Chinese Public Sector Research Articles

Exploring the impact of ethical leadership on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in public sector organizations: the mediating role of psychological empowerment

This study aims to investigate the effect of ethical leadership on employee attitudes (affective commitment and job satisfaction) and to examine the role of psychological empowerment as a potential mediator of these relationships. In total, 467 employees in Chinese public sector completed surveys across three separate waves. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test hypotheses. The paper found a positive relationship between ethical leadership and both employee attitudes and further reveals that psychological empowerment fully mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and affective commitment while partially mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and job satisfaction. Testing of above relationships via a mediated approach is novel and contributes to the research on ethical leadership.

Public service motivation in the Chinese public and private sectors

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to statistically test if the public service motivation (PSM) measure operates in the same way across the public and private sectors of a municipal district in China. It also contrasts the relationship between PSM and workplace outcomes across sectors and employee age groups.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from independent samples of public (n=220) and private (n=230) sector employees in the Changsha Municipal District of China is used. The analysis tests for invariance across groups, before comparing mean values and regression weights.FindingsOnly in respect of one PSM dimension do findings show a significant higher mean in the public sector. No significant difference is found on the impact of PSM on employee performance across sectors, while it is in the private sector that PSM has the greater impact on intention to leave. Findings also show no marked impact of age upon outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides an initial set of results and further research will need to be undertaken to verify them. The limited sample size and narrow geographical focus, although in line with similar studies on China, means the ability to draw generalisations is limited. The reliance on self-reported measures means issues with common method bias cannot be ignored. Measures were taken during data collection to minimise issues of bias and a set of post-hoc test results are provided.Practical implicationsThe recruitment of employees with higher levels of PSM can be expected to play a role in achieving better outcomes, regardless of sector and age profile.Originality/valueThe PSM measure has been applied by researchers across various economic sectors. This paper is one of the first to statistically test if the concept and its measure operates in the same way across sectors. The paper contributes to the on-going debate on PSM in the context of China and its relationship with a number of key output variables. Finally, the paper contributes to the emerging debate on changing workforce demographics and their role in shaping outcomes.

The ‘iron rice‐bowl’ regime revisited: whither human resource management in Chinese universities?

Although research on Chinese human resource management (HRM) has attracted considerable scholarly attention in recent decades, such research has mainly been confined within the economic domain of for‐profit companies. There is a dearth of research in the English‐language literature examining how people are managed in the Chinese public sector, especially in higher education institutions. Based on a multiple case study, this paper explores how Chinese universities have reformed their traditional personnel management system, and investigates whether the ‘iron rice bowl’ system has been entirely replaced after three decades of HRM reform. Our findings reveal that employee management in Chinese universities has only partially broken away from its traditional ‘iron rice bowl’ system. China still has a long way to go to establish a modern HRM system in its public sector.

Motivational bases of commitment to organizational change in the Chinese public sector

Does public sector employees’ public service motivation (PSM) affect their psychological reactions to organizational change? We examined the effects of PSM on public sector employees’ commitment to a specific organizational change. Participants were 231 public sector employees from a city in eastern China, who completed surveys assessing commitment to change and PSM. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between PSM and employees’ commitment to organizational change. That is, individuals with high (vs. low) PSM were more likely to have high levels of continuance and normative commitment, whereas PSM was not significantly correlated with affective commitment to organizational change. Practical implications are discussed of a successful planned change in the public sector, including staffing, communication, and discipline during the change process.

Chinese public sector employees’ age, emotional dissonance, work meaningfulness, and perceived stress

Researchers have focused on how to improve the high-stress environment for those working in China’s public sector, but neglected to consider the moderating effect of age of employees. Using data from 410 public sector employees in Shandong Province, China, we investigated the effects of emotional dissonance and work meaningfulness on employees’ perceived level of stress, and the moderating effect of age on those effects. Results indicated that work meaningfulness reduced participants’ perceived stress levels, and that emotional dissonance increased perceived stress, which is consistent with previous research findings. Further, age played a moderating role by weakening the effect of work meaningfulness, but the moderating effect of age on emotional dissonance was nonsignificant. Managers of public sectors should be aware of the differences between older and younger employees and adopt appropriate practices to help employees deal with their work stress.

