Showing papers in "Management and Organization Review in 2012"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the conceptual development, generation and adoption processes, antecedents, and influences of managerial innovation on organizational conduct, aiming to complement existing theories of innovation derived from the studies of technological innovations and thus help extend and advance theory and research on innovation process and outcome.
Abstract: The expansive research on innovation in organizations has primarily followed a technological imperative, postulating that organizations organize their innovation efforts through research and development (R&D) activities. Theories of innovation are thus shaped mostly from the studies of technology-based innovations in the manufacturing sector, yet are applied in all contexts. This article advocates research on managerial innovations – new approaches to devise strategy and structure of tasks and units, modify the organization's management processes and administrative systems, motivate and reward organizational members, and enable organizational adaptation and change. We examine the conceptual development, generation and adoption processes, antecedents, and influences of managerial innovation on organizational conduct. By increasing an understanding of managerial innovation, this article aims to complement existing theories of innovation derived from the studies of technological innovations and thus help extend and advance theory and research on innovation process and outcome in organizations.
625 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors analyzed the effect of business and government ties on economic and operational performance of 20,212 organizations in Mainland China and overseas China, and found that business ties have a bigger impact on operational performance, whereas government ties exert larger effects on economic performance.
Abstract: Guanxi, a social network tie drawing on connections in business relations, has been identified as a powerful strategic tool helping organizations maintain competitive advantages and achieve superior performance. However, prior empirical studies on the guanxi–performance link provide indefinite conclusions. The purpose of this study is to systematically review and quantify the guanxi–performance link in a meta-analytic framework by decomposing guanxi into business ties (i.e., guanxi with business partners) and government ties (i.e., guanxi with government authorities) and organizational performance into economic performance and operational performance. Based on effect sizes from fifty-three studies encompassing 20,212 organizations, we estimate that the overall effect size of the guanxi–performance relationship is positive and significant, thus endorsing the argument that guanxi does enhance organizational performance. Specifically, our meta-analysis results demonstrate that both business and government ties lead to both economic and operational performance. However, business ties have a bigger impact on operational performance, whereas government ties exert larger effects on economic performance. Further meta-analytic regression results suggest that ownership (state-owned vs. non-state-owned) and location (Mainland vs. overseas China) explain some of the variations of the guanxi–performance link. Both business and government ties are more important to organizations in Mainland China than to those in overseas China. Government ties are more important to state-owned than to non-state-owned organizations. Lastly, while business ties remain a valuable strategic tool in China, the importance of government ties is time-variant and has been declining with the development of the institutional environment in China.
392 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that potential paradoxical values coexist in any culture; they give rise to, exist within, reinforce, and complement each other to shape the holistic, dynamic, and dialectical nature of culture.
Abstract: In this article I propose a Yin Yang perspective to understand culture. Based on the indigenous Chinese philosophy of Yin Yang, I conceptualize culture as possessing inherently paradoxical value orientations, thereby enabling it to embrace opposite traits of any given cultural dimension. I posit that potential paradoxical values coexist in any culture; they give rise to, exist within, reinforce, and complement each other to shape the holistic, dynamic, and dialectical nature of culture. Seen from the Yin Yang perspective, all cultures share the same potential in value orientations, but at the same time they are also different from each other because each culture is a unique dynamic portfolio of self-selected globally available value orientations as a consequence of that culture's all-dimensional learning over time.
378 citations
TL;DR: Li et al. as discussed by the authors identified the influencing processes that underlie the effect of the three paternalistic leadership dimensions on subordinates' work performance and organizational citizenship behaviours, and found that perceived interactional justice mediated the effects of moral leadership and benevolent leadership on trust-in-supervisor.
Abstract: This study identifies the influencing processes that underlie the effect of the three paternalistic leadership dimensions on subordinates' work performance/ organizational citizenship behaviours. The results, based on data collected from private firms in China, showed that perceived interactional justice mediated the effects of moral leadership and benevolent leadership on trust-in-supervisor. However, perceived interactional justice did not mediate the relationship between authoritarian leadership and trust-in-supervisor. In addition, trust-in-supervisor was found to be positively associated with work performance and organizational citizenship behaviours. Cultural and practical implications and future research directions are also discussed.
