Supervisor-subordinate Guanxi Research Articles

From employee creativity to leader empowering behaviors: the roles of supervisor–subordinate guanxi and supervisor–subordinate similarity

AbstractAlthough employee creativity has been identified to promote organizational competitiveness, its effect on leader empowering behaviors remains underexplored. This study investigated the underlying mechanism and boundary condition under which employee creativity influences leader empowering behaviors. Drawn on social exchange theory and similarity-attraction theory, this study developed a moderated-mediation model in which supervisor–subordinate guanxi serves as the intervening mechanism and supervisor–subordinate similarity serves as a boundary condition influencing this relationship. Using three-wave, time-lagged survey data collected from 309 supervisor–subordinate dyads, this study found that supervisor–subordinate guanxi mediates the relationship between employee creativity and leader empowering behaviors, and that this relationship is stronger when supervisor–subordinate similarity is high rather than low. Finally, theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

The Impact of Narcissistic Leader on Subordinates and Team Followership: Based on "Guanxi" Perspective.

Studies have shown that narcissistic individuals are more likely to become leaders in uncertain situations, while few studies paid attention to the relational mechanism, linking a narcissistic leader with subordinates and team attitudes and behaviors. Based on the “guanxi” and dominance complementarity theory, we examined the influencing mechanism of narcissistic leaders on subordinates and team followership (TF). Two-wave data collected from 326 employees in the manufacturing and technology industry in China supported our hypothesized model. We have found that narcissistic leaders have a negative impact on followership (F) and TF of subordinates; Supervisor–subordinate guanxi (SSG) and team leadership relationship identity play a partial mediating role between narcissistic leadership and subordinates and team followership. Furthermore, individual and team values play a moderating role in the process of influencing a mechanism. In other words, the higher the individual tradition and team power distance (PD), the less negative impact of leader narcissism on SSG and team leadership relationship identity. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. We also offer several promising directions for future research.

Supervisor-subordinate guanxi and emotional exhaustion: The moderating effect of supervisor job autonomy and workload levels in organizations

This research utilizes the conservation of resources (COR) theory to examine the effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on the emotional exhaustion of the Thai subordinates working under Chinese supervisors at Chinese subsidiaries in Thailand. Specifically, this study examines the role of supervisor job autonomy and workload as moderators of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on subordinates' emotional exhaustion. Survey data were obtained from 201 dyads comprised of Chinese supervisors and their Thai subordinates at the subsidiaries of a Chinese multinational enterprise in Rayong, Thailand. A partial least squares structural equation model was used for data analysis. The analysis significantly supports the negative association between supervisor-subordinate guanxi effects on the emotional exhaustion of Thai subordinates. The effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi is positively moderated by the Chinese supervisors' level of job autonomy. However, it is negatively moderated by the level of workload generally experienced by Thai subordinates at this organization. Findings support and advance previous research, illustrating that not every group of employees will benefit from guanxi equally; whether an employee benefits from guanxi depends on the supervisor's authority and the levels of workload.

Leader-member exchange, turnover intention and presenteeism– the moderated mediating effect of perceived organizational support

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationships between leader–member exchange (LMX), perceived organizational support (POS), presenteeism, and turnover intention as well as to test the mediating effect of presenteeism and the moderated mediating effect of POS. A total of 566 questionnaires were returned in technology industry to examine the quality of the dyadic relationships between the workers perceived LMX, supervisor-subordinate guanxi and presenteeism in the first questionnaire survey. And we examined second questionnaire survey that their turnover intentions by self-assessed after a month in the first time retuned. After excluding matching and invalid questionnaires, 365 valid questionnaires were collected. In this study, LMX indirectly affected turnover intention through presenteeism. Studies have asserted that high-quality LMX and strong POS effectively reduced workers’ turnover intentions. In addition, when POS increased, the negative relationship between LMX and turnover intention and the positive relationship between presenteeism and turnover intention increased and decreased, respectively. However, POS failed to moderate the positive relationship between LMX and presenteeism. Further, presenteeism was determined to mediate the relationship between LMX and turnover intentions. Notably, LMX only indirectly affected turnover intention through presenteeism in workers with low POS. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for formulating human resource management policies. In summary, this study provides evidence of the important role played by turnover intentions in determining an LMX, supervisor-subordinate guanxi and presenteeism. High-quality exchange relationships entail leader–member relationships and organization proxy (e.g., supervisor)–worker relationships. When workers’ perceptions of organizational support are weak, and the organization lacks a robust support policy, workers’ presenteeism to reciprocate to their supervisors or organization cannot be regulated, increasing presenteeism behavior in the organization and workers’ turnover intentions.

