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Asia Pacific Journal of Management

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01-03-2014

The role of relational orientation as measured by face and renqing in innovative behavior in China: An indigenous analysis

Authors: Kwok Leung, Zhenjiao Chen, Fan Zhou, Kai Lim

Published in: Asia Pacific Journal of Management | Issue 1/2014

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Abstract

Following an indigenous approach, the relationship of the relational orientation of Chinese employees with their innovative behavior is evaluated in China with a cross-level design. Based on relevant research and theorizing, relational orientation is tapped by two core elements, face and renqing (compassion for others). As expected, relational orientation is positively related to fear of failure, but negatively related to innovative behavior. The positive relationship between relational orientation and fear of failure, and the negative relationship between fear of failure and innovative behavior, are weaker when innovative climate is high. Theoretical and applied implications of the findings are discussed.

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According to Hofmann and Gavin (1998), grand-mean centering should be more appropriate for our study. They also suggested that grand-mean centering level-one variables may produce misleading results for cross-level interactions. Thus, we also analyzed a model with all individual-level variables group-mean centered, and the results for the cross-level interactions were found to be identical to those reported (See Gavin & Hofmann, 2002, for a similar approach).

As a supplementary analysis, we explored the individual effects of face and renqing. Note that the reliabilities of the face and renqing scales are less than favorable because the number of items used is small, and that the results are just for reference. Consistent with the argument that these two constructs define a relational orientation, the pattern of results obtained with the face scale was similar to that based on renqing. Perhaps because the reliability of the renqing scale is relatively lower, the results based on this scale are generally weaker.

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Title: The role of relational orientation as measured by face and renqing in innovative behavior in China: An indigenous analysis
Authors: Kwok Leung
Zhenjiao Chen
Fan Zhou
Kai Lim
Publication date: 01-03-2014
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Asia Pacific Journal of Management / Issue 1/2014
Print ISSN: 0217-4561
Electronic ISSN: 1572-9958
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-011-9277-1

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