156 citations
TL;DR: The authors provide a definition and a typology of indigenous research on Chinese management as well as outline the general methodological approaches for this type of research, and present an integrative summary of the four articles included in this special issue.
Abstract: We attempt to provide a definition and a typology of indigenous research on Chinese management as well as outline the general methodological approaches for this type of research. We also present an integrative summary of the four articles included in this special issue and show how they illustrate our definition and typology of indigenous research on Chinese management, as well as the various methodological approaches we advocate. Further, we introduce a commentary on the four articles from the perspective of engaged scholarship, and also three additional articles included in this issue. Finally, we conclude with our suggestions for future indigenous research.
117 citations
TL;DR: This paper developed a contextemic model to evaluate articles which use the Chinese context for their theoretical contributions to management and organization research and found that empirical articles with a higher level of Chinese contextualization garner more citations.
Abstract: In this study, we develop a context-emic model to evaluate articles which use the Chinese context for their theoretical contributions to management and organization research. We apply the model to 259 articles published in six leading general management and organization journals between 1981 and 2010 and 43 articles from Management and Organization Review (MOR) from its launch in 2005 to 2010. We found ten articles in the six leading journals and four articles in MOR to have some degree of Chinese contextualization in their concepts or constructs (what), their relationships (how), and tlie logics underlying the relationships (why). In particular, we discovered only three new concepts (market transition, network capitalism, and guanxi), and some reference to Confucianism and its related concepts. As expected, MOR articles have a higher level of Chinese contextualization than articles in the top six journals. Using the Colquitt and Zapata-Phelan theory-building-testing taxonomy, we found Chinese-context research to have contributed to both theory-building and theory-testing over time. We also found that empirical articles with a higher level of Chinese contextualization garner more citations. Finally, we discuss the implications of the study's results for future contextualization research related to China.
96 citations
TL;DR: Li, Leung, Chen, and Luo as mentioned in this paper put this debate in context and pointed out that the U.S. has been the dominant economic power after World War II as well as the dominant source of management research and theories.
Abstract: What is the most fruitful approach to developing Chinese management research is perhaps the single most important question that Management and Organization Review is set up to address. A complex question such as this one typically engenders diverse views, and there has been an ongoing debate about the best way forward. The crux of the debate centers on whether it is more productive to focus on universal or China-specific (indigenous) management theories (e.g. Barney & Zhang, 2009; Cheng, Wang, & Huang, 2009). The indigenous approach requires the adoption of Chinese perspectives in conceptualizing research problems and formulating theories (for detail, see Li, Leung, Chen, & Luo, 2012). There is a constant plea for attention to context in management research, and we should also put this debate in context. The U.S. has been the dominant economic power after World War II as well as the dominant source of management research and theories. Despite the monumental work of Hofstede (1980) on cultural dimensions, most researchers do not worry about whether research and theories coming out of the U.S. context would generalize to other cultural contexts. There has not been any significant trend to require research and theories developed in the U.S. context to take into account their relevance and applicability in other cultural contexts. In contrast, indigenous research and theories developed in the Chinese context typically generate a knee-jerk reaction about their potential lack of generalizability to other cultural contexts. As an illustration, papers based on U.S. data typically do not carry a disclaimer about their potential lack of generalizabiliy to other cultural contexts, whereas papers based on Chinese data usually include a caveat about the uncertainty of cultural generality. This difference can easily be explained by economic power. If a theory or a set of findings works in the U.S., it is
88 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, five schools of Chinese cultural traditions that implicitly influence current management thought in China are used to create a four-factor Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions (SCCT) model.
Abstract: Five schools of Chinese cultural traditions that implicitly influence current management thought in China are used to create a four-factor Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions (SCCT) model. A sample of 2658 people in businesses in Beijing was used to develop the dimensions that were then cross-validated in a nation-wide sample of 718 business employees. The four dimensions show plausible patterns of convergent and discriminant validity with generic domains of values represented by the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS). We suggest that the Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions provides a unique model of Chinese culture that complements other generic measures, thereby allowing a deep understanding of Chinese culture.
