Relationship-building Behaviors Research Articles

Assessing the Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational Effectiveness in Chinese Vocational Schools

This research examines the impact of leadership styles on the organizational efficacy of vocational institutions in China. The main aim is to evaluate the effects of several leadership dimensions—communication, decision-making, motivation, empowerment, conflict management, relationship building, and ethical behavior—on these schools' overall operation and performance. Utilizing a descriptive-comparative and regression analytic methodology, data was gathered from instructors and students at five vocational schools in Guangdong Province via structured questionnaires. The research examined the opinions of leadership effectiveness among instructors and students, finding notable disparities between the two groups, with teachers consistently providing more favorable leadership evaluations. The regression study further substantiated that leadership styles substantially influence critical aspects of organizational success, including strategy planning, resource management, employee engagement, performance management, and student orientation.

The Tiny Habits that Strengthen Organizational Relationships

This article discusses how seemingly small, everyday social habits and interactions can significantly impact workplace relationships and organizational effectiveness. It explores research on relationship-building behaviors like making eye contact, smiling, saying thank you, asking questions, providing feedback, listening without judgment, self-disclosure, and celebrating wins together. The article argues that while larger cultural factors are important, minor modifications to interpersonal manners, such as consciously engaging in these positive social behaviors, can quietly foster resilient bonds between colleagues. Case studies from various industries are presented to illustrate how strategically cultivated habits delivering appreciation, empathy and care into daily exchanges strengthen collaborative relationships. The article concludes that true organizational transformation starts from nurturing connections through mindfully modified social exchanges, as these small gestures collectively create the type of supportive work environment where people feel valued and initiatives can succeed.

Bridging the expatriate and host country national knowledge transfer gap: managing interaction anxiety and uncertainty

PurposeIntegrating anxiety and uncertainty management (AUM) theory and theory of organizing, this study aims to contribute to the knowledge management literature by examining the interdependent and bidirectional nature of knowledge transfer between expatriates and host country nationals (HCNs). Specifically, the authors investigate how receivers’ cognitive response to senders’ behaviors during their interactions becomes an important conduit between senders’ behaviors and the successful transfer of knowledge.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the actor partner interdependence model to analyze data from 107 expatriate-HCN dyads. The authors collected the responses of these expatriate-HCN dyads in Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and India.FindingsReceivers’ interaction anxiety and uncertainty, as a response to senders’ relationship building behaviors, mediate the relationship between senders’ relationship building behaviors and successful knowledge transfer. When senders are expatriates, senders’ communication patience and relationship building behaviors interact to reduce the direct and indirect effects of both receivers’ interaction anxiety and uncertainty. However, when senders are HCNs, the moderation and moderated mediation models are not supported.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the knowledge management literature by investigating knowledge transfer between expatriates and HCNs using an interpersonal cross-cultural communication lens. The authors make refinements to AUM theory by going beyond the sender role to highlighting the interdependence between senders and receivers in the management of anxiety and uncertainty which, in turn, influences the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication. The study is also unique in that the authors underscore an important yet understudied construct, communication patience, in the successful transfer of knowledge.

New to the watercooler: Differential effects of relationship building for female versus male newcomers

We empirically test the social capital model of organizational socialization (SCM) and refine it by examining the influence of gender on its tenets. Research indicates that when new employees socialize with coworkers, they gain relational benefits that contribute to improved newcomer adjustment and onboarding outcomes. Although this work has deepened our understanding of the nature and consequences of newcomer socializing, it has tended to view these positive outcomes as equally accessible to all newcomers. This oversight is meaningful given that men and women do not always earn equal social credit for engaging in social behaviors such as relationship building at work (e.g., socializing with coworkers). Integrating SCM and social role theory, we hypothesize a model predicting that newcomer gender will influence whether relationship-building behaviors during socialization lead to coworker social support, with subsequent implications for newcomer adjustment (i.e., role clarity, task mastery, and social integration). We test this model in a time-lagged study of 183 new employees. Our findings generally support the predictions made by SCM and social role theory, indicating that relationship building positively relates to coworker support and subsequent newcomer adjustment for men but not for women. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

Understanding the role of emotion and expertise in psychotherapy: An application of dynamical systems mathematical modeling to an entire course of therapy.

