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There has long been interest in how leaders influence the unethical behavior of those who they lead. However, research in this area has tended to focus on leaders' direct influence over subordinate behavior, such as through role modeling or eliciting positive social exchange. We extend this research by examining how ethical leaders affect how employees construe morally problematic decisions, ultimately influencing their behavior. Across four studies, diverse in methods (lab and field) and national context (the United States and China), we find that ethical leadership decreases employees' propensity to morally disengage, with ultimate effects on employees' unethical decisions and deviant behavior. Further, employee moral identity moderates this mediated effect. However, the form of this moderation is not consistent. In Studies 2 and 4, we find that ethical leaders have the largest positive influence over individuals with a weak moral identity (providing a "saving grace"), whereas in Study 3, we find that ethical leaders have the largest positive influence over individuals with a strong moral identity (catalyzing a "virtuous synergy"). We use these findings to speculate about when ethical leaders might function as a "saving grace" versus a "virtuous synergy." Together, our results suggest that employee misconduct stems from a complex interaction between employees, their leaders, and the context in which this relationship takes place, specifically via leaders' influence over employees' moral cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The unparalleled growth in multinational corporations in recent decades has witnessed a commensurate rise in the deployment of expatriates to foreign subsidiaries and their subsequent repatriation. However, despite considerable progress in our understanding of the expatriation phase of international assignments, the literature on repatriation remains fragmented and incomplete. Plagued with problematic re-adjustments, high turnover rates, and a range of other obstacles, there is an urgent need for an improved understanding of repatriation. This study systematically reviews the repatriation literature over the previous four decades, identifies its major themes, gaps and limitations, and provides a framework that consolidates the literature and prompts future work in several important new directions. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The hospitality industry is under threat from COVID-19 and the possibility of future crises remains very real. To improve understanding of how such a crisis impacts the attractiveness of pursuing a career in the hospitality industry, this study examines the effects of negative emotions invoked by COVID-19 on hospitality management students’ occupational attitudes. Using a sample of 425 students, we find that in addition to diminishing their occupational identification and in turn, job choice intentions, that the effects of these negative emotions are channeled through three salient motivational pathways, namely self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and passion. Thus, the study not only advances theory by providing a more nuanced conceptualization of the effects of negative emotions on occupational attitudes but it identifies important leverage points that can be harnessed to help mitigate the harmful emotional effects of a crisis, such as COVID-19, important and timely contributions that the authors hope will benefit aspiring hospitality industry talent and help restore the attractiveness of careers in the hospitality industry. Future research directions and implications to theory and practice are discussed.

The capability of one generation to transfer knowledge to the next is strategically important to the survival and competitiveness of family firms. This study proposes a resource-based theory framew...

Drawing on the symbolic interactionist role perspective, we propose that newcomers with the same supervisor will develop a collective or shared perception of supervisor serial socialization tactics...

We present and test a self-consistency theory framework for gossip: that perceived negative workplace gossip influences our self-perceptions and, in turn, this influences our behaviors. Using supervisor-subordinate dyadic time-lagged data (n = 403), we demonstrated that perceived negative workplace gossip adversely influenced target employees’ organization-based self-esteem, which, in turn, influenced their citizenship behavior directed at the organization and at its members. Moreover, by integrating victimization theory into our framework, we further demonstrated that negative affectivity, an individual’s dispositional tendency, not only moderated the self-consistency process but also predicted perceived negative workplace gossip. Our study therefore shifts attention to the target of negative workplace gossip and in doing so offers a promising new direction for future research. Implications to theory and practice are discussed. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study integrated the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and concept of psychological contract fulfillment into a social exchange theory process framework to improve our understanding how and when job characteristics interact to influence job outcomes. Using survey data (n=334), we found evidence to support our hypothesized relationships between job characteristics (job demands and job resources) and job outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment); and the mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment (transactional and relational), such that when job resources (job control and support) were high, the negative effects of high job demands on psychological contract fulfillment were attenuated. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Drawing on social capital and agency theories and using a multi-study research design, this study examined how perceived risk and return interacts with familism to influence individuals’ investment strategies in new venture financing, both capital seeking and capital providing behavior. We found that individuals high in familism are more likely to seek capital from and provide capital to family members than non-family members for new ventures. However, such relationships are more complex than prior research suggests because when individuals’ risk and return perceptions are included these interact with familism to differentially influence capital financing behavior directed at family versus non-family members. Contributions to theory and potential avenues for future research are discussed. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Drawing on the person-person (P-P) fit literature, this study demonstrates how to enhance knowledge sharing between expatriates and their host country national (HCN) colleagues. Survey data was col...

