“…Therefore, such employees are less likely to seek advantages, which may include unlawful or unethical benefits, through rent‐seeking guanxi (Fan et al. ). As a result, it is expected that ethical leadership will suppress rent‐seeking guanxi .Hypothesis 3: Ethical leadership is negatively related to rent‐seeking guanxi orientation.…”
Section: Theory and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Moreover, in order to gain economic value and benefit, employees in rent‐seeking guanxi orientation may pursue opportunistic behavior, which may lead to unethical behavior (Fan ; Fan et al. ; Su, Sirgy and Littlefield ). Rent‐seeking orientation relates to self‐interest rather than the benefit of an organization or society.…”
Section: Theory and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning
Ethical leadership has been documented as a critical factor influencing employee behavior. This study aims to expand on previous research by investigating how ethical leadership cultivates healthy Chinese guanxi between employees and their supervisors and influences employee organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). We propose that two types of Chinese guanxi, favor‐seeking guanxi and rent‐seeking guanxi, may play a mediating role in the relationship between ethical leadership and OCB. Using survey data collected from Chinese employees (N = 502), regression and bootstrap analyses are used to test the proposed research model. The results suggest that ethical leadership not only directly promotes employee OCB performance, but also does so indirectly by facilitating favor‐seeking guanxi orientation and suppressing rent‐seeking guanxi orientation. The results provide a theoretical contribution to the study of ethical leadership and Chinese guanxi, and also extend our practical understanding of the role of ethical leadership in enhancing OCB effectively in the China context.
“…Therefore, such employees are less likely to seek advantages, which may include unlawful or unethical benefits, through rent‐seeking guanxi (Fan et al. ). As a result, it is expected that ethical leadership will suppress rent‐seeking guanxi .Hypothesis 3: Ethical leadership is negatively related to rent‐seeking guanxi orientation.…”
Section: Theory and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Moreover, in order to gain economic value and benefit, employees in rent‐seeking guanxi orientation may pursue opportunistic behavior, which may lead to unethical behavior (Fan ; Fan et al. ; Su, Sirgy and Littlefield ). Rent‐seeking orientation relates to self‐interest rather than the benefit of an organization or society.…”
Section: Theory and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning
Ethical leadership has been documented as a critical factor influencing employee behavior. This study aims to expand on previous research by investigating how ethical leadership cultivates healthy Chinese guanxi between employees and their supervisors and influences employee organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). We propose that two types of Chinese guanxi, favor‐seeking guanxi and rent‐seeking guanxi, may play a mediating role in the relationship between ethical leadership and OCB. Using survey data collected from Chinese employees (N = 502), regression and bootstrap analyses are used to test the proposed research model. The results suggest that ethical leadership not only directly promotes employee OCB performance, but also does so indirectly by facilitating favor‐seeking guanxi orientation and suppressing rent‐seeking guanxi orientation. The results provide a theoretical contribution to the study of ethical leadership and Chinese guanxi, and also extend our practical understanding of the role of ethical leadership in enhancing OCB effectively in the China context.
