The mediating effect of trust in supervisor and loyalty to supervisor between superior-subordinate Guanxi and OCB in the People's Rebublic of China
In the People’s Republic of China, I investigated the relationships among supervisor-subordinate guanxi, trust in supervisor, loyalty to supervisor and subordinates’ organisational citizenship behaviour. This study applied a questionnaire survey as a data collection method based on a convenience sampling technique involving 303 employees and their immediate supervisors from six companies with different types of ownership (state-owned firms, private-owned firms and joint ventures) and representing different industrial sectors (finance, media, manufacturing, service, construction and high-tech). The findings of this study showed there was direct relationship of superior-subordinate guanxi on trust in supervisor, loyalty to supervisor and subordinates’ organisational citizenship behaviour; it also demonstrated the mediating effect of trust in supervisor and loyalty to supervisor between superior-subordinate guanxi and subordinates’ organisational citizenship behaviour. The findings were discussed in the theoretical context of - the norm of reciprocity, social identity theory and social cognitive theory and their effect on the relationship between superior-subordinate guanxi and subordinates’ organisational citizenship behaviour. Social exchange theory, social identity theory and the theory of reasoned action as the theoretical foundations on the relationship between superior-subordinate guanxi and trust in supervisor and loyalty to supervisor were also examined. In addition, semiotic cluster analysis illustrated that the pattern of superior-subordinate guanxi was composed of positive aspects including perceived supervisor support, perceived supervisor care, perceived supervisor protection, outside work relationship, supervisor or subordinate positive attributes and negative aspects, including impression management and organisational injustice.
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