Business schools play an instrumental role in laying the foundations for ethical behavior and socially responsible actions in the business community. Drawing on social learning and identity theories and using data collected from undergraduate business students (n = 318), we found that ethical climate was a significant predictor of unethical behavior, such that students with positive perceptions about their business school's ethical climate were more likely to refrain from unethical behaviors. Moreover, we found that high moral and institutional identities strengthened the effect of ethical climate on unethical behavior. In addition to novel theoretical contributions to the business ethics and socio-psychology literature, this study offers practical pathways through which business schools can nurture and instill the values and behaviors that ultimately help shape positive organizational ethics. Directions for future research are provided. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The transfer and diffusion of human resources management (HRM) practices within the geographically dispersed operations of multinational corporations (MNCs) is receiving heightened attention, in particular because it is believed to significantly influence the performance and competitiveness of MNCs and their subsidiaries. However, as a review of the current body of literature suggests, further work is needed if we are to more fully understand the underlying process through which HRM practices are transferred and diffused or provide more holistic guidance with practitioner relevance. In this article, the authors review and synthesize the extant literature on the transfer and diffusion of HRM practices in the MNC context. Five salient themes or questions that prior research attempts to address are identified and critiqued. A general guiding framework is proposed as are possible avenues for future research. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study empirically investigated culture's consequences on employee perceptions of the performance implications of financial and non-financial rewards. Using a sample (n = 568) drawn from the banking industry in Finland and Hong Kong, we found that although the effects and predictive capability of culture (i.e. masculinity–femininity, individualism–collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance) offered some important insights, a range of other contextual factors (i.e. organizational, institutional, economic) wielded influence over and shaped reward–performance values, preferences, and behaviours. The emergence of these new paradigms necessitates that the US centric economic and behavioural theories (e.g. exchange) that underpin reward–performance be revisited and extended if they are to be applicable in the international context. Understanding the influence of a range of contextual forces is therefore critical to multinational organizations attempting to implement effective reward strategies aimed at achieving a diverse set of performance priorities. In addition to these novel theoretical and practical contributions, this study also paves the way for future research in this promising area of management studies.

This study explored the state of human resource (HR) outsourcing in the Asian context, a particularly important subject given its rapid proliferation in Europe and North America, the inconsistent and limited evidence from prior research, and its strategic importance to the human resource management (HRM) function. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data and the transaction cost, resource-based, and institutional perspectives, we found that although respondents were generally favourable towards outsourcing, that in practice its adoption and diffusion were in a nascent stage in Hong Kong. Decisions to outsource were, by and large, incremental and experimental and influenced by a range of contextual factors (e.g., availability of in-house expertise, skills and creativity, strategic priorities, legislation (coercive), availability of external service providers, and industry and peer (mimetic) influence). Despite considerable pressure to cut costs, instead of outsourcing in the first instance, firms placed greater emphasis on maximising internal resource utilization (insourcing). Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are also provided. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study examined the mediating effects of employee-organization service value congruence on pay for performance and work attitudes. Using a sample drawn from the hotel industry, we found that when employees perceived a high PFP link they tended to exhibit more positive work attitudes. We also found that the relationship between PFP link and work attitudes was mediated by P-O fit. These findings offer new insights into the important role that reward practices such as PFP play in the alignment of employer-organization service quality values. In doing so, they also pave the way for future contributions in this novel and important area of service value congruence. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The current study examines intergenerational knowledge sharing in Chinese family firms from the perspective of the successor. Drawing upon the attachment (Bowlby, 1969) and social identity (Tajfel,...