79 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors examined the influence of social distance on levels of trust and reciprocity in China and concluded that close guanxi ties in China engender affect-based trust, which is extended to shouren classmates.
Abstract: We examine the influence of social distance on levels of trust and reciprocity in China. Social distance, reflected in the indigenous concept of guanxi, is of central importance to Chinese culture. In Study 1, some participants participated in two financially salient trust games to measure behaviour, one with an anonymous classmate and the other with an anonymous, demographically identical non-classmate. Other participants, drawn from the same population, completed hypothetical surveys to gauge both hypothetical behaviour and expectations of others. Social distance effects on actual and hypothetical behaviour were statistically consistent. The results together corroborated the hypothesized negative relationship between trust and social distance. However, reciprocity was not responsive to social distance. Study 2 found that affect-based trust, but not cognition-based trust, played a mediating role in the relationship between social distance and interpersonal trust in a hypothetical scenario. We conclude that close guanxi ties in China engender affect-based trust, which is extended to shouren classmates. This is true despite the fact that no more cognition-based trust is placed nor reciprocity received or expected from classmates compared to demographically identical shengren non-classmates.
79 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a method of engaged scholarship for conducting indigenous research in Chinese management studies, and applied it to four articles in this special MOR issue on indigenous management research in China.
Abstract: This commentary discusses the four articles in this special MOR issue on indigenous management research in China. It begins by recognizing the importance of indigenous research not only for understanding the specific knowledge of local phenomena, but also for advancing general theoretical knowledge across cultural boundaries. Challenging to undertake, we propose a method of engaged scholarship for conducting indigenous research. The four articles in this special issue provide good examples of applying principles of engaged scholarship in their indigenous Chinese management studies.
76 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the contextual antecedents of organizational trust and explore the effects of the three most critical contextual ante-cedents, i.e., leadership role, structural rule, and cultural norm at the organizational level, on organizational trust directly and their behavioral outcomes at the individual level indirectly, using organizational trust as a cross-level mediator.
Abstract: In this article we seek to explore the contextual antecedents of organizational trust. In light of the complex links between organizational contexts and organizational behaviours, we focus on the effects of the three most critical contextual antecedents, i.e., leadership role, structural rule, and cultural norm at the organizational level, on organizational trust directly, and their behavioural outcomes at the individual level indirectly, using organizational trust as a cross-level mediator. The empirical results, based on a hierarchical linear model with a sample of 444 employees from 82 firms in China, lent support for our multidimensional cross-level model of context-trust- behaviour link. We extend the research on organizational trust by treating it as a cross-level phenomenon and by specifying its core contextual antecedents and behavioural consequences.
TL;DR: Li et al. as mentioned in this paper examined how the changing ownership patterns following the rise of SASAC influenced firm performance, and found that ownership concentration is a strong positive factor in firm performance.
Abstract: Since the mid 1990s the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) has emerged as a key institution governing firm ownership in China, but its impact on firm performance is understudied. Through an analysis of Chinese firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 1994-2003, we examine how the changing ownership patterns following the rise of SASAC influenced firm performance. We have three findings. First, contrary to the popular view that state ownership in China's listed firms has declined, we find that the state shares have been moved from the original state offices to the SASAC in the format of ‘state institutional shares’. Second, compared with the old state shares, the SASAC institutions affect firm performance more positively. Third, after controlling for state and SASAC ownership, ownership concentration is a strong positive factor in firm performance. Our findings fit squarely within a long tradition of agency theorists who argue that ownership concentration helps solve the free-rider problem and thus has positive effects on firm performance. However, we focus on the ways in which ownership concentration allows firm owners to monitor and stabilize firm behaviour, which has more important implications for emerging economies such as China's domestic capital markets.
TL;DR: In this paper, a sample of 193 bank employees under 52 managers revealed that in the presence of group-focused transformational leadership, both voice and silence based on cooperative motives increased through the mediation of value congruence between leaders and followers.