Internal and External Factors of Plagiarism: Evidence from Chinese Public Sector Universities

ABSTRACTThis study explores the effects of internal and external factors that encourage plagiarism from the perspective of students. We collected student data from five public sector universities in Anhui Province, China, by randomly distributing survey questionnaires to 250 students, 176 of which were usable. We analyzed the collected quantitative data through multiple regression analysis. Our research results demonstrate that external and internal factors have a great influence on plagiarism. The control behavior and teaching factors have a significantly positive impact on plagiarism, while ICT and web does not have a considerable impact on plagiarism. Among the external factors, a significant positive correlation exists between external stress, pride, and plagiarism; however, no significant relationship exists between academic skills and plagiarism. The article concludes that grade level and enrollment status (full-time or part-time) are inversely correlated to plagiarism, which proves that the higher the academic level, the less the plagiarism behaviors occur. This concept may be due to the fact that the higher the academic level, the stronger the plagiarism constraints might be, which in turn leads to a drastic decrease in plagiarism. Moreover, a negative relationship emerges between enrollment status (full-time or part-time) and plagiarism because part-time students who are committed to employment are less likely to give their full attention to their studies.

Assessing and explaining interagency collaboration performance: a comparative case study of local governments in China

ABSTRACTThis study assesses and explains interagency collaboration performance in the Chinese public sector. Through a comparative case study, it shows that inter-organizational relation is hard to start up; conflicting policies, incompatible procedures, power disparity, low issue salience, and lack of perceived interdependence may separately and jointly affect collaboration performance. The presence of vertical meta-governance plays a critical role in turning the tide; however, its presence is tied up with other factors such as high issue salience or bottom-up appeal. In addition, the highest level of performance not only depends on vertical meta-governance but also on horizontal meta-governance.

Antecedents of Duty Orientation and Follower Work Behavior: The Interactive Effects of Perceived Organizational Support and Ethical Leadership

Drawing on social exchange theory, the present study seeks to understand how ethical leaders channel followers’ responses to positive treatment from the organization into a dutiful mindset, resulting in in-role and extra-role performance. Specifically, it examines the influence of perceived organizational support on both followers’ job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors, and the mediating effects of duty orientation on such relationships. In addition, it examines whether the mediated effects are contingent on the ethical leadership exhibited by the team leader. Based on multi-source, multi-level data obtained from 233 employees in 60 teams from the Chinese public sector, we found that ethical leadership moderated the mediated relationship between perceived organizational support and follower work behaviors through duty orientation, such that this relationship was stronger in the presence of higher ethical leadership.

A Cross-Level Holistic Model Of Public Service Motivation

ABSTRACTUsing a sample of 63 supervisors and their direct reports (189 immediate subordinates), this study investigated a cross-level model of public service motivation’s (PSM) antecedents in the Chinese public sector. Correlation analyses and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results simultaneously revealed that both subordinates’ proactive personality and supervisors’ servant leadership were related positively to subordinates’ PSM. Additionally, HLM analyses demonstrated that supervisors’ servant leadership and their immediate subordinates’ proactive personality interacted to correlate positively with subordinates’ PSM. Implications of the findings, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Internet plus policy

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze and determine the best course of action for policymakers in China when dealing with the implementation of best practices for the internet of things (IoT). The recently introduced Internet Plus strategy is an attempt by Chinese policymakers to boost the Chinese economy by diminishing its reliance on manufacturing and export in favor of a knowledge-based economy driven by services and the tech sector. The IoT is arguably one of the key drivers behind this transformation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper conducts an analysis of existing literature on the IoT and uses two complimentary theories, resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory, to determine a set of policy recommendations.FindingsA cooperative relationship between policymakers, start-up firms and academia is essential to the success of the IoT. The artificial intelligence industry also plays a key role in the development of the IoT and requires strategic funding and favorable policy. Finally, established and cost-effective standards and practices are much more likely to be effective than new and costly alternatives.Originality/valueThis paper examines the newly established field of the IoT and sets out a number of policy recommendations needed for its success. To achieve this, the author uses two complimentary theories unique to the business management field but increasingly compatible with the Chinese public policy sector.

A multi-sector assessment of community organizational capacity for promotion of Chinese immigrant worker health.

Community-based collaborative approaches have received increased attention as a means for addressing occupational health disparities. Organizational capacity, highly relevant to engaging and sustaining community partnerships, however, is rarely considered in occupational health research. To characterize community organizational capacity specifically relevant to Chinese immigrant worker health, we used a cross-sectional, descriptive design with 36 agencies from six community sectors in King County, Washington. Joint interviews, conducted with two representatives from each agency, addressed three dimensions of organizational capacity: organizational commitment, resources, and flexibility. Descriptive statistics were used to capture the patterning of these dimensions by community sector. Organizational capacity varied widely across and within sectors. Chinese and Pan-Asian service sectors indicated higher capacity for Chinese immigrant worker health than did Chinese faith-based, labor union, public, and Pan-ethnic nonprofit sectors. Variation in organizational capacity in community sectors can inform selection of collaborators for community-based, immigrant worker health interventions.