How does Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi Influence Unethical Pro-supervisor Behavior? A Study Based on the Chinese Cultural Context

Unethical pro-supervisor behavior （UPSB）, a topic which has drawn increasing attention from the organizational behavior field in recent years, refers to unethical acts conducted by subordinates to benefit supervisors. UPSB is prevalent in organizations, especially the Chinese organization which is characterized as guanxi-oriented and authority-oriented. UPSB serves supervisors’ interests, sometimes at the expense of the organization. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the antecedents of UPSB and their influencing mechanisms, so as to provide the organization with suggestions of how to control such behavior. Regrettably, studies on UPSB are rather limited, let alone the ones based on the Chinese context. Given this, the present study is to take root in the Chinese cultural context and explore the influencing mechanism of supervisor-subordinate guanxi （SSG）, subordinate traditionality, and enterprise property on UPSB.Data were collected from 14 indigenous enterprises in Yangtze River Delta, China, including 8 state-owned enterprises and 6 private enterprises. To reduce the interference of common method bias, we carried out a two-phase questionnaire survey with one month interval. At the first phase, participants reported their SSG, traditionality, and related control variables. At the second phase, participants reported their UPSB. The final valid sample consisted of 327 employees from 49 teams. Using SPSS 26.0 and Mplus 8.3, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and hierarchical linear modeling analysis to generate results.The empirical results show that SSG has a U-shaped relationship with UPSB, that is, as the levels of SSG increase from moderate to high, employees’ UPSB increases; as the levels of SSG decrease from moderate to low, employees’ UPSB also increases. Moreover, we find that this U-shaped relationship is more pronounced among subordinates higher in traditionality, and SSG has a stronger U-shaped impact on UPSB in state-owned enterprises. These two findings provide evidence that traditionality and enterprise property are important boundary conditions of the curvilinear relationship between SSG and UPSB.This study has two theoretical contributions: First, based on the Chinese cultural context, it proposes and examines the U-shaped impact of SSG on UPSB, thereby not only deepening the current understanding of how UPSB occurs through the lens of social exchange theory, but also enriching the research on the outcomes of SSG. Second, based on the contingent view of social exchange and person-situation interactionist view of ethical decision-making, we demonstrate the moderating roles of subordinate traditionality and enterprise property on the impact of SSG on UPSB, thus not only revealing the boundary conditions of the relationship between SSG and UPSB, but also responding to the call for conducting highly-indigenous research.

How Chinese expatriates’ cultural intelligence promotes supervisor-subordinate Guanxi with Thai Employees: The mediating effect of expatriates’ benevolence

This research examines the role of the cultural intelligence (CQ) of Chinese expatriates in supervisory positions at subsidiaries in Thailand, concerning the quality of the supervisor-subordinate guanxi they establish with their Thai employees. Based on the framework of supervisor trust-building, this research tests whether the effect of Chinese expatriates’ CQ on the guanxi established with Thai employees can be mediated by the Chinese expatriates’ benevolence characteristic. This study also examines whether supervisor-subordinate guanxi predicts the Chinese expatriates’ leadership effectiveness. Survey data were collected from 201 dyads of Chinese expatriates and Thai employees at the subsidiaries of Chinese multinational enterprises in Thailand and were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The subsequent results do not significantly support a direct link between the Chinese expatriates’ CQ and supervisor-subordinate guanxi with their Thai employees. However, the effect of Chinese expatriates’ CQ on supervisor-subordinate guanxi is shown to be fully mediated by supervisor benevolence. The analysis also indicates that supervisor-subordinate guanxi significantly explains the leadership effectiveness of Chinese expatriates.

Transformational Leadership and Perceived Overqualification: A Career Development Perspective.

