Guanxi networks are critical for achieving entrepreneurial success in China. Informed by the literatures on network‐based entrepreneurship and guanxi, this study used a multiple‐case method to examine the development of Chinese entrepreneurs' guanxi networks in the entrepreneurial process. Data induction based on within‐ and cross‐case analyses of six entrepreneurial firms revealed three major findings. First, guanxi network dynamics in terms of network structure, governance mechanisms, and network content change systematically across the stages of the entrepreneurship process. Second, the usefulness of guanxi ties (such as family, business associates, or government officials) is contingent on the stage of the entrepreneurial process as well as on industrial‐level factors. Third, in knowledge‐intensive industries, cultivating and maintaining guanxi can be achieved through knowledge and information exchange rather than traditional gift‐giving or favours. The overall conclusion is that guanxi is still of paramount importance for Chinese entrepreneurs in the midst of China's transformation from a centrally planned to a socialist market economy. We propose a stage model of guanxi network development in the entrepreneurial process and discuss implications for future research.

The anticipated labor shortages of the 1990's will intensify organizational needs to retain their existing employees. Women represent an increasingly important segment of the labor force and their turnover rates are thought to exceed men's. Earlier studies of turnover and its psychological antecedent, the behavioral intention to leave, suggest that work-related factors may contribute to women's relatively higher turnover rates. The current paper reports the results of a study of the intentions of male and female executives, managers and professionals to leave their organizations. The results support the pattern of findings in earlier studies that gender differences disappear when job satisfaction is controlled in the analysis. Further analysis highlights the importance of two components ofjob satisfaction -meaningful work and opportunities for promotion. The authors conclude that organizations might improve their retention rates of female managers through job enrichment and by enhancing their advancement opportunities.

This study of interest‐based bargaining (IBB) examined past usage, current preferences, and future intentions to use this approach in U.S. airline and railroad labor negotiations. Based on a survey of eighty‐four union and management chief negotiators, we found that the personal attributes of the chief negotiator (orientation toward relationships, personal conflict handling style, and competency in IBB approaches) were strong predictors of the past use of IBB. However, personal affinities and styles became irrelevant as experience with IBB accumulated. The negotiator's preferences for IBB in general were strongly correlated to his or her awareness of other carriers' and unions' experiences with IBB, as well as to his or her own direct experience. The negotiator's intention to use IBB in the future was also related to the quality of the contract personally obtained through IBB practices. The study also revealed the unpopularity of IBB among labor negotiators relative to their management counterparts.

Purpose: We examine the relationship between individual-and country-level values and preferences for job/organizational attributes.Design/methodology: Survey data were collected from 475 full-time employees (average of 9 years work experience, and 3 years in a managerial position) enrolled in part-time MBA programs in seven countries. Findings:Preference for a harmonious workplace is positively related to horizontal collectivism, whereas preference for remuneration/advancement is positively related to vertical individualism.We also find a positive relationship between preference for meaningful work and horizontal individualism, and between preference for employer prestige and social adjustment needs. Research limitations/implications:Although our sample comprised experienced, full-time professionals, using graduate business students may limit generalizability. Overall, our results provide initial support for the utility of incorporating the multidimensional I/C measure, as well as social adjustment needs, when assessing the relationships between values and employee preferences. Practical implications:For practitioners, the primary conclusion is that making assumptions about preferences based on nationality is risky. Findings may also prove useful for enhancing person-organization fit and the ability to attract and retain qualified workers.Originality/value: This study extends research on workers' preferences by incorporating a new set of values and sampling experienced workers in a range of cultural contexts.

Taking an inductive approach, we examined the meaning and dimensionality of the organizational justice construct in the People's Republic of China. By triangulating qualitative data from in-depth interviews and structured open-ended surveys, we found that organizational justice and organizational fairness were perceived as distinct constructs in a Chinese context.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical framework for assessing the effects representatives have on their client's perceptions of justice, outcome and satisfaction, as well as the treatment received by clients from other stakeholders, in workplace dispute resolution processes. Design/methodology/approach -Research propositions are advanced based on constructs and theories drawn from the literature on organizational justice, in particular, as well as social psychology in general. Findings -Representatives are hypothesized to have a profound effect on their client's perceptions of voice, participation and satisfaction as well as on the treatment accorded the client by the other side and third-party neutral. Representation, per se, is heralded as neither a positive nor a negative force in workplace dispute resolution processes.Research limitations/implications -The framework of a representative's effects is limited by a focus on individual employees who pursue disputes arising out of the employment relationship against management and, therefore, excludes disputes involving groups as well as non-employment related disputes. Practical implications -Suggestions for expanding or contracting the role of representatives in workplace dispute resolution are discussed. Originality/value -Although it is ubiquitous in US jurisprudence and is a growing presence in alternative dispute resolution, the representative-client dyad has been unexplored. The impact representatives have on the client's perceptions of justice, and the effects representatives have on other stakeholders in the process, bear scrutiny.

Purpose-The present study tests a mediated model of the relationship between self-concept orientation (individualist and collectivist) and organizational identification (OrgID, Cooper and Thatcher, 2010), with proposed mediators including the need for organizational identification (nOID, Glynn, 1998) as well as self-presentation concerns of social adjustment (SA) and value expression (VE, Highhouse et al., 2007). Design-Data were collected from 509 participants in seven countries. Direct and mediation effects were tested using structural equation modeling (AMOS 25.0). Findings-Individualist self-concept orientation was positively related to VE and collectivist self-concept orientation was positively related to nOID, VE and SA. VE mediated the relationship between both self-concept orientations and OrgID. In addition, nOID mediated the relationship for collectivist self-concept orientation. Practical Implications-This study identifies underlying psychological needs as mediators of the relationship of self-concept orientation to organizational identification. Understanding these linkages enables employers to develop practices that resonate with the self-concept orientations and associated psychological needs of their employees, thereby enhancing organizational identification. Originality/Value-This study provides a significant contribution to the organizational identification literature by proposing and testing for relationships between self-concept orientations and OrgID as mediated by underlying psychological needs. The results provide support for the mediated model as well as many of Cooper and Thatcher's (2010) theoretical propositions, with notable exceptions.

Employee willingness to relocate can have a major impact on individual career advancement as well as organizational human resource policies. The present study examines the relationship of career andfamily-relatedfactors to the lowest percentage pay increase required to relocate to another city or state for males andfemales. The results support previous studies concerning gender differences. However; gender does not remain as a significant predictor of willingness to relocate when controlling for other career andfamily-relatedfactors.