Abstract: This study seeks to resolve a puzzle of the coexistence of follower cooperative voice and cooperative silence (expressing/withholding work-related ideas, information, and opinions based on collective, cooperative motives) in the presence of transformational leadership. A sample of 193 bank employees under 52 managers revealed that in the presence of group-focused transformational leadership, both voice and silence based on cooperative motives increased through the mediation of value congruence between leaders and followers. However, cooperative voice was more likely to be the main response to a high level of value congruence when followers under the same leader perceived individual-focused transformational leadership uniformly. Under a high level of differentiated individual-focused transformational leadership, value congruence was likely to result in more cooperative silence. We discuss implications for future research on both leadership and employee voice.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors distinguish three modes of control in transformed SOEs: state-controlled, dispersedly controlled, and privately controlled modes and argue that actual control after transformation plays a critical role in determining performance.
Abstract: The transformation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) into efficient entities has been an important approach in transition economies. However, the transition literature reveals little about how control structure affects firm performance of transformed SOEs. Drawing on agency theory, we distinguish three modes of control in transformed SOEs: state-controlled, dispersedly controlled, and privately controlled modes and argue that actual control after transformation plays a critical role in determining performance. Examining the impact of different control modes in China, we find that the key is who controls the transformed firm. Non-state-controlled (dispersedly controlled and privately controlled) firms are more likely to have enhanced post-transformation performance and reduced agency costs than state-controlled firms.
TL;DR: The authors explored the forces that promote the diffusion of land banking systems in China's urban land management system and proposed, besides rational calculations and indigenous impetus for reform, institutional forces that play a crucial role in accelerating the diffusion process.
Abstract: An important change in China's urban land management system is the diffusion of land banking systems – official agencies that govern local land conversions, preparation, and transactions. In this article, I draw on neoinstitutional theory in organizational studies to explore the forces that promote this transformation. I propose, besides rational calculations and indigenous impetus for reform, institutional forces that play a crucial role in accelerating the diffusion process. Event history analysis shows that, over time, local economic characteristics have a declining effect on the adoption of land banking systems and gradually yield to pressure from peer cities, provincial governments, policy professionals, and policy-making communities. Moreover, intergovernmental fiscal arrangements and political status moderate the effect of provincial pressure.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors investigated how homeowner associations strategically reorganize themselves to achieve their goals using the theory of social movements and organizations, and found that homeowners are more likely to adopt bottom-up structures when their leaders believe strongly in resident participation or actively engage in extra-organizational professional activities as a means to overcome infrastructure deficit.
Abstract: Since China's marketization-featured housing reform, homeowner associations have played a greater role in neighbourhood governance. Using the theory of social movements and organizations, this article investigates how homeowner associations strategically reorganize themselves to achieve their goals. Our survey in Beijing suggests that about half of the homeowner associations have adopted bottom-up governance structures, which are not specified in governmental regulations. We find that such innovations are more likely to occur when a neighbourhood needs grassroots participation to deal with external grievances, especially developer-related issues, or to overcome its powerlessness due to little access to the polity. We also find that homeowner associations are more likely to adopt bottom-up structures when their leaders believe strongly in resident participation or actively engage in extra-organizational professional activities as a means to overcome infrastructure deficit.
TL;DR: The evolution of Brazilian management studies in light of the debate provoked by Management and Organization Review, 5(1), in a special edition on ‘The Future of Chinese Management Research’ is discussed in this paper.
Abstract: This article reflects upon the evolution of Brazilian management studies in light of the debate provoked by Management and Organization Review, 5(1), in a special edition on ‘The Future of Chinese Management Research’. Despite an impressive growth in publications, Brazilian management and organization studies have had litde conversation with mainstream international scholarship. The article offers some explanations as to why this might be so and suggests some alternatives for enhancing the international impact of Brazilian studies and advancing the country's reputation in the field. We suggest two routes through which Brazilian management studies could enhance international legitimacy: an outside-in approach, which draws upon established international contributions to theory to inform the investigation, but uses the Brazilian context to enlighten these same theories, and an inside-out approach that draws upon indigenous questions and research design to develop a theory relevant to the Brazilian context, which ultimately contributes to the enhancement of existing or to the creation of new theories. In addition, this article suggests that ambidextrous policies provide a better fit for research strategies intended to foster both approaches.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors found that the later the social organizations were founded, the more autonomy they have and the more oriented they are to representing their constituents' interests, while the later SOs were formed, the greater their desire for freedom from the party-state.
