Jeanne Ho-Ying Fu

Epistemic motives and cultural conformity : need for closure, culture, and context as determinants of conflict judgments.

Three studies support the proposal that need for closure (NFC) involves a desire for consensual validation that leads to cultural conformity. Individual differences in NFC interact with cultural group variables to determine East Asian versus Western differences in conflict style and procedural preferences (Study 1), information gathering in disputes (Study 2), and fairness judgment in reward allocations (Study 3). Results from experimental tests indicate that the relevance of NFC to cultural conformity reflects consensus motives rather than effort minimization (Study 2) or political conservatism (Study 3). Implications for research on conflict resolution and motivated cultural cognition are discussed.

Local Culture's Responses to Globalization: Exemplary Persons and Their Attendant Values

Taking a social identity perspective, the authors predict that when responding to the dominating influence of the global culture brought in by the Western economic powers, Hong Kong Chinese will recognize the global cultures superiority in status attributes (e.g., competence, achievement), while at the same time maintaining positive evaluations of Chinese culture on solidarity attributes (traditional moral values). The authors test this hypothesis by examining the Chinese and Western exemplary persons listed spontaneously by Hong Kong Chinese undergraduates and the kind of values carried by these exemplary persons. In three studies, participants associate traditional Chinese exemplary persons with both solidarity and status values and traditional Western exemplary persons with status values only. Additionally, participants also associate contemporary Western exemplary persons with Western rights-based moral values, suggesting that contemporary Western exemplary persons could be important drivers of changes in the moral values in Hong Kong.

Spontaneous Inferences from Cultural Cues: Varying Responses of Cultural Insiders and Outsiders

Results from two groups of biculturals (Hong Kong undergraduates, Chinese Americans) and a group of European Americans in two studies showed that in the presence of applicable cues of a culture, individuals with expert knowledge in the culture spontaneously make inferences about the cultures moral values, producing a Stroop-like effect. Although both biculturals and European Americans made spontaneous cultural inferences from American cultural cues, only biculturals made spontaneous inferences from Chinese cultural cues. Moreover, American-Chinese bicultural individuals can switch between correspondent cultural inferences from American and Chinese cultural cues numerous times within one experimental session. Implications on cultural adaptation and cultural competence are discussed.

Authentic leadership, traditionality, and interactional justice in the Chinese context

We examine the effects of authentic leadership on subordinates in the Chinese context. Drawing on attribution processes of self-disclosure, we propose that authentic leaders engaging in self-disclosure practices cultivate subordinates’ positive feelings that their leaders like and trust them. We further explain how and why authentic leadership particularly influences highly traditional Chinese subordinates. We propose that Chinese traditionality strengthens the positive effects of authentic leadership on subordinates’ perceptions that their leader practices interactional justice, which in turn positively relates to their in-role performance, creativity, and organizational citizenship behaviour. In Study 1, we surveyed 199 employees in 47 work units from nine high-technology organizations in China. The results support the hypothesized relationships. In Study 2, we surveyed 170 employees in 46 work units from various organizations in China. The results show that authentic leadership effects remain unchanged after controlling for the effects of transformational leadership. We discuss the implications for leadership effectiveness in the Chinese context.

Authentic Leadership, Traditionality, and Interactional Justice in the Chinese Context (真实型领导力、传统性与交互公平感在中国环境中的关系)

We examine the effects of authentic leadership on subordinates in the Chinese context. Drawing on attribution processes of self-disclosure, we propose that authentic leaders engaging in self-disclosure practices cultivate subordinates’ positive feelings that their leaders like and trust them. We further explain how and why authentic leadership particularly influences highly traditional Chinese subordinates. We propose that Chinese traditionality strengthens the positive effects of authentic leadership on subordinates’ perceptions that their leader practices interactional justice, which in turn positively relates to their in-role performance, creativity, and organizational citizenship behaviour. In Study 1, we surveyed 199 employees in 47 work units from nine high-technology organizations in China. The results support the hypothesized relationships. In Study 2, we surveyed 170 employees in 46 work units from various organizations in China. The results show that authentic leadership effects remain unchanged after controlling for the effects of transformational leadership. We discuss the implications for leadership effectiveness in the Chinese context.

Opening the Mind: Effect of Culture Mixing on Acceptance of Organizational Change

Drawing on the literature on cultural priming and open-mindedness, we proposed that priming individuals with culture mixing would promote acceptance of new organizational policies and reduce adherence to the status quo more than priming them with local culture. In two studies using samples of Chinese supervisors, we showed that respondents who were primed with culture mixing were more willing to accept a hypothetical drastic drop in the percentage of the guaranteed component of their salary than those primed with Chinese culture, whereas there was no difference between those primed with Western culture and those in the neutral condition. We further showed that this pattern emerged only among participants with low need for cognitive closure, suggesting that such enhanced change acceptance might be motivated by open-mindedness. We also assessed alternative accounts driven by need for cognition or global-mindedness and both measures did not moderate the culture mixing effect. The implications for cultural mixing and change management are discussed.

Culture and Control: How Independent and Interdependent Selves Experience Agency and Constraint

Personal agency is often considered the hallmark of the independent self. By contrast, interdependent selves are viewed as fitting into groups, adjusting to situations, and minimally asserting themselves. This characterization of the interdependent self as a “non-agent” assumes that personal and group agency are inimical to one another. We propose that group agency does not simply constrain personal agency, it also substitutes for personal agency, coexists with personal agency, and enhances personal agency. Further, we examine how independent selves experience constraint, a similarly underrepresented theme. These arguments introduce more nuanced conceptions of how independent and interdependent selves exercise agency.

Authentic Leadership, Traditionality, and Interactional Justice in the Chinese Context. 真实型领导力、传统性与交互公平感在中国环境中的关系: Authentic Leadership Effect in China

We examine the effects of authentic leadership on subordinates in the Chinese context. Drawing on attribution processes of self-disclosure, we propose that authentic leaders engaging in self-disclosure practices cultivate subordinates’ positive feelings that their leaders like and trust them. We further explain how and why authentic leadership particularly influences highly traditional Chinese subordinates. We propose that Chinese traditionality strengthens the positive effects of authentic leadership on subordinates’ perceptions that their leader practices interactional justice, which in turn positively relates to their in-role performance, creativity, and organizational citizenship behaviour. In Study 1, we surveyed 199 employees in 47 work units from nine high-technology organizations in China. The results support the hypothesized relationships. In Study 2, we surveyed 170 employees in 46 work units from various organizations in China. The results show that authentic leadership effects remain unchanged after controlling for the effects of transformational leadership. We discuss the implications for leadership effectiveness in the Chinese context.