The Influence Of Guanxi And Coalition Formation On Gatekeeping

There exists a kind of people who don't own resources but control the access to them.We call them gatekeepers.Gatekeeping phenomena exists widely in the real world,and it takes various forms.Relatively speaking,little research has been devoted to gatekeeping,let alone in sociology.Only a few articles concertrate on gatekeeper's formation and gatekeeper fees in small network.To be specific,digging into gatekeeping contribute to our understanding of hierarchy,power and rules.Morever,setting in network exchange theory,analyzing gatekeeping behavior can help us figure out the internal logic among guanxi,power and positions.In the context of exchange networks,the gatekeeper can be looked as a ‘position',not holding resources but controlling access to resources.Gatekeepers with special power take the form of ‘ordering'.Considering guanxi and coalition,this paper hopes to host a deep analysis of gatekeeping by experimental test.Considering “guanxi” and “coalition”,this thesis examine the gatekeeping behavior experimentally.Experimental results show that : First of all,for the oedered network,Gatekeeper's fee show a characteristic of "ordering effect",that is,if the gatekeeper is closer to clients,he will benefit more.All in all,against the first gatekeeper's average fee,the second gatekeeper's is significantly higher.Second,guanxi significantly affects ordering effect.In inclusive network,when gatekeepers and clients really know each other,the gatekeeping fee will relatively decrease.However,guanxi cannot bring about the reversal of power,for gatekeepers still have advantages in negotiation of resource allocation.Gatekeepers taking the form of coalition shapes an integrated unit,aiming to raise gatekeeping fee.In exclusive network,the two gatekeepers ally to add to gatekeeping fee,they therefore changed their weaker position.In the context of three gatekeepers,gatekeepers have more choice,but coalition is still the first choice for the coalition empowering them.In inclusive network,the two gatekeepers take coalition formation not as the only choice but a strategic action.