Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T18:05:00.214Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Leader Integrity and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2015

Gang Zhang ,
Yuntao Bai ,
Arran Caza ,
Lu Wang ,
张刚 ,
白云涛  and
王璐
Gang Zhang
Affiliation:
London Business School, UK
Yuntao Bai
Affiliation:
Xiamen University, China
Arran Caza
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Australia
Lu Wang
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Australia
张刚
Affiliation:
London Business School, UK
白云涛
Affiliation:
Xiamen University, China
王璐
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this study, we use implicit leadership theory to investigate how leader integrity, one of the most important traditional Chinese virtues, influences subordinates’ organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in the Chinese context. The results of our survey reveal that leader integrity is associated with subordinates’ OCB, and that this relationship is fully mediated by leader effectiveness. In addition, traditionality moderated the relationship between leader integrity and leader effectiveness; the relationship was significant among less traditional subordinates, but insignificant among more traditional subordinates. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications for leaders in China.

摘要

摘要

本文采用内隐领导理论，研究在中国情境下，领导者的正直品格这一中华传统美德对属下组织公民行为的影响。我们的调研结果显示领导者的正直品格与其下属的组织公民行为正相关，而且领导者有效性在这个关系中起着完全中介作用。此外，下属是否传统调节领导者的正直品格与领导者有效性之间的关系：对于传统性低的下属来说，领导者的正直品格与领导者有效性有显著正相关的关系；对于传统性高的下属来说，这个关系不显著。我们最后讨论了上述研究发现对中国领导者在学术上与实践上的指导意义。

