Jibao Gu

How do mediated and non-mediated power affect electronic supply chain management system adoption? The mediating effects of trust and institutional pressures

Electronic Supply Chain Management systems (eSCMS), as instances of information technologies spanning organizational boundaries, have the potential to provide operational and strategic benefits. However, the high uncertainty of adoption consequences impedes firms from adopting eSCMS. Research on how to facilitate eSCMS adoption is of significance. This study investigates how institutional and socio-political factors in a dyadic trading partner relationship affect the dependent firms eSCMS adoption intention. In contrast to prior research, we examine the confluence of institutional pressures, the focal firms trust and the dominant firms power. In particular, we differentiate power of different sources, and examine the mediating effects of the focal firms trust and perceived institutional pressures on the relationship between different types of power exercised by the dominant firm and the focal firms eSCMS adoption. Data collected from executives in China largely support our research hypotheses. Theoretical contribution and managerial implications of this research are discussed.

Sentiment classification: The contribution of ensemble learning

With the rapid development of information technologies, user-generated contents can be conveniently posted online. While individuals, businesses, and governments are interested in evaluating the sentiments behind this content, there are no consistent conclusions on which sentiment classification technologies are best. Recent studies suggest that ensemble learning methods may have potential applicability in sentiment classification. In this study, we conduct a comparative assessment of the performance of three popular ensemble methods (Bagging, Boosting, and Random Subspace) based on five base learners (Naive Bayes, Maximum Entropy, Decision Tree, K Nearest Neighbor, and Support Vector Machine) for sentiment classification. Moreover, ten public sentiment analysis datasets were investigated to verify the effectiveness of ensemble learning for sentiment analysis. Based on a total of 1200 comparative group experiments, empirical results reveal that ensemble methods substantially improve the performance of individual base learners for sentiment classification. Among the three ensemble methods, Random Subspace has the better comparative results, although it was seldom discussed in the literature. These results illustrate that ensemble learning methods can be used as a viable method for sentiment classification.

The impact of trust, guanxi orientation and face on the intention of Chinese employees and managers to engage in peer-to-peer tacit and explicit knowledge sharing

Knowledge sharing is recognised as one of the most critical components of knowledge management. Successful and efficient knowledge sharing could directly facilitate knowledge creation and so help a firm to maintain its competitive advantage. Consequently, identifying which factors could encourage or inhibit people to share knowledge is potentially of great value. In this study, we explore the impact of selected socio‐cultural factors, viz. trust, guanxi orientation and face, on the intention to share explicit and tacit knowledge in Chinese firms. Two hundred and four employees from Chinese organisations were surveyed on their knowledge‐sharing practices. Our findings indicate that while cognition‐based trust has no significant effect on the intention to share either tacit or explicit knowledge, affect‐based trust has a significant effect on both. Meanwhile, face‐gaining behaviours have a positive effect, while face‐saving behaviours have a negative effect on the intention to share knowledge. Finally, guanxi orientation also has a strong impact on knowledge sharing. The implications of these findings for organisations and their knowledge management initiatives are discussed.

The Impact of Leadership Style on Knowledge Sharing Intentions in China

Knowledge management (KM) is a dominant theme in the behavior of contemporary organizations. While KM has been extensively studied in developed economies, it is much less well understood in developing economies—notably, those that are characterized by different social and cultural traditions to the mainstream of Western societies; this is the case in China. In this article, we develop and test a theoretical model that explains the impact of leadership style and interpersonal trust on the intention of information and knowledge workers in China to share their knowledge with their peers. All the hypotheses are supported, showing that both initiating structure and consideration have a significant effect on employees’ intention to share knowledge through trust building: 28.2% of the variance in employees’ intention to share knowledge is explained. We discuss the theoretical contributions of the article, identify future research opportunities and highlight the implications for practicing managers.

The role of social media in supporting knowledge integration: A social capital analysis

Internet of things (IoT) is a current trend that reveals the next generation Internet-based information architecture, the convergence of social networks and IoT solutions is helpful to optimize relationships among objects. In order for IoT to take off in the IT sector, providers and other stakeholders must integrate knowledge successfully. In this study, we investigate the role of social media in supporting knowledge integration from a social capital perspective. Specifically, we propose that social media have the potential to facilitate the formation of employees’ social capital indicated by social networking, trust and shared language. These mediating variables will in turn positively affect knowledge integration. This research frame is validated with survey data collected from 262 Chinese working professionals. The results provide general empirical support for our hypotheses. In analogy with social media for human beings, the future direction of socialization among objects can be inspired by this study.

