Nini Dong

Abstract: The present study examined the moderating effect of Zhong Yong on the relationship between perceived creativity and innovation behaviour in Chinese companies. A total of 273 paired questionnaires were collected with employee self-rated creativity and Zhong Yong and supervisor-rated innovation behaviour. The results show that for people higher on Zhong Yong, their creativity was not correlated with innovation behaviour; for people less immersed in Zhong Yong, this correlation is significant. This finding provides a new insight into the effects of Zhong Yong on the creativity-innovation behaviour transformation processes. The implications for future research are also discussed.

Abstract: One particularly persistent and prevalent negative age stereotype is that older workers are less innovative and more resistant to change. Because older workers are also more likely to have longer organizational tenure, negative age stereotypes contribute to the perception that long-tenured workers are less innovative and more resistant to change, too. Guided by human capital theory, this study argues that the capacity to contribute to innovation-related behaviours ( IRB) might actually grow with age and tenure, counteracting the presumed age-related declines in this type of job performance. Using a meta-analysis that included 98 empirical studies, the present research examines the relationships of age and organizational tenure with the generation, dissemination, and implementation of new ideas. Overall, the pattern of results in the study suggests that older workers and longer-tenured workers do not engage in less innovation-related behaviour than their younger and more junior counterparts. In addition, there is little evidence of curvilinearity in the relationships of age and tenure with IRB; workers at the high end of the age and tenure distributions did not perform especially poorly on these tasks. Practitioner points Contrary to common belief, the results of this study show that age and tenure are not negatively related to innovation-related behaviours., That is, older and longer-tenured workers do not engage in less innovation-related behaviour than younger, more junior workers., These results hold true even at the high end of the age and years-of-service continuum., This study concludes that the negative stereotype that older and longer-tenured workers are less innovative is not based on accumulated empirical evidence., As such, excluding older workers from innovation-related tasks is counterproductive

Abstract: This paper posits that innovation as a competence generic from individuals and the environment in which they are engaged. It focuses on individuals by proposing a method for measuring innovation as a competence. It is postulated here that innovation as a competence involves a set of competencies such as: visioning, ability to generate ideas, internal and external networking relationship, ownership to the organisation, stretch mindset, focus on tasks and decision making. However, these competencies are determined by gender, age, reading habits and educational background of individuals, etc. It is attempted here to construct an empirical model and analyse the impacts of the determining parameters on innovation as a competence. The empirical analysis suggests significant differentiating determinants. The study has been carried out in an Indian information technology company. The findings may facilitate human resource decision making relating to competency management.

Abstract: In the pursuit of well-being at work, work stress is always an inescapable challenge. However, existing research shows that the relationships between work stress and employee outcomes are inconsistent, which indicates that the concept of work stress needs further investigation. Moreover, Zhong-Yong serves as a cognitive strategy to coping with stress as well as being a pivotal life wisdom and practical rationality. Using a questionnaire survey, this study explores the relationship between work stress, employee well-being, and Zhong-Yong beliefs. The work stress was classified into challenge- and hindrance-related stress while emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction were used as well-being indicators. Using a sample of 394 employees from private enterprises in Taiwan as subjects, the results show that (1) hindrance-related stress is destructive to employee well-being; (2) challenge-related stress is positively associated with emotional exhaustion but has no significant relation with job satisfaction; (3) Zhong-Yong beliefs mitigate the harm from hindrance-related stress on employee well-being; and (4) Zhong-Yong beliefs weaken the negative effects of challenge-related stress on emotional exhaustion, and transform challenge-related stress into eustress for job satisfaction.

Abstract: Summary This research examined the influence of interpersonal harmony on employee creativity in China. The dualistic model of harmony differentiates harmony enhancement, a genuine desire for a harmonious and mutually beneficial interpersonal relationship, from disintegration avoidance, a tendency to avoid the disruption of an interpersonal relationship to protect self-interest. A survey in China showed that the harmony enhancement motive had a positive relationship, and the disintegration avoidance motive had a negative relationship, with creativity mediated by creative effort. Reward for creativity showed different moderating effects on the two mediated relationships, such that it mitigated the positive relationship between harmony enhancement and creativity mediated by creative effort, and buffered the negative relationship between disintegration avoidance and creativity mediated by creative effort. We replicated some major findings with a multi-wave survey study and provided direct evidence for the underlying mechanisms that account for the opposite relationships between the two harmony motives and creative effort. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how leader humility affects the engagement of employees in creative processes, using perceived organizational support (POS) as a mediator and leader competence as a moderator.,Data were collected from a two-wave sampling of 113 dyads of leaders and subordinates in China.,A curvilinear relationship was found between leader humility and employee engagement in creative processes. Further, POS partially mediates this relationship, and leader competence positively moderates the relationship between leader humility and POS.,First, organizations should select and train leaders who show humility as a character trait and foster a supportive organizational climate. Second, managers should study the benefits of moderate and harms of superfluous humility, especially in the Chinese cultural context. Third, competent leaders are more effective as humble leaders.,Few studies have concentrated on leader humility in the eastern cultural context. The results challenge traditional views of the impact of leader humility and shed light on its mechanism and the conditions under which it promotes employee engagement in creation. This study also clarifies the nonlinear influence of leader humility, building a fine-grained theoretical framework integrating the motivation-opportunities-abilities model and Chinese Zhong-Yong theory.