Abstract: This article considers whether social organizations (SOs) in China have acquired more autonomy over time under the socialist market economy. To discern whether SOs are changing under the corporatist system, we use quantitative data analyses of a 2001 to 2004 survey of SOs in China. We find that the later the SOs were founded, the more autonomy they have and die more oriented they are to representing their constituents' interests. The data also verify that the later SOs were formed, the greater their desire for freedom from the party-state. Furthermore, SOs that are more autonomous tend to be more critical of the SO management system, but this holds only for SOs founded before 2000. After 2001, no correlation occurs between autonomy and the expressed desire for more freedom.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper provided background information on public and non-profit sector innovation in the past thirty years in the West as well as in China, and summarized and commented on the articles in this issue.
Abstract: This article provides background information on public and non-profit sector innovation in the past thirty years in the West as well as in China. We summarized and commented on the articles in this issue, which document cases of public and non-profit sector innovation in China and theorize their significance. These cases tell vivid stories about how Chinese organizations innovate and also point out the importance of the role of government in initiating or constraining these innovations. We find, through the review of these studies, that China's public and non-profit sector organization innovation experiences carry some important messages about the unique features of China's public and non-profit organizations that should not be ignored while studying changes in China.
TL;DR: Li et al. as mentioned in this paper found that state-owned enterprises in which managers had closer authority relations were less likely to be sold or discontinued, and close authority relations also reduced the likelihood of career blockage (demotion/layoff).
Abstract: This article addresses three questions concerning authority relations (personal relations with superiors) in transitional China. First, can superiors retain an organizational unit in order to save a protege's job? Second, has instrumental usage of particularistic relations, or guanxi, lost its importance? Third, has ‘principled particularism’, an integration of political loyalty and authority relations, continued to impact careers? Based on first-hand survey data, I find that state-owned enterprises in which managers had closer authority relations were less likely to be sold or discontinued, and close authority relations also reduced the likelihood of career blockage (demotion/layoff). The significant interactive effect of party membership and authority relations revealed the continuation of ‘principled particularism’. The study underlines institutional continuity during rapid social change, renders insights into the processes of organizational restructuring, and depicts the relational base of formal organizations.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper proposed a model depicting scholars' roles in social organizations and governance, and found that scholar participation was more effective in projects in which there is low political intervention, and in village and county projects.
Abstract: Previous studies have found no relationship between scholar participation and public project performance. Building on the work of Lindblom (1977; 1990), I propose a model depicting scholars' roles in social organizations and governance. A study of thirty-two cases of large public works projects in China and seventeen projects in thirteen other countries shows a moderately positive relationship. The study further shows the greatest influence on project success occurs when participating scholars serve as information brokers and entrepreneurial activity organizers. Successful scholar participation occurred through five working principles: (1) there is dispersed and specialized knowledge production; (2) there is dispersed and asymmetric knowledge possession; (3) knowledge-driven volitions and consensus are criteria for knowledge; (4) the satisfaction of diverse and heterogeneous individual needs is realized through knowledge-driven institutional arrangements; and (5) there are multiple methods of knowledge application.[1] In general, scholar participation seems to be more effective in projects in which there is low political intervention, and in village and county projects. The results of the study provide a theoretical and empirical foundation for further research on scholar participation in social organizations.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors combine decision criteria associated with multiple theories rooted in organizational economics to investigate how top executives process information on IJV opportunities in China, and examine how executives cognitively weigh criteria from four prominent theories when making initial assessments of IJVs.