The therapeutic relationship continues to be one of the most important factors in therapeutic outcomes. Given the place of emotion in the definition of the therapeutic relationship, as well as the demonstrated positive impact that emotional expression has on therapeutic process and outcome, it stands to reason that studying the emotional exchange between the therapist and client further would be warranted. This study used a validated observational coding system--the Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF) and a theoretical mathematical model to analyze behaviors which make up the therapeutic relationship. Specifically, the researchers used to codify relationship-building behaviors between an expert therapist and his client over the course of six sessions. Dynamical systems mathematical modeling was also employed to create "phase space portraits" depicting the relational dynamics between the master therapist and his client over six sessions. Statistical analysis was used to compare SPAFF codes and model parameters between the expert therapist and his client. The expert therapist showed stability in affect codes over six sessions while the client's affect codes appeared to be more flexible over time, though model parameters remained stable across the six sessions. Finally, phase space portraits depicted the evolution of the affective dynamics between the master therapist and his client as the relationship matured. The clinician's ability to stay emotionally positive and relatively stable across the six sessions (relative to the client) was noteworthy. It formed the basis for a stable base from which she could explore alternative methods to relate to others that she had allowed to dictate her actions, which is in keeping with previous research on the role of therapist facilitation of the therapeutic relationship, emotional expression within the therapeutic relationship, and influence of these on client outcomes. These results provide a valuable foundation for future research on emotional expression as a key component of the therapeutic relationship in psychotherapy.

페이스북 이용동기가 실제 대인관계에 미치는 영향

In order to find out the effect of using social media or social network services on actual interpersonal relationships, research is required considering the characteristics of each social media service and social network service. Therefore, this study studied the effect of Facebook's motivation to use and relationship-building behavior on actual interpersonal relationships. As a result of verifying the influence with the structural equation model, it was found that only the personal connection management part of Facebook's motivation to use has a direct influence on actual interpersonal changes. In the section of relationship formation behavior using Facebook, it was found that relationship-building and sharing activities had a significant influence on actual interpersonal changes. In addition, among Facebook's motives for use, usefulness motivation was found to have a significant influence on actual interpersonal changes only through relationship-building activities, and loneliness escape motivation was found to have a significant influence on actual interpersonal changes only through relationship-building and sharing activities. In addition, among the actual changes in interpersonal relationships and motivation factors for using personal connections, it was found that relationship-building and sharing had a partial mediating effect.

How New Employees’ Supervisor Relationship-Building Behavior Affect Coworker Helping Willingness?

Drawing from attribution theory, this study explores the mechanism of new employees’ supervisor relationship-building behavior on their coworkers’ willingness to help. Adopting a situational simulation experiment involving 233 in-service workers, we found that coworkers attribute the supervisor relationship-building behavior of new employees to two distinct motives: organizational concern motives and impression management motives. Coworkers’ attribution of new employees’ organizational concern motives positively affects their willingness to help new employees, whereas coworkers’ attribution of new employees’ impression management motives has a negative effect. Under the condition of high cooperative goal interdependence, people are more likely to attribute the motives of new employees’ supervisor relationship-building behavior to organizational concern motives. Furthermore, the indirect effect of new employees’ relationship-building behavior on the coworkers’ willingness to help through coworker-attributed organizational concern motives is stronger.

How relationship-building behavior induces new employees' career success: Effects of mentor tie strength and network density

This longitudinal study explored how the relationship-building behavior of new employees induces career success. First, we proposed and tested a model based on mentoring and social capital theories, using mentor tie strength as a mediator to explain the association between relationship-building behavior and career success (career satisfaction and promotion). Next, we examined the moderating role of social network density and the moderated mediation effect. Survey data were collected at two time points from 252 new employees of a Chinese company. The results indicate that mentor tie strength mediated the association between relationship-building behavior and subjective career success (career satisfaction), and that social network density moderated the relationship between mentor tie strength and career satisfaction. Further, mentor tie strength mediated the association between relationship-building behavior and subjective career success (career satisfaction) when social network density was low; however, the mediation effect was nonsignificant when social network density was high. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications.