The past decade has seen a tremendous increase in research on expatriate knowledge sharing. In spite of its growing popularity there is a lack of clarity regarding what kind of knowledge expatriate...

This study investigated the relationships among job stressors, coping resources, and job stress. Data were collected from food service employees (n = 255) in the hotel and catering industry. Hierarchical regression showed main significant effects of job demands and job control and three-way (job demands x job control x work-life balance practices) interactions on job stress. The results further demonstrated that high job demands coupled with low job control and the availability of work-life balance practices resulted in a higher level of stress. Implications for Karasek's job demand-control model, managerial practice and future research are provided. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The study drew on a sample (n = 284) front the hotel industry in Hong Kong to advance Our understanding about the perceived effectiveness of various reward instruments in achieving specific task and extra-task performance behaviors. We found that the perceived motivating value of a reward varied according to its type. Non-financial rewards, for example, were found to play a prominent role in achieving extra-task performance dimensions. Employee characteristics also affected the perceived performance implications of various rewards. Nevertheless, caution must be exercised when interpreting the results, as other factors may also influence reward-performance relationships, thus paving the way for future research. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study adopted a structural approach to examine the formation and characteristics of Chinese business networks via interlocking directorates during a stage in China's institutional transitions. Analyses of the network structures of 949 listed companies revealed that: (1) Chinese business networks were smaller in scale and lower in density than their Western counterparts; (2) no nationwide network with a dominant center existed; (3) interlock occurred mainly in the form of smaller business groups which tended to be regionally fragmented; (4) ties were more prevalent among industrial peers than with financial institutions; and (5) government ownership was predominant. These findings therefore deepen our understanding about the pattern and extent of business interlock in China. Not only do these findings provide substantive implications to the notion and dimensionality of guanxi, but they also offer inspiration to managers and policy makers by illuminating key characteristics of network structure. Laying these foundations shall pave the way for future research in the structure of Chinese business networks. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study examines the multi-dimensional nature of reward preferences (i.e. types, systems, and criteria) in the cross-border context, an area not sufficiently addressed by prior research. We found empirical evidence to suggest both similarities and differences in employee reward preferences. Although culture may impinge on reward preferences, this study suggests that its influence may be diminishing or giving way to a range of other contextual forces. Directions for future research are also presented.

This study examines cross-national differences in the perceived attributes of employee performance using a multi-country sample drawn from Canada, China (Hong Kong), Finland and the UK. Significant country differences were found in the relative importance individuals attach to internal versus external causes of their performance. Respondents in Canada, Finland and the UK considered internal factors to be the most relevant. This was in contrast to their counterparts in China (Hong Kong) where a combination of both internal and external factors are believed to influence performance outcomes. Understanding these East–West differences is essential to managers grappling with the design and implementation of performance management systems in cross-border settings. The present study also paves the way for future research.

In this short note, analysis is made of the price effects in the immediate run-up to and aftermath of voluntary ‘share subdivisions’. Evidence for stock splits conducted in Hong Kong between January 2003 and December 2005 points to a general surge in prices prior to split announcements with a much weaker, but generally positive, return picture emerging thereafter. Regression analysis also points to support for a ‘trading range’ hypothesis and helps extend earlier findings for Hong Kong reported in Wu and Chan (1997) and elsewhere (see Lakonishok and Lev, 1987 for the USA for example). Finally, consistent with the surge in prices prior to split announcement, there is some evidence to indicate that return volatilities over the 30 day return period immediately preceding announcement exceed volatility levels for each of two successive 30 day return periods.

and Key Results ▪ The present study empirically investigates employee reward preferences in the cross-national context using a sample drawn from 60 companies in two culturally distinct countries, Finland and China (Hong Kong). ▪ The results underscore the benefits of adopting a total reward management approach which includes a mix of financial and non-financial rewards. ▪ We found that a fuller appreciation of reward preferences entails consideration of employee characteristics and other contextual factors beyond culture.