Drawing on social information processing theory and a career development perspective, we examined the effect of transformational leadership on the perceived overqualification via career growth opportunities, and how the supervisor–subordinate guanxi moderates the relationship between transformational leadership and perceived overqualification. We tested this proposal using three waves of lagged data collected from 351 company employees in the Yangtze River Delta region in China. The results revealed that transformational leadership had an indirect effect on perceived overqualification through career growth opportunities, and supervisor–subordinate guanxi moderated the positive association between transformational leadership and career growth opportunities. In addition, the mediating effect of transformational leadership on perceived overqualification through career growth opportunities was stronger when the level of supervisor–subordinate guanxi was high and weaker when it was low. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for reducing employees’ perceptions of overqualification in the organizational context.

Does participation generate creativity? A dual-mechanism of creative self-efficacy and supervisor-subordinate guanxi

ABSTRACT Although past research has acknowledged that participative leadership enhances creativity, how and when this link develops remain an underexplored topic. Based on social cognitive theory and social exchange theory, our study explores two mechanisms, i.e., creative self-efficacy as a motivational mechanism and supervisor-subordinate guanxi as an exchange-based mechanism, which simultaneously mediates the relationship between participative leadership and employee creativity. Using multisource and time-lagged data from 409 employees and 97 supervisors in China, we find that participative leadership affects creativity by simultaneously influencing creative self-efficacy and supervisor-subordinate guanxi. We also propose a moderated mediation model of employee identification with leader on both mechanisms; however, the moderation effect is found only for the exchange-based mechanism (i.e., supervisor-subordinate guanxi as the mediator). Our study sheds light on how (through both motivational and exchange-based mechanisms) and when (conditioned on employee identification with leader) participative leadership is positively related to creativity.

Leader Humor and Employee Upward Voice: The Role of Employee Relationship Quality and Traditionality

Despite the continuous increase in empirical research on leader humor, the important issue of how and when leader humor affects employees’ interpersonal, proactive behaviors in the form of upward voice has largely been overlooked. Drawing on relational process model of humor and data from one multiwave, multisource field study and one experimental field study, we find that the positive effects of leader humor on upward voice behavior can be accounted for by both supervisor–subordinate nonwork ties (i.e., supervisor–subordinate guanxi) and supervisor–subordinate work ties (i.e., leader–member exchange). The indirect effects of both supervisor–subordinate guanxi and leader–member exchange on the relationship between leader humor and upward voice behavior are stronger when employees score low on traditionality. These results shed light on the role of leader humor in promoting the bottom–up flow of potentially critical information in organizations through high-quality relationships with followers and provide insights into who will benefit more from humor in leadership.

Linking work-related and non-work-related supervisor–subordinate relationships to knowledge hiding: a psychological safety lens

Recent research on knowledge hiding has focused on its interpersonal antecedents, such as co-worker relationships. However, few research has investigated the role of vertical relationships on reducing knowledge hiding behaviors. Extending this line of research, we examined the impacts of work-related (i.e., leader–member exchange, LMX) and non-work-related (i.e., supervisor–subordinate guanxi, SSG) supervisor–subordinate relationships on knowledge hiding. Drawing from social exchange and social cognitive theories, we proposed that both LMX and SSG negatively influence subordinates’ knowledge hiding through psychological safety. With a three-wave time-lagged design and data collected from 223 employees in China, our results show that (a) both LMX and SSG are negatively related to knowledge hiding; (b) psychological safety fully mediates the impact of LMX on knowledge hiding, whereas it partially mediates the impact of SSG on knowledge hiding. Theoretical and practical implications, research limitations, and promising avenues for future research are discussed.

Subordinate-oriented strengths-based leadership and subordinate job performance: the mediating effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi

PurposeThe aim of the present study was to examine the association of subordinate-oriented strengths-based leadership (SSBL) with subordinates’ job performance (task performance and innovative behavior) as well as the meditating role of supervisor–subordinate guanxi (SSG) in these relationships.Design/methodology/approachSelf-report data on SSBL, SSG, task performance and innovative behavior were gathered from 642 Chinese employees working in various Chinese enterprises. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.FindingsThe results indicated that SSBL is positively related to subordinates’ job performance (task performance and innovative behavior). Furthermore, SSG partially mediated the relationship of SSBL with task performance and with innovative behavior.Originality/valueThis study is the first to empirically examine the relationship of SSBL with job performance. In addition, this study adds to the knowledge on the SSBL–job performance linkage by investigating the mediational effect of SSG on the relationship.