How to Expand and Fill the Self in Organizations: The Role of Interpersonal Processes in the Employee Organizational Identity Construction.

In the era of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA), the fluidity of organizations and the variability of individual work gradually replace the traditional stability and continuity. The question of how to connect employees and organizations has long intrigued researchers and practitioners. Employee organizational identity is the stable force that binds employees to organizations. Drawing on social identity theory, we argue the role of interpersonal processes in the employee organizational identity construction. We suggest that an employee’s relationship-building behaviors can promote employee organizational identity through the connected self. The indirect effect is stronger for employees who make more social comparisons because they are more sensitive to social influence. We collected data through questionnaires of 333 employees using a two-wave research design in China. The results indicate that an employee’s relationship-building behaviors enhance employee organizational identity. The connected self fully mediates the positive relationship between relationship-building and employee organizational identity. The outcomes also show that the positive effect of relationship-building toward connected self is intensified, when an employee engages in more social comparisons. The findings imply that interpersonal processes play an important role in the employee organizational identity construction. Then, the theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Long-Term Relationship Building and Customer Switching Behaviour in the Mobile Telecommunication Industry in Nigeria

This paper examined long-term relationship building and customer switching behavior among mobile telecommunication operators in Nigeria. The population of this study includes all mobile telecommunication company and their subscribers in Edo State, Nigeria. The samples for this study were drawn from Mobile Network Service Providers and their subscribers. For service providers, three (3) out of the nine (9) mobile network operators were selected (Nigeria Communication Commission NCC, 2020). Morgan and Krejcie's (1970) sampling methods were implemented to choose a sample of 322 mobile telecom subscribers Godden (2004). The paper employed regression analysis to analyze and test the hypothesis formulated. The result showed that long-term relationship building (Two-way Communication, Customer retention Strategy, Customer Loyalty, and Relational Bond) had a positive statistically significant relationship with customer switching behavior among mobile telecommunication operators (Network service providers) at p>0.05. The research recommends among others that players of the mobile telecommunication Industry (mobile network service providers) should embrace the application of long-term relationship-building to achieve, sustain and retain customers' usage of their products, this will enable them to compete better with other players in the industry. Also, they should engage in relational bonding aimed at creating attachment with the customer leading to customer retention and subsequently profitability.

A Study on Community Formation Patterns Based on the Usage of Benches by Seniors

In Japan, the rate of aging exceeds 27%, and the decline of communities has been an issue. Therefore, in this study we take the T housing complex as an example where the rate of aging is more than 40% and aim to understand the usage pattern of benches. An observational research was conducted for 19 days to examine the usage of a total of 23 benches, 17 existing ones and 6 newly installed ones, in the T housing complex. This investigation led to the findings. An average of 417 people used the benches in a day. Research determined that there are four different types of bench utilization, and they each present different ways of building relationships with other people. Bench use behavior was broken into four different categories. Sitting on a bench alone (without building relationships with others) was classified as “single use”. Sitting on a bench with another person but not engaging in any relationship-building behavior was classified as “sharing”. Sitting on a bench and exhibiting relationship-building behavior with others (such as through talking) was classified as “chatting”. Sitting with companions in groups of 3 or more people and exhibiting relationship-building behavior was classified as “group use”. Our findings provide evidence that a bench can be a device to foster the formation of diverse communities.

Newcomers' relationship-building behavior, mentor information sharing and newcomer adjustment: The moderating effects of perceived mentor and newcomer deep similarity

Drawing on similarity-attraction theory, we propose that relationship-building behaviors from newcomers are more positively related to information-sharing behaviors from mentors when they perceive a deep similarity with the newcomers, and that mentors' information sharing is likely to be well received by newcomers when they perceive a deep similarity with their mentors. We also hypothesize that newcomers' perceived mentor information sharing is positively associated with newcomer adjustment (i.e., role clarity and job performance). A time-lagged study with a total of 99 newcomers and their mentors was conducted within three months of newcomers entering the company. The results support our hypotheses, suggesting that perceived deep similarity is a key factor that associates with the effectiveness of newcomers' proactivity and mentors' information sharing behavior in newcomer adjustment.