Implementation and outcomes of PFP can be controversial. Using a sample drawn from banks in the US and Hong Kong, we find that employee acceptance of and reactions to PFP are contingent upon a numb...

Reward practices that are effective in one country may be very different from those that are successful in others. This is largely due to reward preference, which is shaped by individual needs, values and expectations. By integrating both the theories of motivation and culture, this study examines employee reward preference in four countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland and Hong Kong. A construct for examining the multi-dimensional nature of reward is used, the type-system-criterion (TSC) model, to identify where specific differences in reward preference lie. The findings lend support to and extend the existing body of research. Yet, in contrast to prior research, empirical analysis reveals that while preferences for certain types of rewards remain relatively divergent, differences in preferences for both reward systems and the criteria by which rewards are allocated are diminishing as the forces of convergence take hold. The findings are particularly relevant to managers engaged in the design and implementation of reward practices in a MNC environment and open reward research to a promising new direction.

Previous studies examining newcomer socialization have underlined the importance of proactive behaviors in aiding the adjustment of newcomers to an organization. However, few studies have focused on the effects of different types of proactive behaviors. In this study, we examine different proactive behaviors in the person-environment fit domain and investigate its impact on newcomer learning and ultimately newcomer performance and mental health. Specifically, we focus on direct inquiry and changing work procedure and propose that direct inquiry results in more learning while changing work procedure results in less learning, which is also a mediating mechanism for performance and mental health. To test our model, we use a 2-wave multi-source dataset of newcomers. This study contributes to the literature on proactive behavior of newcomers by identifying differences between proactive behaviors in the person-environment domain and further understanding the behaviors that newcomers can take to be successfully ...

A study of 302 front-line employees in three 5-star Hong Kong hotels found that high job demand variability diminished their job satisfaction. However, adding discretion to the job content and improving rewards and training as part of the job context resources and support were found to moderate the negative effects of high job demand variability on the employees' job satisfaction. The importance of service discretion is particularly intriguing for these employees, since their hotels' current cultural approach is to require supervisory approval for deviations from standard practice. This study draws on the job demands-control (JD-C) model to incorporate socio-psychological characteristics of customer service positions in the analysis of employees' job satisfaction. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Leaders hold the power lo influence followers within and beyond organizational boundaries. Leaders, whether leading from spiritual, authentic, or servant models, can motivate individuals and teams in a desired direction; cultivate constructive interpersonal relations; promote higher standards of conduct and performance; create a caring and supportive organizational culture; and encourage a range of other positive employee and organizational outcomes. They can also inspire employees lo volunteer and take part in community outreach initiatives and other forms of civic and social responsibility. However, as the popular business press and scholars in the fields of work psychology, organizational behavior, and interpersonal relations all too often remind us, such influence is not necessarily always positive. Abusive, despotic, and toxic behaviors, misconduct, and other ethical failings of leaders may not only be detrimental to the well-being, behaviors, and performance of followers but may also adversely impact other members of an organization, customers, suppliers, and the broader society in general. For these reasons, scholars and practitioners alike have been attempting to better understand how leader-follower relations might be improved and the role that ethical leadership can play in helping to mitigate deviant and counterproductive behaviors in the workplace.

