Till We Have Red Faces

Drinking to Signal Trustworthiness in Contemporary China

Bibliographic Data

ID6446702
AuthorsWanlin Lin (Sun Yat-sen University), Siqin Kang (0000-0002-2773-4966, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen), Jiangnan Zhu (0000-0002-5981-6886, University of Hong Kong, corresponding author), Ding Li (0000-0003-3297-9172, Sun Yat-sen University), Li Ding (0000-0003-1855-8574)
Year2024
Volume203
Issue1-2
Pages3-22
Publication date2024-07-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Choice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0048-5829 • E-ISSN: 1573-7101
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s11127-024-01180-2
OpenAlexW4400604926
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited97

Interpersonal networks facilitate business cooperation and socioeconomic exchange. But how can outsiders demonstrate their trustworthiness to join existing networks? Focusing on the puzzling yet common phenomenon of heavy drinking at China’s business banquets, we argue that this costly practice can be a rational strategy intentionally used by entrants to signal trustworthiness to potential business partners. Because drinking alcohol can lower one’s inhibitions and reveal one’s true self, entrants intentionally drink heavily to show that they have nothing to hide and signal their sincere commitment to cooperation. This signaling effect is enhanced if the entrants have low alcohol tolerance, as their physical reactions to alcohol (e.g., red face) make their drunkenness easier to verify. Our theory of heavy social drinking is substantiated by both ethnographic fieldwork and a discrete-choice experiment on Chinese entrepreneurs. This research illuminates how trust can be built absent sufficient support from formal institutions

Business · China · Discounting · Economics · Epistemology · Face (sociological concept · Interpersonal communication · Nothing · Phenomenon · Political science · Public relations · Social exchange theory · Social science · Sociology · Trustworthiness · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Finance · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Law · Marketing · Psychology · Social Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

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