How to Drive Public Service Innovation in the Korean and Chinese Sectors: Exploring the Roles of PSM

This research investigates solutions to increase perceived organizational innovativeness through analyzing such major variables as contextual factors (i.e., hierarchical culture and group-orientated culture), public service motivation (PSM) (i.e., Policy making oriented PSM, societally PSM), human capital (i.e., in-role performance, creative behavior), and social capital (trust and reciprocity). Recognizing the importance of PSM in an Asian context, we identify its impact as a mediating variable among these contextual factors and the human and social capital found within the Korean and Chinese public sectors. To identify the effects of human and social capital on perceived organizational innovativeness, the study focuses on verifying among contextual factors, PSM, human capital, and social capital; it utilized survey data on Korean and Chinese public employees attitudes and behaviors, collected between March and August 2015. This study suggests theoretical and policy implications for future research in organizational management.

An evaluation of pension differentials between Chinese private and public sectors from perspective of protection and incentives over the lifecycle

This article evaluates pension differentials between the private and public sectors over the lifecycle in urban areas in China. The aim of this study was to examine social equity in the face of increasing pressures to reform the current pension system. We developed a model to measure the protection and incentives offered by pensions in the private and public sectors. By incorporating educational cost, career length, retirement age, average years that a retiree receives the pension after retirement, growth rate of wages, interest rates and pension benefits into the model, we provided actuarial assessments. This study found that the current institutional arrangement of pensions in China results in negative incentives for workers in the public sector.

Contextualizing performance appraisal practices in Chinese public sector organizations: the importance of context and areas for future study

Public sector organizations (PSOs) continue to undergo pressures for change due to economic globalization and the changing role of the state, resulting in increased focus on performance management, particularly employee performance appraisal. New public management’s emphasis on transparency, accountability, efficiency and performance highlights the multiple and often conflicting roles and performance outcomes of PSOs, the social and economic contexts in which PSOs operate, and the multiple ways they measure and manage performance. Responding to this special issue and calls for a richer understanding of performance management in PSOs we examine the impact of context on performance appraisal in Chinese PSOs. As China continues its transitions to a market-driven economy, Chinese PSOs have engaged in managerial reforms to improve governance, efficiency and productivity, including the strategic implementation of western-based HRM practices to manage employee performance. Our analysis demonstrates the challenges context poses for analysing HRM practices in Chinese PSOs.

Moderated mediation model of relationship between perceived organizational justice and counterproductive work behavior

PurposeThis study aimed to develop a moderated mediation model to explain the relationship between perceived organizational justice and the counterproductive work behavior (CWB) of Chinese public servants. In this model, the authors assumed that job burnout mediates the relationship between perceived organizational justice and CWB and that moral identity moderates the relationship between job burnout and CWB.Design/methodology/approachA total of 210 public servants in China participated in this study, and their characteristics were measured by self-report tools. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the moderated mediation model.FindingsAnalysis of the data demonstrated that perceived organizational justice, job burnout and moral identity influenced CWB. Moral identity moderated the relationship between job burnout and CWB, such that individuals with low moral identity are more likely to engage in CWB. Moreover, job burnout mediated the effect of perceived organizational justice on CWB, and the mediating effect of job burnout was moderated by moral identity. The indirect effect of perceived organizational justice on CWB through job burnout was significant among individuals with low moral identity but not among individuals with high moral identity.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings highlight the self-regulatory function of moral identity in preventing CWB.Practical implicationsThe study offers several significant suggestions to reduce CWB in Chinese public sector administration, such as by improving organizational justice perception, recruiting and selecting individuals with reference to their moral identity and monitoring employees’ job burnout regularly.Originality/valueThe authors developed and verified a moderated mediated model on the relationship between perceived organizational justice and CWB. The study revealed that job burnout has a mediating effect on the perceived organizational justice–CWB relation, providing important insights into the processes through which perceived organizational justice affects CWB.