Mixed Blessing of Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi: Double-Sword Mechanism from an Inequity Perspective

Using an inequity perspective of over-reward under social exchange theory, the current research (1) develops a new construct, i.e., guanxi practice on punishment avoidance (GP-PA); (2) focuses on the double-sword mechanism (i.e. guanxi practice on reward acquisition, GP-RA, and GP-PA) through which subordinates with supervisor-subordinate guanxi (SSG) could perform both positive and negative behaviors simultaneously; and therefore (3) distinguish supervisor-subordinate guanxi from leader-member exchange (LMX) according to the exclusive mechanism the former depends on to benefit the preferred subordinates. The results from the 363 Chinese supervisor-subordinate dyadic data collected in three waves indicated that (1) subordinates with better SSG could obtain the privilege allowing them either achieve valuable resources or seek immunity from the punishment, the former encourages the beneficiaries to display more citizenship behaviors toward both the organization and other colleagues, while the latter entices the preferred subordinates to engage in more deviant behaviors toward organization rather than interpersonal deviance; (2) unlike SSG, LMX could only benefit the preferred subordinates by rewarding extra resources, which prompting more citizenship behaviors, but not protect them from punishment, therefore suppressing undesirable behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Examining How Ambidextrous Leadership Relates to Affective Commitment and Workplace Deviance Behavior of Employees: The Moderating Role of Supervisor-Subordinate Exchange Guanxi.

How to regulate employee conduct and engage them in high performance works actively and continuously has always been the important topic for organizations. Based on affective events theory and social exchange theory, a moderated mediating model was constructed with the affective commitment as mediator and the supervisor–subordinate exchange guanxi as moderator. Regression analyses and conditional indirect effects were tested by SPSS and PROCESS with 374 matched supervisor–subordinate pairs. The paper explores the moderated mechanism of supervisor-subordinate guanxi to the chain of “ambidextrous leadership–employee’s affective commitment–workplace deviance behavior.” The results showed that the affective commitment mediated the effect between ambidextrous leadership and employees’ workplace deviance behavior, and supervisor–subordinate exchange guanxi moderated the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and employees’ workplace deviance behavior but also moderated the mediating effect of affective commitment. The results have significances to improve human resource management practices and reduce the workplace deviance behavior of employees.

Employee Political Skill, Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi, and Work-Family Conflict: The Cross-Level Moderating Role of Family-Friendly Practices.

Many studies have examined the negative effects of work-family conflict on society, organizations, and individuals. Nonetheless, alleviating employee work-family conflict is a topic worthy of further investigation. Few studies examine the antecedent variables of work-family conflict from personal skill and Guanxi perspectives. Studies that test the moderating role of family-friendly practices at the organization level are also rare. Accordingly, we collected data from 404 employees of 51 organizations. The research data are time-lagged and multileveled. The results of hierarchical linear model (HLM) show: (1) Employee political skill negatively affects employee perceived work-family conflict; (2) Employee political skill positively affects supervisor-subordinate Guanxi; (3) Supervisor-subordinate Guanxi partially mediates the relationship between employee political skill and employee work-family conflict (that is, employees can use their political skill to build high-quality supervisor-subordinate Guanxi, further reducing their perceived work-family conflict); (4) Organization family-friendly practices negatively moderate the relationship between supervisor-subordinate Guanxi and work-family conflict (that is, in organizations with high level family-friendly practices, the negative relationship between supervisor-subordinate Guanxi and work-family conflict becomes weak); Furthermore, by coding with Mplus software (Muthen & Muthen, Los Angeles, CA, USA), we also find: (5) Organization family-friendly practices moderate the indirect effect of employee political skill on employee work-family conflict. The results have both theoretical and empirical implications. Further research directions are addressed at the end.

