Does a Micro-Macro Link Exist Between Managerial Value of Reciprocity,Social Capital and Firm Performance? The Case of SMEs in China

With the deepening of China's economic reform, SMEs are starting to gain tremendous economic momentum and play an increasingly irreplaceable role in China's century-long bid for economic resurgence. Using a micro-macro link approach, this study investigates the effects of managerial value of reciprocity on both social capital and firm performance in China's rural SMEs. A structural equation modelling method was used to test hypotheses. Data from 177 SMEs in China provide supporting evidence that there exists a micro-macro link from managerial value of reciprocity, to social capital (trust) and to firm performance (both overall performance and competitiveness improvement).     

Feminism in Transition: Chinese Culture, Ideology and the Development of the Women's Movement in China

This study is concerned with transitional gender roles and relations, illuminated through an examination of the status of women in China from the Mao era to the post-Mao era. The study reveals that the socialist state has maintained a high degree of control over gender construction in order to legitimise its historical achievement of revolution and liberation, assuming given gender identities within the official discourse of socialism. Liberation meant creating a fundamentally new and more democratic socialism within a male hegemony. This is derived from the core philosophy Confucianism in which human role relations are cultivated and developed within a male-centred world. Consequently, this discourse opens up an authoritative normalisation process that hinders women's progress in the state, in the household and in organisations. Women's new identity involves aspects of biologically given features, internalisation of the patriarchal family and social relations. Collective relational construction therefore emphasises the feminine/maternal principles of identity, denouncing separation and independence. This phenomenon seems to be pushing the whole of gender politics in China back towards more traditional sex role differences and power imbalances.     

Rallying the Troops or Beating the Horses? How Project‐Related Demands Can Lead to Either High‐Performance or Abusive Supervision

In today's high‐pressure work environment, project managers are often forced to “do more with less.” We argue that this imperative can lead project managers to engage in either high‐performance or abusive supervision behaviors. To understand this process, we develop a model and associated propositions linking a project manager's cognitive appraisal of project‐related demands to high‐performance work practices versus abusive supervision behaviors—both of which impact three project outcomes: stakeholder relationships, people‐related project success factors, and employee well‐being. We propose that the choice between high‐performance work practices and abusive supervision behaviors is moderated by a project manager's personal resources (psychological capital, emotional intelligence, and dark triad personality).     

Unpacking transnational corporate responsibility: coordination mechanisms and orientations

This article aims to advance the discussion of how multinational companies manage the tension between global integration and local responsiveness in their corporate social responsibility (CSR). In particular, it studies the relationships between headquarters and subsidiaries in a transnational CSR strategy and the types of coordination mechanisms used. Building on a qualitative study of a multinational bank, we find that in addition to formal and informal coordination mechanisms, a transnational CSR strategy cannot be fully understood without considering lateral learning and participatory decision making. Further, we suggest that discussions about the transnational approach to CSR should not be disentangled from the question about a company's CSR orientation. Finally, we propose some characteristics of transnational CSR and discuss its theoretical and practical implications.     

Efficiency externalities of trade and alternative forms of foreign investment in OECD countries

The literature on the spillover effects of trade and inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) has concentrated on technological externalities. Little effort has been directed towards identifying their efficiency externalities. This paper measures the efficiency externalities of trade and various forms of foreign investment for a sample of 20 OECD countries between 1982 and 2000 using a stochastic frontier approach. Trade and all foreign investment inflows are found to enhance efficiency, whereas outflows of FDI are found to exacerbate inefficiency. The efficiency externalities from foreign investment are contingent on the absorptive capacity of the host economies. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Corporate restructuring and career advancement in Hong Kong

This paper examines the factors that contribute to career advancement in a sample of forty-four Hong Kong managers working in three local companies that had undergone restructuring. The findings indicate that they were acutely aware of shifts in the nature of their career paths but generally were reactive to changes rather than proactive. Their concerns about changes were mostly instrumental and pragmatic judgements about how things might affect their job security and career prospects. To increase their chances of getting promoted, they focused on human-capital investment by upgrading and widening their work skills. While they felt obligated to work overtime and enhance their performance by taking on extra duties and responsibilities, they sought to develop a harmonious relationship with the environment rather than dominate it. They disliked challenging their superiors, preferring instead to imitate their superiors' behavioural patterns. In their efforts to increase opportunities for career advancement, they employed business networking and visibility as ‘wooing’ strategies. Furthermore, the desire to avoid losing face and humiliation were effective motivators.     

Matching Ethical Work Climate to In-role and Extra-role Behaviors in a Collectivist Work Setting

This paper studies the relationship between organizational ethical climate and the forms of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), including in-role and extra-role behaviors, and examines the mediating effect of employee loyalty. A sample of employees from a traditional Hong Kong-based company was used as a study group. The purpose of this study was to examine the causes and implications of how various ethical work climates affect employee performance. Based on a model proposed by Victor and Cullen, ethical climate is arranged from lower levels to higher levels. The results suggest that lower levels of ethical climate (instrumentality and independence), characterizing a weak relational contract between employee and employer, are associated with negative extra-role behavior. In contrast, higher levels of ethical climate (caring and law-and-code), symbolic of a strong relational contract at work, are associated with positive extra-role behavior. Moreover, normative commitment mediated a positive relationship between caring and identification with the company, whereas attitudinal loyalty mediated the negative relationship between independence and altruism. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. Dr. Alicia Leung is an Associate Professor of Management at the Hong Kong Baptist University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Management Learning from the University of Lancaster, U.K. She is active in researching and writing materials about Asian organizations and management issues. Her research interests include gender issues and feminist methodology, business ethics, corporate governance, and strategic management in the Asian context.