Changes of Wage Structures in Chinese Public and Private Sectors: 1995-2007

Using CHIP (Chinese Household Income Project Survey) data and the sample selection bias corrected wage function model, this paper estimated changes in wage structure in China by ownership types (SOEs, COEs, FEs, and PEs) in 1995 and 2007. The major conclusions are as follows. First, effects of education on wage levels in SOEs and FEs become greater, while education effects decrease in SOEs and PEs under economic transition periods; firm-specific human capital becomes more important in the wage determination mechanism along with market-oriented reforms in SOEs, PEs, and FEs; age effect decreases in SOEs and COEs, but it becomes greater in PEs and FEs. Second, there exist wage structure differences between sectors by wage distributions. For example, in 2007, in SOEs, education return rates are higher for the low-wage and middle-wage groups, and the effect is the highest at the 40th percentile. However in COEs and FEs, education return rates are higher for the high-wage groups, and the effect is the highest at the 70th percentile in COEs and at the 70th percentile in FEs. Tenure effects are greater in the middle-wage groups (40th-80th) in SOEs, COEs, and FEs, and age effects are greater in the low-wage groups (5th-30th) in SOEs, FEs, and PEs.

Political skill, organizational justice, and career success in mainland China

Organizational justice is a topic popularized for Western bureaucracies but there is less known about its influence in Eastern cultures. This research tests how organizational justice moderates the relationship between political skill and career success in the Chinese public sector. Analysis reveals that four dimensions of political skill (networking ability, apparent sincerity, social astuteness, and interpersonal influence) correlate positively with career success (measured as perceived internal marketability and perceived career success). Although hypothesized that organizational justice would lessen the influence of political skill on career success as a result of the implementation of formal merit-based pay rules, findings show that political skill is only partially moderated. While lessening the value of social astuteness, a positive relationship between interpersonal influence and internal marketability remains. Points for practitioners Profound changes in China’s salary system challenge traditional workplace customs. The implementation of merit-based pay requires a fair procedure for determining salary raises. In China, personalism remains a driving force because of the importance of guanxi. This affects how formal merit-based pay systems function in the East. Chinese culture tempers Western notions of organizational justice with its persistent reliance on political skill. This blend of worker behavior and career success, moderated by a conceptualization of organizational justice that embraces political skill, complicates the application of Western management systems in the East.

Research of Chinese Public Sector Managers Leadership Based on the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method

Research of Chinese Public Sector Managers Leadership Based on the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method

I can see clearly now

Purpose– Although there is growing research on the relationship between ethical leadership and subordinate work behaviors, limited research has examined the boundary conditions under which ethical leadership is more or less effective. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether subordinate perceptions of role clarity in their job role influence the relationship between ethical leadership and subordinate work behaviors. Drawing on both social exchange and social learning theories, the authors predict that in contexts where subordinates perceive low levels of role clarity, the relationship between ethical leadership behavior and subordinate helping and deviant behaviors will be weaker.Design/methodology/approach– In total, 239 employees in the Chinese public sector completed surveys across three separate time points. Confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyze the data.Findings– Analyses provided support for the hypothesized relationships. When subordinates perceived higher levels of role clarity the positive relationship between ethical leadership and helping behavior was stronger, and the negative relationship between ethical leadership and deviant behavior was stronger.Research limitations/implications– As with all research the findings of this study need to be viewed in light of its limitations. First, the use of data from a single set of respondents opens up the possibility of common method bias. Second, given the study used of a sample of public sector employees from one part of China, there would be value in future research examining whether the findings from the present study are generalizable to other industrial and cultural contexts.Practical implications– This research has a number of practical implications. Given that the authors found a significant positive relationship between ethical leadership and helping behavior, and a significant negative relationship between ethical leadership and deviant behavior, it is crucial for organizations to include ethical training as an essential part of leadership development programs. However, the findings also suggest at the same time as facilitating the development of ethical leadership behaviors amongst supervisory employees, it is important for organizations to also provide employees with clarity over what is expected of them in their jobs, and the means they should employ to facilitate goal achievement.Originality/value– This study responds to recent calls for more research to identify factors which may strengthen or mitigate the influence of ethical leadership in the workplace.

The role of leadership behaviors for enhancing organizational effectiveness in the Chinese public sector

The threefold purpose of this study is as follows: (1) to verify whether three leadership styles (servant, ethical, and participative) contribute to enhancing organizational trust and commitment, (2) to test the full and partial mediating roles of organizational trust and commitment in the relationships between the three leadership styles and organizational outcomes (in-role performance and managerial accountability), and (3) to probe indirect leadership impacts on performance and accountability outcomes. First, we employed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to operationalize the variables and to confirm the latent constructs from the relevant survey questions. Second, to confirm the total direct and indirect effects, we employed a full structural equation model (SEM) to test the interrelationships among variables, and to assess the relative strength of each variable. The results of this study demonstrate that ethical and participative leadership behaviors in the Chinese public sector are positively and significantly associated with organizational trust and commitment. Based on a discussion of the main findings, various research and practical implications for public management theory and practice are provided.