Long-Zeng Wu

Political Skill, Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi and Career Prospects in Chinese Firms

The role of political skill was examined in the dynamics of supervisor–subordinate relationship in Chinese firms. Data from a survey of 343 employees, their 343 direct supervisors, and 662 of their peers were applied to test a model proposing that Chinese subordinates employ political skill to influence their guanxi with their supervisors, and so promote their career development. We found that supervisor–subordinate guanxi mediated the relationship between political skill and career development of the subordinates. Implications of the findings were discussed.

Abusive supervision and subordinate supervisor-directed deviance: The moderating role of traditional values and the mediating role of revenge cognitions

This study examined the link between abusive supervision and subordinate supervisor- directed deviance by focusing on the moderating role of traditionality and the mediating role of revenge cognitions directed towards supervisors. The results of analysing 283 supervisor-subordinate dyads in six private electronic companies and 222 supervisor-subordinate dyads in two state-owned oil and gas companies in the Peoples Republic of China showed that abusive supervision was positively related to revenge cognitions directed towards supervisors and to supervisor-directed deviance. In addition, traditionality moderated the above relationships such that they were stronger among low traditionalists than among high ones, while revenge cognitions mediated the main effect of abusive supervision and the interactive effect of abusive supervision and traditionality on supervisor-directed deviance.

High Core Self-Evaluators Maintain Creativity A Motivational Model of Abusive Supervision

We present a motivational model of abusive supervision to examine the effects that exposure to abusive supervision has on creativity. In particular, we predict that intrinsic motivation mediates the negative relation between abusive supervision, as perceived by employees, and their creativity. In addition, we examine the extent to which core self-evaluations attenuate the main effect of abusive supervision and the indirect effect of intrinsic motivation. Our results, based on multiwave, multisource data collected in China, fully support our hypotheses, address unexplored theoretical predictions, and offer new directions for mistreatment, creativity, motivation, and personality research.

Are You Willing and Able? Roles of Motivation, Power, and Politics in Career Growth

A comprehensive model of political behavior and its influence on career growth was presented and tested via a Chinese sample of 283 employee—supervisor dyads. Need for achievement and need for power were found to be positively related to political behavior, and perceptions of organizational politics strengthened the relationship between these personal needs and political behavior. Furthermore, for individuals high in political skill, increases in political behavior were associated with greater career growth potential rated by supervisors, whereas for individuals low in political skill, increases in political behavior were associated with lower ratings of career growth potential. Personal power mediated the moderated relationships among political behavior, political skill, and career growth potential ratings. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Idiosyncratic deals and employee outcomes: : The mediating roles of social exchange and self-enhancement and the moderating role of individualism.

The majority of studies on idiosyncratic employment arrangements (i-deals) are based on social exchange theory. The authors suggest that self-enhancement theory, in addition to social exchange, can be used to explain the effects of i-deals. Using a multisource sample including 230 employees and 102 supervisors from 2 Chinese companies, the authors adopt a 3-wave lagged design to examine the mediating roles of social exchange and self-enhancement and the moderating role of individualism in the relationships between i-deals and employee outcomes, as indicated by proactive behaviors and affective commitment. The results of bootstrapping analyses confirm the mediating effects of social exchange and self-enhancement. In addition, employees with high levels of individualism are more receptive to self-enhancement effects; in contrast, employees with low levels of individualism are more receptive to social exchange effects.

The Impact of Servant Leadership on Hotel Employees’ “Servant Behavior”

This study examined the link between servant leadership and hotel employees’ customer-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) by focusing on the mediating role of leader–member exchange (LMX) and the moderating role of followers’ sensitivity to others’ favorable treatment. Using time-lagged data from 304 supervisor–follower pairs in nineteen hotels in China, we found that servant leadership positively influenced customer-oriented OCB, and this influence was mediated by LMX. In addition, moderated path analysis indicated that employees’ sensitivity to others’ favorable treatment strengthened the direct effect of servant leadership on LMX and its indirect effect on customer-oriented OCB. This study extends the scope of servant leadership research and provides evidence for arguments that servant leadership matters in the hospitality industry. The study also demonstrates the importance of LMX to the relationship between managers and employees, through findings that are strengthened by a longitudinal design.

Developing and Utilizing Network Resources: Roles of Political Skill

This study examines the role of political skill in the development and utilization of network resources at the individual level. Drawing on the behavioural and network perspectives as well as political skill literature, we propose that political skill increases ones network resources (developing network), which will benefit his/her performance and career success. Moreover, political skill is hypothesized to strengthen the relationships between network resources and performance and career outcomes (utilizing network). A two‐wave study on a sample of 281 supervisor–subordinate dyads from six electronic firms in China confirms our hypotheses. Our examination of the dual role of political skill facilitates a better understanding of the networking process from the perspective of individual skill/behaviour, thus enriching the behavioural theory and network literature. Implications are discussed and directions for future research are suggested.

Work‐to‐family spillover effects of abusive supervision

Purpose – The current study seeks to examine the link between abusive supervision and subordinate family undermining by focusing on the mediating role of work‐to‐family conflict and the moderating role of boundary strength at home.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using a three‐wave survey research design. Participants included 209 employees from a manufacturing company in China. Hierarchical regression analyses and a bootstrapping algorithm were used to test the hypothesized relationships.Findings – The results indicate that abusive supervision is positively related to family undermining, and this relationship is mediated by work‐to‐family conflict. Moreover, boundary strength at home attenuates the direct relationship of abusive supervision with work‐to‐family conflict and its indirect relationship with family undermining.Research limitations/implications – This research contributes to the integration of the work‐family interface model and the abusive supervision literature by providing ...

What a Diverse Top Management Team Means: Testing an Integrated Model

Prior research has produced inconsistent results on the relationship between top management team (TMT) diversity and firm performance. Drawing on the information–social categorization framework, this study is designed to investigate both the mechanism and the contextual factors underlying the relationship between TMT cognitive diversity and firm performance by examining them in a unified model so as to better understand how a diverse TMT works. Based on a multi‐sourced survey of top managers from 118 Chinese firms, this study finds that team interdependence and team cohesion moderate in the linkage between TMT cognitive diversity and elaboration of task‐related information. In addition, TMTs elaboration of task‐related information mediates the interactive effects of TMT cognitive diversity and team interdependence on firm performance as well as the interactive effects of TMT cognitive diversity and team cohesion on firm performance.

Ingratiation in the Workplace: The Role of Subordinate and Supervisor Political Skill

Over two decades, social influence researchers have called for a study that would examine how, why, and when influence tactics are effective. Informed by balance theory, the present study proposes that subordinate and supervisor political skill impacts the effectiveness of ingratiation attempts. The results from a survey of 228 supervisor–subordinate dyads in Chinese firms indicated that subordinates with high political skill are less likely to have their exhibited ingratiation behaviour perceived by their supervisors; however, supervisors with high political skill are likely to perceive ingratiation behaviour demonstrated by their subordinates. Moreover, the most successful condition for enabling subordinates to hide ingratiation from their supervisors is when the subordinates are politically astute and the supervisors are not. Furthermore, when supervisors perceive ingratiation behaviour, they rate low on the job performance and promotability of their subordinates; these low ratings are explained by the undermined personal reputation of the subordinates due to their ingratiation detected.