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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Faten Baddar AlhusanORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
In this commentary we reflect on Shaalan, Eid, and Tourky’s (2022) article in which they investigated the Chinese concept and practice of guanxi in the Middle East1, a region in which wasta represents the common way of informal networking2. While we encourage and welcome research into informal networks, we have serious concerns about the conceptual and methodological approaches taken by Shaalan et al. (2022) in investigating informal networks in the Middle East and we explain herein why we do not believe guanxi should have been used in place of wasta. In this commentary, we commence by introducing wasta, the dominant concept in the Middle East, which Shaalan et al. (2022) disregarded. Then we reflect on the conceptual approach of researching an indigenous network construct in a foreign environment of a different culture which already has its own informal networks. In the commentary we also point out areas of concern in relation to research design and methodology. Finally, we provide suggestions for future research on informal networks, and we explicitly encourage further debate which draws on our commentary
Author(s): Horak S, Abosag I, Hutchings K, Alsarhan F, Ali S, Al-Twal A, Weir D, ALHussan FB, AL-Husan FB
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Management and Organization Review
Year: 2023
Volume: 19
Issue: 5
Pages: 1040-1045
Online publication date: 09/11/2023
Acceptance date: 09/07/2023
Date deposited: 11/07/2023
ISSN (print): 1740-8776
ISSN (electronic): 1740-8784
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2023.26
DOI: 10.1017/mor.2023.26
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