Abstract: Despite the rich set of theories that have developed on international joint ventures (IJVs), little is known about what theoretical criteria senior executives actually incorporate in their judgments of IJV opportunities and partners. Empirical studies have often applied individual theories in a particularistic fashion, rather than recognizing the different theoretical perspectives that boundedly-rational executives may incorporate into their decision models. In this article, we combine decision criteria associated with multiple theories rooted in organizational economics to investigate how top executives process information on IJV opportunities in China. Using an established experimental technique known as policy capturing, we examine how executives cognitively weigh criteria from four prominent theories when making initial assessments of IJVs (i.e., the resource-based view, transaction cost economics, information economics, and real options theory). Our arguments and findings on executives' IJV decision models contribute to decision-making research on alliances and IJVs in China.
TL;DR: In this paper, the management model used by China's Yunnan Province in its fight against HIV/AIDS has been investigated and shown to lead to some capacity building and stabilization of HIV transmission among certain at-risk populations.
Abstract: This article seeks to unravel the management model used by China's Yunnan Province in its fight against HIV/AIDS. This government-driven, multi-sector partnership model has led to some capacity building and stabilization of HIV transmission among certain at-risk populations. The organizational strategies employed in this model might be useful for resource-poor countries in containing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
TL;DR: The authors describes the development of cross-cultural research in organizational behavior over the last few decades and outlines a route for future research that takes Chinese indigenous constructs as points of departure to describe how individual outcomes of interest are embedded in their cultural environment.
Abstract: In this article, we describe the development of cross-cultural research in organizational behaviour over the last few decades. Distinguishing four epochs of cross-cultural research, i.e., the Aristotelian, Linnean, Newtonian, and Einsteinian, we explain research questions, empirical approaches, and research designs that have guided contributions to each epoch. Based on this description, we outline a route for future research that takes Chinese indigenous constructs as points of departure to describe how individual outcomes of interest are embedded in their cultural environment. Finally, we provide concrete implications for future research in this area.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider four broad classes of ambiguities: (1) Lack of clarity about preferences, (2) Lack-of-clarity about the definition of action alternatives, (3) Lack -of clarity about possible outcomes and their likelihoods, (4) of information (including translations) influencing decision-making, and (5) of lack of information influencing information influencing decision making.
Abstract: Ambiguity is an important yet elusive and often puzzling concept in studies of decisions and organizations, ranging from calculations of risk and inference of preferences from hypothetical lotteries, to ambiguity about preferences and even about the concept of ambiguity itself (Ellsberg, 1961; Fox & Tversky, 1995; Heath & Tversky, 1991; de Lara Resende & Wu, 2010; March, 1978; Rubaltelli, Rumiati, & Slovic, 2010). We consider four broad classes of ambiguities: (1) Lack of clarity about preferences. (2) Lack of clarity about the definition of action alternatives. (3) Lack of clarity about possible outcomes and their likelihoods. (4) Lack of clarity about information (including translations) influencing decision making. The phrase 'lack of clarity' is intended to encompass both vagueness and inconsistencies (contradictions) in the premises of action. Although ambiguity is often either ignored or reduced to risk or calculative uncertainty, and ambiguity aversion has been found in some studies, we would like to explore alternative responses. It is a cliche of organizational commentary to observe that how organizational members and decision makers behave is shaped at least in part by the culture in which they are embedded (Crozier, 1964). Readings both of contemporary reports on Chinese organizations and of traditional Chinese philosophy and literature suggest that Chinese traditions and practices may confront ambiguity with a frame that is different from the frame of Western rationality. In Chinese thought, the simultaneous existence of contradictory states or feelings is viewed as natural. Recent treatments of the idea of yin-yang and the I-Ching in Chinese writing contrast the Chinese perspective not only with Western ideas of rationality but also with Western ideas of dialectic (Chai & Rhee, 2010; Fang, 2012; Hsu & Chiu, 2008; Julliene, 2011). As a result, according to some reports and speculations, Chinese organizational practice may be, consciously or unconsciously, less directed to avoiding or removing ambiguity in choice than to exploiting it.