Motivating information security policy compliance: The critical role of supervisor-subordinate guanxi and organizational commitment

Employees’ non-compliance with organizational information security policy (ISP) when using informational resources has become the main reason for continuous security incidents. Drawing upon technology threat avoidance theory (TTAT) and social exchange theory (SET), our study investigates the influence of supervisor-subordinate guanxi (SSG) and organizational commitment in the information security management. Our hypotheses were tested using survey data from 235 Chinese government employees. Results not only confirm the direct effect of SSG on government employees’ ISP compliance but also suggest that SSG indirectly influences compliance behavior via the mediation of organizational commitment. Organizational commitment weakens the negative influence of perceived costs on compliance behavior and also weakens the positive effect of self-efficacy on employees’ ISP compliance. For low-commitment employees, the negative influence of perceived costs on compliance behavior is more significant than that of those with strong organizational commitment, and self-efficacy exerts a stronger effect on ISP compliance for low-commitment employees than it does for high-commitment employees. This study contributes to current literature on information systems (IS) by confirming the critical roles of SSG and organizational commitment in motivating employees’ compliance behavior.

A Study on the Relations between Abusive Supervision, Work Effort, and Supervisor-Directed Deviant Behavior: Moderating Effect of Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi

A Study on the Relations between Abusive Supervision, Work Effort, and Supervisor-Directed Deviant Behavior: Moderating Effect of Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi

Transformational leadership and core self-evaluation: The roles of psychological well-being and supervisor-subordinate guanxi

Core self-evaluation (CSE) is malleable. However, little is known about leadership qualities for facilitating CSE. This study investigated the mediating role of psychological well-being (PWB) on the relationship between transformational leadership and CSE with supervisor-subordinate guanxi (SSG) or non-work social relationship qualities. A convenience sample of 406 employees (54.2% = female; mean age = 34.81 years, SD = 7.6 years) responded to questionnaires on demographic variables, transformational leadership, SSG, PWB, and CSE. Multiple regression and bootstrapping analyses showed transformational leadership to enhance both CSE and PWB. Further, PWB mediated the effect of transformational leadership on CSE. In addition, SSG positively moderated the direct effect of transformational leadership on PWB. SSG also positively moderated the indirect effect of transformational leadership on CSE via PWB. Our findings suggest transformational leadership and SSG are resources for employee well-being.

Information Systems Workforce and Innovative Work Behavior

This research examined the mediating role of affective trust along with the moderating role of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on the relationship between innovative work behavior and participatory management. Utilizing data gathered from information workforce consisting of 333 employees in addition to 38 leaders of six firms operating in China, the research affirms that trust mediated the relationship between innovative work behavior and participatory management. This study concludes that a strong relation between participatory management and innovative work behavior exists provided high-quality supervisor–subordinate guanxi is present among employees. The findings and implications for this research are discussed at the end.

Why Employees Contribute to Pro-Environmental Behaviour: The Role of Pluralistic Ignorance in Chinese Society

In light of the importance of sustainable development, this study aims to deepen and extend our understanding of employees’ pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace in a Chinese context. Drawing on the complex phenomenon of social norms theory concerning misperceptions (i.e., pluralistic ignorance) and supervisor–subordinate guanxi (which is a Chinese term signifying human connection), we present a novel model in which employees’ pro-environmental behaviour is the result of multiple social and individual psychological factors. Through the integration of previous literature from the fields of the psychology of individuals, social psychology, and environmental psychology, the major assumption is that the pro-environmental behaviour of employees is affected by their level of pluralistic ignorance, environmental concern, and subjective norms; these, in turn, are influenced by supervisor–subordinate guanxi and social identity in the collective spirit of Chinese society. Data, which were analysed empirically, were gathered from 548 Chinese employees from the Jiangsu province of China. This study consequently reveals the subtle interplay among employees’ pluralistic ignorance, supervisor–subordinate guanxi, social identity, subjective norms, environmental concern, and their pro-environmental behaviour, while the deeper analysis offers considerable support for environmental management research and practice.

The moderating effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational effectiveness

This study explores the association between transformational leadership and organizational effectiveness, measured in terms of organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. The study also explores the moderating role of supervisor–subordinate guanxi (s-s guanxi) on the association between transformational leadership and organizational effectiveness. The proposed hypotheses were tested using PLS path modeling and PROCESS macros in SPSS 22.0. Data were collected at two different times from a sample of 222 industrial firms in China. The findings reveal that transformational leadership has a direct, positive, and significant relationship with organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, s-s guanxi has a positive moderating effect on the association between transformational leadership and organizational commitment and between transformational leadership and job satisfaction. However, the moderating effect of s-s guanxi on the association between transformational leadership and turnover intentions is not significant. These findings unearth several theoretical, empirical, and managerial implications and provide the basis for future research.