“…Ethical decision-making is a complex process that is influenced by numerous factors including personal values, external influences (Hunt and Vitell, 1986;1993) and situations related to the issues (Jones and Kavanagh, 1996). Personal connections or interpersonal relationships such as guanxi are social constructs likely to influence ways of thinking and acting (Au and Wong, 2000;Fan et al, 2012a;2012b;Ho and Redfern, 2010;Liu, 2013;Tan and Snell, 2002). Past studies of interpersonal relationships involving the Chinese concept of guanxi have generated conflicting findings with respect to business personnel in the Asian region.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The authors of this present study believe that guanxi (in its two-dimensional form) can be used in the investigation of western attitudes towards interpersonal relationships within a business context based on commonalities between guanxi and western social network theory (SNT). The literature suggests that except for Fan et al (2012b) no equivalent research appears to have examined non-Chinese subjects' perceptions of guanxi and its impact on judgment in a business context. Fan et al (2012b) examined the impact of guanxi orientations on the ethical judgments of a small sample of Australian born accounting students.…”
Purpose-The purpose of this study is to determine how western business practitioners, specifically Australian accounting professionals identify with the Chinese value concept of guanxi and the impact of their perceptions of guanxi on their ethical decision-making. This objective is predicated by a belief that aspects of guanxi are similar to the western concept of social networking and would be identified by practitioners as an organizational process providing positive benefits to those associated with its application. Further it is anticipated that concepts of guanxi influence the way Australian accountants form ethical judgments and intentions, precursors to acceptable moral behaviour. Design/methodology/approach-Cross-sectional questionnaire based survey of 111 usable Australian accounting professionals completed during 2012. A confirmatory factor analysis was employed to validate each construct of guanxi before a path analysis was performed. Findings-Australian accounting professionals associate well with the favour-seeking aspects of guanxi, suggesting an affiliation with western concepts of social networking. Both groups (i.e., public accountants and private accountants) reject rent-seeking guanxi as clearly unethical. Rentseeking guanxi is seen to directly influence ethical judgment and intention; however, their favour-seeking guanxi attitudes do not influence ethical judgment or intention, regardless of employment type. Public and private accountants apply guanxi in a differential manner when determining moral intention. Public accountants are viewed as acting spontaneously without adequately considering the consequences (via the judgment phase), which appears to be a function of the nature of their personal association with the case study applied in this research. Originality/value-The research provides evidence that Australian accounting professionals relate to favour-seeking guanxi as representative of a broader notion of social networking. In this context, the guanxi instrument appears to be amenable to cross-cultural evaluations of group behaviour. Significant differences of opinion exist compared to the prior Chinese studies when unethical practices are considered. The guanxi instrument proves to be a useful tool when examining the group interactions involving western professionals and also helps establish differences in moral constructions based on employment types.
“…The positive aspect, namely favour-seeking guanxi has similar attributes to the western concept of social networking theory and is commonly identified within business relationships. In a recent study of Australian and Chinese subjects (accountants and students), Fan et al (2012c) report that survey respondents presented similar views about the relevance of such practices, which facilitate communications and contract achievement when all affected parties have equal access to information. Information asymmetry develops however, when the negative form of guanxi (rentseeking) is allowed to emerge, where the interests of some affected parties to a relationship are ignored (e.g., back-door deals, bureaucratic privilege etc.).…”
Section: Audit Independence Of Mind and In Appearancementioning
Abstract:Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to further extend research (Fan et al., 2012a) examining the attitudes of Chinese certified public accountants with respect to independence aspects of their professional codes of conduct and their influence on ethical judgment. These attitudes are compared with those of Australian public accountants Particular attention is given to refining a pre-existing instrument to determine measurement invariance.Design/methodology/approach -A field survey of 81 Australian and 516 Chinese public accountants was conducted including the distribution of a questionnaire. Statistical analysis included confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance.Findings -An analysis of data established the existence of a stable model for identifying the dimensions of independence of mind and independence in appearance within the context of the codes of conduct relevant to both cultures. Chinese accountants demonstrated significantly less concern about audit-client relationships affecting independence in appearance compared to their Australian counterparts. Interestingly, independence of mind was found to positively influence ethical judgment for both groups taken together, although Chinese accountants were the significant contributors to this model outcome.Research limitations/implications -The relatively small sample of Australian accountants drawn from a limited population base could influence the quality of data analysis. This paper provides a further research direction for re-examining the relationship between Australian public accountants' attitudes toward their code of professional ethics and their ethical judgments in a significantly larger sample.Practical implications -This paper is particularly useful to the profession in that it will provide members with better insights into how accountants in different cultural settings view audit independence issues and their relationships with audit clients. Second, this study offers a scale for measuring attitudes towards codes of professional ethics for further cross-cultural studies.Original/value -An exploratory research exercise that indicates that accounting practitioners in divergent cultures demonstrate similar concerns about independence issues, although it is believed that guanxi is likely to explain why Chinese accountants are less concerned with independence of appearance issues. The research also presents a validated instrument for examining attitudes towards codes of ethics.
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