The digital Guanxi: China´s digital business in light of recent transformation

The paper aims to discover the most promising digital networking business opportunities in today´s Chinese market, and how those new opportunities relate to the collective social networking culture rooted in Chinese consumers and businesses. The paper analyzes the enormous digital business environment in China for e-commerce, digital marketing, consumer behavior, IT outsourcing, software development and innovation. The analysis discovers huge opportunities in China´s digital social business that leverage the collaboration culture for both consumer and business audience. A classification to China´s digital audience and current key global and domestic players in the digital market are provided. The market is still far from maturity with an enormous growth rate. Although local players dominate the market, new market entry depends primarily on new digital product features that leverage social interaction and networking. Current key players copy Western social networking business model style without taking advantage of China´s collective culture. The market size is huge, however, concentrated in urban areas and for specific income levels. The research finds opportunities in consumer digital social shopping, mobile social shopping and professional digital networking. The paper provides implications and recommendations for international and domestic investors that include ideas for new digital products and market penetration strategies.