Jiang Hu theory of organizing: in-depth study of self-managing of tourism

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore self-management among informal tourism employees in urban China with the theoretical basis of Jianghu and reveal the forming process and operation mechanism of China’s urban informal organizations’ self-management. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts process–event analysis of informal tourism photographers surrounding Guangzhou Tower. Conducting field inspection and in-depth interviews, the forming process is analyzed and typical events are captured to unveil this self-management mechanism. Findings The self-management of informal tourism employees in China is based on the Jianghu theory, which specifies the role, obligation and responsibility of a member. These above rely on word-of-mouth order or implicit ways to treat newcomers, realize internal communication and deal with public affairs. Brotherhood, benevolence and etiquette make up the core values of the Jianghu theory that advises strategies in dealing with different events. This self-management, based on the Jianghu theory, has not only effectively solved internal conflicts, but has also achieved the goal of social management. Originality/value Informal employees’ self-management is extremely important due to the high cost of government intervention. Through China’s urban informal tourism employees’ Jianghu -styled self-management, the paper shows that the government should not crack down on this group indiscriminately. Instead, it should, through the management agent, set up effective Jianghu rules to realize regular control over this group.