Keywords

Chinese leadershipimplicit leadership theoryleader effectivenessleader integrityorganizational citizenship behaviourtraditionality中国的领导力内隐领导理论领导者有效性领导者的正直品格组织公民行为传统性
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , July 2014 , pp. 299 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aiken, L., & West, S. 1991. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Ames, R. 1998. The analects of Confucius: A philosophical translation. New York: Ballantine.Google Scholar
Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., & Begley, T. M. 2003. The employment relationships of foreign workers versus local employees: A field study of organizational justice, job satisfaction, performance, and OCB. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(5): 561–583.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bachrach, D. G., Wang, H., Bendoly, E., & Zhang, S. 2007. Importance of organizational citizenship behavior for overall performance evaluation: Comparing the role of task interdependence in China and the USA. Management and Organization Review, 3(2): 255–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bai, Y. T., Li, P. P., & Xi, Y. M. 2012. The distinctive effects of dual-level leadership behaviors on employees’ trust in leadership: An empirical study from China. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 29(2): 213–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baron, R., & Kenny, D. 1986. The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6): 1173–1182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bass, B., & Avolio, B. 1995. MLQ multifactor leadership questionnaire. Palo Alto, CA: Mind Garden.Google Scholar
Bass, B., & Steidlmeier, P. 1999. Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior. The Leadership Quarterly, 10(2): 181–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, D. J., & Lord, R. G. 2001. Leadership and perceiver cognition: Moving beyond first order constructs. In London, M. (Ed.), How people evaluate others in organizations: 181–202. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Calder, B. 1977. An attribution theory of leadership. In Staw, B. M. & Salancik, G. R. (Eds.), New directions in organizational behavior: 179–204. Chicago, IL: St. Clar.Google Scholar
Chai, S. K., & Rhee, M. 2010. Confucian capitalism and the paradox of closure and structural holes in East Asian firms. Management and Organization Review, 6(1): 5–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, X. P., Hui, C., & Sego, D. J. 1998. The role of organizational citizenship behavior in turnover: Conceptualization and preliminary tests of key hypotheses. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(6): 922–931.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Z. X., & Aryee, S. 2007. Delegation and employee work outcomes: The cultural context of mediating processes in China. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1): 226–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Z. X., Tsui, A. S., & Farh, J. L. 2002. Loyalty to supervisor vs. organizational commitment: Relationships to employee performance in China. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75(3): 339–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, B. S., Chou, L. F., Wu, T. Y., Huang, M. P., & Farh, J. L. 2004. Paternalistic leadership and subordinate responses: Establishing a leadership model in Chinese organizations. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 7(1): 89–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, S. B., & Gustafson, S. B. 1998. Perceived leader integrity scale: An instrument for assessing employee perceptions of leader integrity. The Leadership Quarterly, 9(2): 127–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Den Hartog, D. N., House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Ruiz-Quintanilla, S. A., & Dorfman, P. W. 1999. Culture specific and cross-culturally generalizable implicit leadership theories: Are attributes of charismatic/transformational leadership universally endorsed? The Leadership Quarterly, 10(2): 219–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dirks, K. T., & Skarlicki, D. P. 2004. Trust in leaders: Existing research and emerging issues. In Kramer, R. & Cook, K. (Eds.), Trust and distrust in organizations: Dilemmas and approaches: 21–40. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Engle, E. M., & Lord, R. G. 1997. Implicit theories, self-schemas, and leader–member exchange. Academy of Management Journal, 40(4): 988–1010.Google Scholar
Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. 2005. From ideal to real: A longitudinal study of the role of implicit leadership theories on leader–member exchanges and employee outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4): 659–676.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farh, J. L., & Cheng, B. S. 2000. A cultural analysis of paternalistic leadership in Chinese organizations. In Li, J. T., Tsui, A. S. & Weldon, E. (Eds.), Management and organizations in the Chinese context: 94–127. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Farh, J. L., Earley, P., & Lin, S. 1997. Impetus for action: A cultural analysis of justice and organizational citizenship behavior in Chinese society. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(3): 421–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farh, J. L., Hackett, R. D., & Liang, J. 2007. Individual-level cultural values as moderators of perceived organizational support–employee outcomes relationships: Comparing the effects of power distance and traditionality. Academy of Management Journal, 50(3): 715–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farh, J. L., Tsui, A., Xin, K., & Cheng, B. S. 1998. The influence of relational demography and guanxi: The Chinese case. Organization Science, 9(4): 471–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farh, J. L., Zhong, C. B., & Organ, D. 2004. Organizational citizenship behavior in the People’s Republic of China. Organization Science, 15(2): 241–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. 1981. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1): 39–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hackett, R. D., Farh, J. L., Song, L., & Lapierre, L. 2003. LMX and organizational citizenship behavior: Examining the links within and across Western and Chinese samples. In Graen, G. (Ed.), Dealing with diversity. A volume in LMX leadership: 219–263. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.Google Scholar
Hansbrough, T. 2005. Cognition matters: Leader images and their implications for organizational life. In Schyns, B. & Meindl, J. R. (Eds.), Implicit leadership theories: Essays and explorations: 63–77. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Pub Inc.Google Scholar
Hofmann, D. A., & Gavin, M. B. 1998. Centering decisions in hierarchical linear models: Implications for research in organizations. Journal of Management, 24(5): 623–641.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooijberg, R., Lane, N., & Diversé, A. 2010. Leader effectiveness and integrity: Wishful thinking? International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 18(1): 59–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. 2004. Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hui, C., Law, K. S., & Chen, Z. X. 1999. A structural equation model of the effects of negative affectivity, leader–member exchange, and perceived job mobility on in-role and extra-role performance: A Chinese case. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 77(1): 3–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hui, C., Lee, C., & Rousseau, D. M. 2004. Psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior in China: Investigating generalizability and instrumentality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(2): 311–321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hunt, J., Boal, K. B., & Sorenson, R. L. 1990. Top management leadership: Inside the black box. The Leadership Quarterly, 1(1): 41–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, J. Y., Law, K. S., & Sun, J. J. M. 2013. Leader–member relationship and burnout: The moderating role of leader integrity. Management and Organization Review. doi: 10.1111/more.12022.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. 2001. LISREL 8: New statistical features: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Kirkman, B. L., Chen, G., Farh, J. L., Chen, Z. X., & Lowe, K. B. 2009. Individual power distance orientation and follower reactions to transformational leaders: A cross-level, cross-cultural examination. The Academy of Management Journal, 52(4): 744–764.Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. 1991. Leadership: Do traits matter? The Executive, 5(2): 48–60.Google Scholar