Exploring the Effects of a Social Robot's Speech Entrainment and Backstory on Young Children's Emotion, Rapport, Relationship, and Learning

In positive human-human relationships, people frequently mirror or mimic each other's behavior. This mimicry, also called entrainment, is associated with rapport and smoother social interaction. Because rapport in learning scenarios has been shown to lead to improved learning outcomes, we examined whether enabling a social robotic learning companion to perform rapport-building behaviors could improve children's learning and engagement during a storytelling activity. We enabled the social robot to perform two specific rapport and relationship-building behaviors: speech entrainment and self-disclosure (shared personal information in the form of a backstory about the robot's poor speech and hearing abilities). We recruited 86 children aged 3–8 years to interact with the robot in a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental study testing the effects of robot entrainment Entrainment vs. No entrainment and backstory about abilities Backstory vs. No Backstory. The robot engaged the children one-on-one in conversation, told a story embedded with key vocabulary words, and asked children to retell the story. We measured children's recall of the key words and their emotions during the interaction, examined their story retellings, and asked children questions about their relationship with the robot. We found that the robot's entrainment led children to show more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions. Children who heard the robot's backstory were more likely to accept the robot's poor hearing abilities. Entrainment paired with backstory led children to use more of the key words and match more of the robot's phrases in their story retells. Furthermore, these children were more likely to consider the robot more human-like and were more likely to comply with one of the robot's requests. These results suggest that the robot's speech entrainment and backstory increased children's engagement and enjoyment in the interaction, improved their perception of the relationship, and contributed to children's success at retelling the story.

Perspectives of Patients With Mental Illness on How to Better Teach and Evaluate Diversity Education in the National Health Service.

Diversity education is a mandatory requirement for all mental-health practitioners and health care professionals in the UK National Health Service. Wide variability exists in the development, delivery, and evaluation of diversity education across health care settings, with limited evidence to suggest the optimal approach for teaching this subject. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of patients with mental illness on how to better teach and evaluate diversity education in the National Health Service. A participatory research approach was used with five mental-health patient organizations. Forty-two patients with mental illness took part in three participatory workshops. Data were analyzed through template analysis. The findings indicated that a focus on the nuances and dynamics of clinical relationships would be beneficial. Specifically, the relationship considered most important to examine with respect to diversity education was the "practitioner-self" relationship. Reconstructing the relationship-centered care model with the addition of the practitioner-self relationship may be better suited to theoretically informing future developments in diversity education. Further research is needed to understand what educational approaches contribute toward a relationship-centered care outlook and how relationship building behaviors, particularly those relevant to the practitioner-self relationship are best developed in diverse settings.

Home away from home: community embeddedness and expatriate retention cognitions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a model that examines the influences of expatriate community relationship building behaviors on community embeddedness and community embeddedness on expatriate retention cognitions. The authors further investigate the moderating role of organizational identification.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from 127 expatriates in the USA were collected and analyzed. The authors used multiple (moderator) hierarchical regression analyses to test the hypotheses. In addition, simple slopes analyses were conducted to further understand the interaction effects.FindingsThe results demonstrate that community relationship building behaviors positively influence expatriate community embeddedness, and the latter is associated with stronger retention cognitions. In addition, the paper finds that, for individuals who have lower levels of organizational identification, community embeddedness is particularly important.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is based on cross-sectional and self-report data, which limits the ability to draw definitive conclusions about causality. Thus, more multi-source and longitudinal data from different expatriate populations would increase the validity and the generalizability of findings. The theory and empirical evidence indicate the importance of community embeddedness, particularly when organizational identification is low, for expatriates’ retention cognitions.Practical implicationsThis study examines the important role of community relationship building behaviors on community embeddedness, and the role of community embeddedness in expatriates’ intention to stay.Originality/valueThis paper integrates the unique view of personal resources associated with different social contexts (i.e. community and organizational contexts) in expatriate studies.

