Making markets in business development services for SMEs : Taking up the Chinese challenge of entrepreneurial networking and stakeholder relationship management

Purpose – This study aims to examine the design of effective support systems for micro‐, small‐ and medium‐sized enterprise (MSME) development at the local and regional level in China. Design/methodology/approach – The paper calls on the experience of China, in fostering the fastest growing MSME sector in the world over the past 20 years, to suggest a paradigm based upon the Chinese guanxi model of relationships. Findings – The paper argues that the extensive international experience has not been massively successful and that the application of a stricter market‐led approach to the provision of MSME business development services will not be successful if it ignores the way that western “institutionalism” dictates the supply offer. Practical implications – It is argued that the model of entrepreneurial networking and relationships demands a fundamental repositioning of policy support and a major reorganisation of the way that knowledge is made explicit and disseminated to MSMEs. Originality/value – The paper explores what is termed as a stakeholder relationship model for the entrepreneur, the policy maker and the local delivery agent.