Kottke, J. L., & Pelletier, K. L. 2013. Measuring and differentiating perceptions of supervisor and top leader ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(3): 415–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lakey, P. N. 2007. East meets West: Chinese leadership research. Intercultural Communication Studies, 16(2): 126–135.Google Scholar
Lapierre, L. M. 2007. Supervisor trustworthiness and subordinates’ willingness to provide extra-role efforts. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37(2): 272–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, P. P., Bai, Y. T., & Xi, Y. M. 2012. The contextual antecedents of organizational trust: A multidimensional cross level analysis. Management and Organization Review, 8(2): 371–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, C. C. T., & Peng, T. K. 2010. From organizational citizenship behavior to team performance: The mediation of group cohesion and collective efficacy. Management and Organization Review, 6(1): 55–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ling, W., Chia, R. C., & Fang, L. 2000. Chinese implicit leadership theory. Journal of Social Psychology, 140(6): 729–739.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lord, R. G. 1985. An information processing approach to social perceptions, leadership perceptions and behavioral measurement in organizational settings. In Staw, B. M. & Cummings, L. L. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior: 85–128. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Lord, R. G., Foti, R. J., & de Vader, C. L. 1984. A test of leadership categorization theory: Internal structure, information processing, and leadership perceptions. Organizational Behavior & Human Performance, 34(3): 343–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lord, R. G., & Maher, K. J. 1991. Leadership and information processing: Linking perceptions and performance. Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman.Google Scholar
Mellahi, K. 2001. Differences and similarities in future managerial values: A five cultures comparative study. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 8(1): 45–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mesquita, L. F. 2007. Starting over when the bickering never ends: Rebuilding aggregate trust among clustered firms through trust facilitators. Academy of Management Review, 32(1): 72–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moorman, R. H., & Grover, S. 2009. Why does leader integrity matter to followers? An uncertainty management-based explanation. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(2): 102–114.Google Scholar
Nye, J. 2005. Implicit theories and leadership perceptions in the thick of it: The effects of prototype matching, group setbacks, and group outcomes. In Schyns, B. & Meindl, J. R. (Eds.), Implicit leadership theories: Essays and explorations: 39–61. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.Google Scholar
Organ, D. 1988. Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington books.Google Scholar
Palanski, M. E., & Yammarino, F. J. 2009. Integrity and leadership: A multi-level conceptual framework. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(3): 405–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. 2004. Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford/American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Pillutla, M. M., Farh, J. L., Lee, C., & Lin, Z. 2007. An investigation of traditionality as a moderator of reward allocation. Group & Organization Management, 32(2): 233–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podsakoff, N., Whiting, S., Podsakoff, P., & Blume, B. 2009. Individual- and organizational-level consequences of organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1): 122–141.Google ScholarPubMed
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J., & Podsakoff, N. 2003. Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5): 879–903.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Moorman, R. H., & Fetter, R. 1990. Transformational leadership behaviors and their effects on followers’ trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors. The Leadership Quarterly, 1(2): 107–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. 2004. SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, 36(4): 717–731.Google ScholarPubMed
Rarick, C. A. 2007. Confucius on management: Understanding Chinese cultural values and managerial practices. Journal of International Management, 2(2): 22–28.Google Scholar
Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. 2002. Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed., Vol. 1). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Robert, C., Probst, T. M., Martocchio, J. J., Drasgow, F., & Lawler, J. J. 2000. Empowerment and continuous improvement in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India: Predicting fit on the basis of the dimensions of power distance and individualism. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5): 643–658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwartz, S. H. 1992. Universals in the content and structure of values: Theory and empirical tests in 20 countries. In Zanna, M. (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 25): 1–65. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Shondrick, S. J., Dinh, J. E., & Lord, R. G. 2010. Developments in implicit leadership theory and cognitive science: Applications to improving measurement and understanding alternatives to hierarchical leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(6): 959–978.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shondrick, S. J., & Lord, R. G. 2010. Implicit leadership and followership theories: Dynamic structures for leadership perceptions, memory, leader follower processes. In Hodgkinson, G. P. & Ford, J. K. (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology: 15–49. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Sobel, M. 1982. Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. In Leinhardt, S. (Ed.), Sociological methodology: 290–312. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Song, L. J., Tsui, A. S., & Law, K. S. 2009. Unpacking employee responses to organizational exchange mechanisms: The role of social and economic exchange perceptions. Journal of Management, 35(1): 56–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sosik, J. J., Gentry, W. A., & Chun, J. U. 2012. The value of virtue in the upper echelons: A multisource examination of executive character strengths and performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(3): 367–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M., Perttula, K. H., & Xin, K. 2005. Traditionality matters: An examination of the effectiveness of transformational leadership in the United States and Taiwan. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(3): 205–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Triandis, H. C. 1994. Culture and social behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Wang, H., Law, K. S., Hackett, R. D., Wang, D., & Chen, Z. X. 2005. Leader–member exchange as a mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and followers’ performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 48(3): 420–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, K. S. 1993. Chinese social orientation: An integrative analysis. In Cheng, L. Y., Cheng, F. M. C. & Chen, C. N. (Eds.), Psychotherapy for the Chinese: Selected papers from the First International Conference: 19–56. Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Yang, K. S. 2003. Methodological and theoretical issues on psychological traditionality and modernity research in an Asian society: In response to Kwang Kuo Hwang and beyond. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 6(3): 263–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, K. S., Yu, A. B., & Yeh, M. H. 1989. Chinese individual modernity and traditionality: Construct definition and measurement. Paper presented at the Interdisciplinary Conference on Chinese Psychology and Behavior.Google Scholar
Yukl, G. A., & Van Fleet, D. D. 1992. Theory and research on leadership in organizations. In Dunnette, M. D. & Hough, L. M. (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology: 147–197. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar