Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-fvjsw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-14T01:43:58.734Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi: Developing a Three-Dimensional Model and Scale

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Ying Chen,
Ray Friedman,
Enhai Yu,
Weihua Fang and
Xinping Lu
Ying Chen
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, USA
Ray Friedman
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, USA
Enhai Yu
Affiliation:
North China Electric Power University, China
Weihua Fang
Affiliation:
Beihang University, China
Xinping Lu
Affiliation:
Capital University of Economics and Business, China
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the 'Save PDF' action button.

We develop a three-dimensional concept of supervisor-subordinate guanxi. This concept includes affective attachment, personal-life inclusion, and deference to supervisor. Based on this concept, we conducted three studies to develop and validate a three-dimensional supervisor-subordinate guanxi measure and to examine its relationship with related constructs, such as leader-member exchange. Results from Study 1 and Study 2 provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity of the scale, while Study 3 demonstrates the scale's incremental validity and replicates results from Study 2. Furthermore, in Study 3, we found that the three dimensions of supervisor-subordinate guanxi had different significant effects on commitment, turnover intention, and procedural justice, providing further evidence of criterion-related validity. Overall, these empirical results provide support for our three-dimensional model of supervisor-subordinate guanxi.

Keywords

guanxi scaleleader-member exchangesupervisor-subordinate guanxi关系量表领导-成员交换上下级关系

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , November 2009, pp. 375 - 399
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2009

References

Bian, Y. 2006. Guanxi. In Beckert, J. & Zafirovski, M. (Eds.), International encyclopedia of economic sociology: 312–314. New York: Roudedge.Google Scholar
Bond, M. H., & Hwang, K. K. 1986. The social psychology of Chinese people. In Bond, M. H. (Ed.), The psychology of the Chinese people: 213–266. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Camman, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, D., & Klesh, J. 1979. The Michigan organizational assessment questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.Google Scholar
Chen, C., Chen, Y., & Xin, K. 2004. Guanxi practices and trust in management: A procedural justice perspective. Organization Science, 15(2): 200–209.Google Scholar
Chen, X. P., & Chen, C. C. 2004. On the intricacies of the Chinese guanxi: A process model of guanxi development. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 21 (3): 305–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, X. P., & Peng, S. Q. 2008. Guanxi dynamics: Shifts in the closeness of ties between Chinese coworkers. Management and Organization Review, 4(1): 63–80.Google Scholar
Chen, Y., Friedman, R., Yu, E., & Sun, F. 2008. Examining the positive and negative effects of guanxi: A multi-level analysis of guanxi and procedural justice. Proceedings of the 3rd Conference of the International Association for Chinese Management Research, Guangzhou, China, 19-22 June 2008.Google Scholar
Chen, Z., & Francesco, A. 2000. Employee demography, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions in China: Do cultural difference matter? Human Relations, 53(6): 869–887.Google Scholar
Cheng, B. S., Farh, J. L., Chang, H. F., & Hsu, W. L. 2002. Gunaxi, zhoungcheng, compentence and managerial behavior in the Chinese context. The Journal of Chinese Psychology, 44(2): 151–166.Google Scholar
Chiu, C. Y., & Yang, C. F. 1987. Chinese subjects’ dilemmas: Humility and cognitive laziness as problems in using rating scales. Bulletin of the Hong Kong Psychological Society, 18(1): 39–50.Google Scholar
Chow, I., & Ng, I. 2004. The characteristics of Chinese personal ties (guanxi): Evidence from Hong Kong. Organization Studies, 25(7): 1075–1093.Google Scholar
Clark, M., & Finkel, F. 2005. Willingness to express emotion: The impact of relationship type, communal orientation, and their interaction. Personal Relationship, 12(2): 169–180.Google Scholar
Clark, M. S., & Mills, J. 1979. Interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(1): 12–24.Google Scholar
Clark, M. S., & Mills, J. 1993. The difference between communal and exchange relationships: What is and is-not. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19(6): 684–691.Google Scholar
Dienesch, R. M., & Liden, R. C. 1986. Leader-member exchange model of leadership: A critique and further development. Academy of Management Review, 11(2): 618–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erdogan, B., & Liden, R. C. 2006. Collectivism as a moderator of response to organizational justice: Implications for leader-member exchange and ingratiation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(1): 1–17.Google Scholar
Farh, J., Earley, P., & Lin, S. 1997. Impetus for action: A cultural analysis of justice and extra-role behavior in Chinese Society. Administration Science Quarterly, 42(3): 421–444.Google Scholar
Farh, J., Tsui, A. S., Xin, K., & Cheng, B. 1998. The influence of relational demography and guanxi: The Chinese case. Organization Science, 9(4): 471–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fei, X. T. 1947/1992. From the soil: The foundations of Chinese society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Fiske, A. P. 1991. The cultural relativity of selfish individualism: Anthropological evidence that humans are inherently sociable. In Clark, M. (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology: Altruism and prosocial behavior, vol. 12: 176–214. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Fiske, A. P. 1992. The four elementary forms of sociality: Framework for a unified theory of social relations. Psychological Review, 99(4): 689–723.Google Scholar
Galaskiewicz, J. 2007. Has a network theory of organizational behavior lived up to its promises? Management and Organization Review, 3(1): 1–18.Google Scholar
Guthrie, D. 1998. The declining significance of guanxi in China's economic transition. The China Quarterly, 153: 254–282.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 1991. Culture and organizations: Software of the mind. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hu, L., & Bender, P. M. 1999. Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1): 1–55.Google Scholar
Hui, C., & Graen, G. 1997. Guanxi and professional leadership in contemporary Sino-American joint ventures in mainland China. Leadership Quarterly, 8(4): 451–465.Google Scholar
Hui, C., Lee, C., & Rousseau, D. M. 2004. Employment relationships in China: Do workers relate to the organization or the people? Organization Science, 15(2): 232–240.Google Scholar
Hwang, K. K. 1987. Face and favor: The Chinese power game. American Journal of Sociology, 92(4): 944–974.Google Scholar
James, L., Mulaik, S., & Brett, J. 1982. Causal analysis: Assumptions, models, and data. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Khatri, K. 2007. A taxonomy of supervisor—subordinate exchange across cultures. Proceedings of the 67th Academy of Management Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 3-8 August 2007.Google Scholar
Kipnis, A. B. 1997. Producing guanxi: Sentiment, self, and subculture in a north China village. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Law, K. S., Wong, C. S., Wang, D. X., & Wang, L. H. 2000. Effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on supervisory decisions in China: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(4): 715–730.Google Scholar
Lee, C., & Farh, J. 1999. The effects of gender in organizational justice perception. Journal of organizational behavior, 20(1): 133–143.Google Scholar
Leung, K., Su, S., & Morris, M. W. 2001. When is criticism not constructive? The roles of fairness perceptions and dispositional attributions in employee acceptance of critical supervisory feedback. Human Relations, 54(9): 1155–1187.Google Scholar
Lin, M. 2002. The effects of supervisors’ differential guanxi on leadership behaviors and effectiveness. Unpublished Master's thesis, National Zhongshan University, Taipei.Google Scholar
Liden, R., & Maslyn, J. 1998. Multidimensionality of leader-member exchange: An empirical assessment through scale development. Journal of Management, 24(1): 43–72.Google Scholar
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. 1991. Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2): 224–253.Google Scholar
Moorman, R. H. 1991. Relationships between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors: Do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship? Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(6): 845–855.Google Scholar
Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M., & Porter, L. W. 1979. The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14(2): 224–247.Google Scholar
Netemeyer, R., Bearden, W., & Sharma, S. 2003. Scaling procedures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Pellegrini, E., & Scandura, T. 2006. Leader-member exchange (LMX), paternalism, and delegation in the Turkish business culture: An empirical investigation. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(2): 264–279.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y, & Podsakoff, N. P. 2003. Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5): 879–903.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. W. 1986. Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4): 531–544.Google Scholar
Tsui, A. S., & Farh, J. L. 1997. Where guanxi matters: Relational demography and guanxi in the Chinese context. Work and Occupations, 24(1): 56–79.Google Scholar
Tyler, T. R. 1994. Psychological models of the justice motive: Antecedents of distributive and procedural justice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(5): 850–863.Google Scholar
Weber, M. 1904/1930. Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Winchester, MA: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Wetherill, J. 1986. Regression analysis with applications. New York: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Wong, C., Tinsley, C., Law, K., & Mobley, W. H. 2003. Development and validation of a multidimensional measure of guanxi. Journal of Psychology Chinese Societies, 4(1): 43–69.Google Scholar
Yang, C. F. 1988. Familialism and development: An examination of the role of family in contemporary China Mainland Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In Sinha, D. & Kao, H. S. R. (Eds.), Social values and development: Asian perspectives: 93–123. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Yang, C. F. 2001. A critical review of the conceptualization of guanxi and renqing. In Yang, C. F. (Ed.), The interpersonal relationship, affection, and trust of the Chinese: From an interactional perspective: 3–26. Taipei: Yuan Liou Publishing.Google Scholar
Yang, K. S. 1992. Chinese social orientation: From the social interaction perspective. In Yang, K. S. & Yu, A. B. (Eds.), Chinese psychology and behaviour: 87–142. Laurel, Taipei: Kew Gong Book.Google Scholar
Yang, M. M. 1994. Gifts, favors, and banquets. The art of social relationships in China. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Yang, M. M. 2002. The resilience of guanxi and its new deployments: A critique of some new guanxi scholarship. China Quarterly, 170: 459–476.Google Scholar
Yang, Y. 2001. One of us (zijiren): A case study on the classification of Chinese guanxi. In Yang, C. F. (Ed.), Interpersonal relationship, affection and trust of Chinese: From an interactional perspective: 131–158. Taipei: Yuan Liou Publishing.Google Scholar
Yi, X. 2002. Guanxi and leader—member exchange in the Chinese context. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL.Google Scholar