boss as opposed to with external contacts or in conjunction with external contacts may offer an interesting future avenue for research, particularly in masculine industries.

Fourth, it is unlikely the results of this study capture the range of experiences of women in other Chinese societies. Current and historical political and economic differences are likely to affect social norms. For example, whereas in Taiwan the government has supported a Chinese culture renaissance movement, in China official objections to traditional values and practices were issued during the Cultural Revolution. And finally, it is important to survey men about their perceptions of gender differences and their experiences of socializing when women are present versus not present in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of gender in socializing for business.

Although men and women in Taiwan share the common goal of building long-term personal relationships through business socializing activities, some of the challenges to accomplishing this goal appear to be gender-related (such as exclusion from all or parts of activities, sexual advances by men, not being taken seriously). However, other challenges (such as dislike of some of the ying chou activities, long hours, and family impact) are more easily seen as challenges that could be faced by some men. Research is needed to establish whether Taiwanese men report similar challenges and if so, whether their methods for managing them converge with those identified from the women in the current study.

The present study confirmed that Taiwanese professional women, like men (e.g., Bedford & Hwang, 2011), perceive the critical importance of building personal workplace relationships (guanxi). These guanxi relationships encompass both instrumental and affective components. Workplace mentoring relationships can help realize instrumental goals and also include expressive support (Bozionelos & Wang, 2006), and there is some evidence to suggest that informal mentoring is not inconsistent with some of the values emphasized by the role requirements present in Confucian cultures (L. Q. Yang et al., 2011). That is, superiors are expected to show care and concern for inferiors who are expected to show loyalty and obedience to their superiors. Mentoring in Western organizations has been associated with positive outcomes (e.g., Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lentz, & Lima, 2004; Allen, Lentz, & Day, 2006). However, in Chinese societies, there may be additional stressors for subordinates to build and maintain relationships with their superiors given the ethical obligation to return all favors and meet superiors’ expectations and requirements (Bedford, 2011). Additional research is needed to determine how mentoring might fit with development of guanxi relations through business socializing.

I identified some successful strategies for women who socialize to build guanxi relationships for work. Some were gender-related, including leveraging differences in social conventions for men and women, gender stereotypes, and expectations about family roles. While some of these strategies might work for Western women to the extent that gender stereotypes are shared across cultures, others were specific to Chinese culture, such as manipulating a relationship so as to play the role of an elder sister. I also identified some strategies common to men and women in Taiwan, such as building work relationships that blend personal and professional aspects.

Practice Implications

The current study is the first to explore women’s business socializing practices in a Chinese society. The findings have implications for managers and corporate policies in and outside Taiwan. Because of their potential to contribute to blocking the advancement of women, it is important for managers to consider business socializing practices and policies from both gender and cultural perspectives. Managers at firms that strive for gender-neutral practices need to be aware of the concerns and challenges faced by women so as to be able to design incentive schemes that do not disadvantage women systematically. For example, managers should support women in building relationships and consider how policies, such as covering socializing costs, differentially affect men and women. Women in leadership positions may be able to support younger colleagues and subordinates in business socializing.

Given that qualitative studies have reported some similar complaints from men regarding ying chou, particularly from married or gay men (see Bedford & Hwang, 2011), it is clear that in addition to its rewards, ying chou carries inherent challenges regardless of gender. The finding that women and men share some challenges should increase the motivation of executives to implement positive changes in business socializing policies as they will affect all employees (Metz & Simon, 2008).

Given China’s rise in global significance, it is important for outsiders to understand Chinese business practices, particularly in terms of the processes and mechanisms for building and maintaining work-related relationships, given their central importance to business transactions. Without an understanding of the inherent expectations supporting guanxi relations, outsiders may be tempted to focus only on harmful aspects and overlook the benefits it can bring. The social processes highlighted in this article can help outsiders recognize that the Chinese cultural approach to building and using relationships does not entail a clear boundary between personal and professional spheres and so may be at odds with corporate codes of conduct developed in Western organizations. Careful consideration of local business norms may be required to develop a code of conduct appropriate for the local context (see Y. H. Huang, 2000).

Foreign practitioners who want to develop relationships in Chinese societies may gain insight into the importance of participating in after-hours socializing activities and getting to know colleagues and contacts personally. Managers of Western companies should recognize that just because socializing is perceived as a necessary part of business in Taiwan and other Asian societies, it still has many of the same negative impact on women as in their own countries. Instead of trying to fit in with the perceived cultural norm of visiting hostess clubs, foreign business people may reap greater benefits from focusing on establishing deeper personal connections over dinner.

Conclusions

Practically speaking, business socializing in masculine contexts is a Taiwanese cultural norm. Historically, women participated in business socializing as subservient hostesses. However, today, many women not only participate on equal footing with their male associates but may also highly influence the process. Their increased participation and power in the process of business socializing support observations that cultural norms are shifting within the workplace (Y. H. Chen, 2009). Women’s recognition of their disadvantages may empower them to emphasize their growing advantages which, in turn, can contribute to society’s trend toward gender equality in the workplace. Promoting gender equality in this context promotes women’s well-being, the success of organizations, and society as a whole.