Newcomers’ Trait Positive Affectivity and Social Assimilation in Organizations: Testing the Mediating Role of Proactive Relationship Building Behaviors

Becoming assimilated into the social environment at an organization is critical and challenging to newcomers. The present study examined whether newcomers’ trait positive affectivity (PA) could predict social assimilation through proactive relationship building behaviors including general socializing, relationship building with boss, and networking. Participants in this three-wave survey study were 323 new employees in three organizations in China. Results based on structural equation modeling showed that newcomers’ trait PA at T1 (within 2 weeks postentry) was positively related to all three dimensions of relationship building behaviors at T2 (8 weeks postentry); however, only general socialization was found to mediate the relationships between PA and two social assimilation outcomes at T3 (14 weeks postentry), that is, social integration and affective organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Understanding the long-term implications of retailer returns in business-to-business relationships

Providing end consumers with the ability to return products is an important part of a retailer’s service offering. While research in reverse logistics has explored the movement of returned merchandise upstream, little research examines the relational implications of returned merchandise in the business-to-business (B2B) context. This research explores the relational implications, as well as the impact on the supplier salesperson’s behaviors, of retailer returns. Using a comprehensive dataset which includes longitudinal archival returns data, as well as two waves of retailer surveys reporting on salesperson behaviors, our research investigates how retail returns impact salesperson responses in the following time period, retailer perceptions of the relationship in the following time period, and returns in the following time period. Consistent with a reciprocal exchange perspective, results suggest that when salespeople respond to returns by engaging in relationship building behaviors, these behaviors are noted by the retailer, which in turn results in fewer returns in a future time period.

Interpersonal Dynamics in Assessment Center Exercises

Although interpersonal interactions are the mainstay of many assessment center exercises, little is known about how these interactions unfold and affect participant behavior and performance. More specifically, participants interact with role players who have been instructed to demonstrate behavior reflecting specific dispositions as part of the exercise. This study focuses on role player portrayed disposition as a potentially important social demand relevant to participant behavior and performance in interpersonal simulations. We integrate interpersonal theory and trait activation theory to formulate hypotheses about the effects of role player portrayed disposition on participant behavior and performance in 184 interpersonal simulations. A significant effect of portrayed disposition was found for participant relationship building and directive communication behavior. Furthermore, portrayed disposition moderated the relationship between participant use of these behaviors and performance ratings. Conceptually, this study sheds light on the complementary mechanisms and social demands that produce participant performance differences across exercises. At a practical level, this study provides valuable evidence-based guidance for developing interpersonal simulations.

The Impact Of Relationship Satisfaction On Attributions, Emotions, And Behaviors Following Service Failure

This article investigates the processes through which relationship quality influences attributional, emotional, and behavioral responses to service failures. Results indicate that relationship quality reduces the likelihood of adverse behaviors by making blame and anger less intense. Results confirm the importance of relationship building behaviors and suggest strategies for reducing vulnerability to customer defection and adverse communications. To reduce negative word-of-mouth, managers should use relationship-building efforts to augment service recovery programs. To make customer exit less likely, service managers should invest in relationship building efforts that help to differentiate their service offers and increase barriers to exit.

Informal Accountability in Multisector Service Delivery Collaborations

Multiagency collaboration is widely used in contemporary service delivery systems. This article explores the interpersonal interactions within collaborative systems, among subsystems, and among organizations. Our focus is on illuminating the informal mechanisms that facilitate collaboration, joint production, coordination and integration of service delivery, and sustained effort. Such interactions generate unofficial expectations, discretionary behaviors, and provider “communities” that can ameliorate or exacerbate problems of interorganizational networks where collaboration is appropriate or desirable. We use a multiple case–study approach to explore the dynamics of informal accountability among individuals working within county-based children’s service systems in three states. We find informal interpersonal dynamics nested in combinations of vertical and horizontal ties with mixed administrative authority arrangements derived from both formal and informal accountability relationships. These data reveal shared norms, facilitative behaviors, informal rewards and sanctions, and challenges that create the dynamics of informal accountability. Informal accountability is shaped by the prevalence of relationship building and champion behavior as facilitative behaviors, discernible tension between the operation of formal and informal accountability systems, a gap between the rhetoric of collaboration and the reality of collaborative service provision, differences in informal accountability dynamics across hierarchical levels within service delivery systems, and the critical roles of street-level caseworkers in informal accountability.