Conflict and creativity in inter-organizational teams: The moderating role of shared leadership

This paper aims to examine the effects of task and relationship conflicts on team creativity, and the moderating role of shared leadership in inter-organizational teams. An inter-organizational team normally comprises employees from collaborated organizations brought together to conduct an initiative, such as product development. Practitioners and researchers have witnessed the prevalence of conflict in inter-organizational teams. Despite significant scholarly investigation into the importance of conflict in creativity, a deep theoretical understanding of conflict framework remains elusive.,A questionnaire survey was conducted in China to collect data. Consequently, 54 teams, which comprised 54 team managers and 276 team members, were deemed useful for the study.,By testing our hypotheses on 54 inter-organizational teams, we found that relationship conflict has a negative relationship with team creativity, whereas task conflict has an inverted U-shaped (curvilinear) relationship with team creativity. Furthermore, when shared leadership is stronger, the negative relationship with team creativity is weaker for relationship conflict, whereas the inverted U-shaped relationship with team creativity is stronger for task conflict.,The main limitation is cross-sectional, which cannot establish causality in relationships. Despite this potential weakness, the present research provides insights into conflict, leadership and inter-organizational collaboration literature.,The findings of this study offer some guidance on how managers can intervene in the conflict situations of inter-organizational teams.,Managers are struggling to identify ways to effectively manage team conflict when a team of diverse individuals across organizational boundaries are brought together to solve a problem. The findings of this study offer some guidance on how managers can intervene in the conflict situations of inter-organizational teams.,This paper provides understandings about how relationship and task conflicts affect team creativity in inter-organizational teams.

The moderating role of social media usage in the relationship among multicultural experiences, cultural intelligence, and individual creativity

The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of social media usage in the relationship among multicultural experiences, cultural intelligence, and creativity.,This study conducted a questionnaire survey in three public universities in China and obtained 310 useful responses from international students.,The authors categorized social media usage into informational and socializing usage. Findings show that socializing social media usage strengthens the relationship between multicultural experiences and cultural intelligence, whereas informational social media usage does not strengthen such relationship.,The findings suggest that practitioners, such as managers or university administrators, should focus on well-designed multicultural activities in the development of individual creativity. They should also acknowledge the enabling role of cultural intelligence in developing individual creativity and realize that social media usage should be differentiated from the outcomes of its usage.,This study contributes to the knowledge on the moderating role of social media usage in the relationship between multicultural experiences and creativity based on experiential learning theory. The study presents the relationship among multicultural experiences, cultural intelligence, and creativity. Moreover, by investigating the moderating roles of informational and socializing social media usage, the authors presented that an IT contingent view of multicultural experiences is helpful in understanding the relationship between multicultural experiences and cultural intelligence.

Voice behavior and creative performance moderated by stressors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the moderating role of work-related stressors on the relationship between voice behavior and the voicer’s creative performance. Design/methodology/approach The sample comprised 781 full-time employees from 16 companies covering six industries in the central region of China. Hierarchical moderated regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Findings Results showed that voice behavior had significant positive effect on creative performance. The positive relationship between voice behavior and creative performance was stronger for employees with low challenge stressors as well as for employees with high hindrance stressors. Research limitations/implications This study employs a cross-sectional design with data collected from the same source. Practical implications The findings suggest that employees should be encouraged to voice out their opinions and ideas. Work-related stressors should be treated differently to expand the effects of voice behavior on creative performance. Originality/value This study is one of the few to establish boundary conditions from the contextual perspective on the effect of voice behavior on employee performance. Considering whether work-related stressor is a challenge or a hindrance could possibly result in a better understanding of the role of work-related stressors in the voice behavior-creative performance relationship. An empirical evidence is provided for the positive relationship between voice behavior and employee performance outcomes.

Evaluating the competency mismatch between Master of Engineering graduates and industry needs in China

This study investigates the mismatch between the educational attainment of a graduate with a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree and the industry needs in China. A competency list for MEng graduates from the perspective of industry needs was constructed. And a survey was conducted among MEng graduate students, alumni, and employers to assess the listed items. The analysis of the survey data yielded five competencies. Mismatches were found for all five factors. Each discrepancy is discussed in detail in this paper.

Abusive supervision and employee creativity in China: Departmental identification as mediator and face as moderator

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how abusive supervision affects employee creativity, incorporating departmental identification as a mediator and face as a moderator based on social identity theory. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consisted of 207 full-time employees in China. Findings Results indicate that abusive supervision is negatively related to employee creativity and this relationship is fully mediated by departmental identification. In addition, face held by employees plays a moderating role: the direct effect of abusive supervision on departmental identification and the mediating effect of departmental identification are stronger when face is low rather than high. Practical implications This study also has major practical implications for organizations. First, the organizations should fully understand the harmfulness of abusive supervision and try to avoid abusive behaviors. Second, the organizations could enhance employee creativity by promoting departmental identification. Third, employees who hold low face should get more attention and support. Originality/value This study makes several theoretical implications. First, findings contribute to enriching one’s understanding of the relationship between abusive supervision and employee creativity in China. Second, the domain of abusive supervision is expanded by empirically testing departmental identification as a crucial psychological mechanism explaining the abusive supervision – employee creativity relationship. Third, this study also advances one’s understanding of social identity process by examining empirically moderating effects of cultural value in the relationship between abusive supervision and employee creativity.