Many Chinese family businesses face the dilemma of building good operating and governance structures and systems while fostering an entrepreneurial spirit across generations. In this study, we explored trans-generational entrepreneurship in Automatic Manufacturing Ltd. (AML), a Hong Kong SME, to shed light on this problem. The first generation founded the company and chose a unique development path that emphasized quality, innovation, and learning before grooming a cadre of professional managers. To continue the family entrepreneurial spirit, AML used the "familiness" resources embodied within the family and its business to incubate the second generation. To test the wings of the second generation as entrepreneurs and then lure them back to AML to take over the responsibilities of the first generation, a unique succession plan nurturing spin-offs by the second generation was developed and implemented. Such a systematic approach, although still under experimentation, has the potential to become best practice for other family businesses. The implications of this approach for research in portfolio entrepreneurship and open innovation are also discussed. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study empirically investigated culture's consequences on the major purposes and practices of performance appraisal using a sample (n = 1749) drawn from the banking industry in seven countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. We found that the effects and predictive capability of assertiveness, uncertainty avoidance, in-group collectivism, and power distance should not be overstated nor are they straightforward. Organizations must be cognizant of the potential influence that a range of other organizational, institutional, and economic factors may wield on appraisal. These findings hold significant implications for the theoretical underpinnings of appraisal, a management tool largely rooted in US equity, expectancy, and procedural justice values and traditions. They also offer important lessons for practice. Not only is the transferability of appraisal and its operationalization affected by interactions with divergent cultures and contextual settings, but new hybrid appraisal architectures are emerging that necessitate further research.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the population of Chinese state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) listing A‐ (Chinese Mainland) and H‐ (Hong Kong) shares with a view to explaining differential pricing across the two stock types.Design/methodology/approachDespite the fact that both A‐ and H‐shares carry ostensibly the same shareholder benefits, when issued by a given SOE, major pricing differences are apparent. The behaviour of such prices for 20 quarters spanning January 2001 to December 2005 was examined. During this period, a marked contraction in the mean A‐ to H‐price relative occurred, whereby A‐prices generally softened and H‐prices soared.FindingsIt was noted that that the principal factors relevant to the contraction in the A‐ to H‐share price relative relate to two issues: first, an enveloping risk premium centring on state‐share disposal fears, and second, the firming of expectations surrounding the likely deployment of a qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) scheme.Research limitations/implicationsModelling of changing expectations, especially in relation to uncertain policy deployment, is an invidious task. Measurement of such expectations is obviously strewn with difficulties.Originality/valueAs pertinent factors largely hinge on the deliberations of the PRC state, the analysis herein provides useful input into how policy can either wittingly or unwittingly shape general share price movements. Such insights are especially important given the evolving nature of the Chinese economy.

Drawing on the similarity-attraction paradigm, the present study examined the mediating roles of absorptive capacity (cognitive capability component), liking (affective component), and relational identification (relational component) in accounting for the effects of perceived similarity on knowledge transfer and employee learning. Data used to test the proposed theoretical framework were collected over two separate time intervals and consisted of a sample of 216 supervisor-subordinate dyads from family-owned enterprises. The results demonstrated that perceived similarity positively influenced knowledge transfer and employee learning indirectly through its impact on affect and supervisor identification, respectively. Implications to theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

An unparalleled growth in multinational corporations (MNCs) in the past decade has witnessed a commensurate rise in the deployment of expatriates to foreign subsidiaries and their subsequent repatriation. However, despite considerable progress in our understanding of expatriation, the repatriation literature remains under-researched, fragmented, controversial and lacks a guiding framework to assist researchers with the field's advancement. At the same time, scholars have recognized that evidence from related fields (e.g., expatriation) may not be applicable or extended to repatriation given its unique characteristics, features, and context that necessitate a more specific examination. Plagued with problematic adjustments, high turnover rates, and a range of other obstacles, there is an urgent need to improve managers' and scholars' understanding of repatriation. This study intends to systematically review the repatriation literature from the previous three decades, identify theoretical and empirical gaps and shortcomings that appear to be holding back the literature, synthesize fragmented findings, controversies, and evidence, identify the unique features and characteristics of repatriation that make it distinct from expatriation, and develop a taxonomy and research agenda that inspire and encourage scholars to undertake future research to advance and extend this important and under-researched area of the organizational sciences. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study examined the predictors of employees' continuous improvement behavior as well as why and when the process affecting continuous improvement is attenuated or enhanced. More specif...

This study examines whether social closeness makes individuals milder towards peers’ unethical behavior. The results, from a sample of 118 Hong Kong Chinese and 102 Mainland Chinese students, indicate that when judging the ethicality of an act, individuals look beyond the nature of the act itself and implicitly consider their social closeness with the person performing the act. Individuals have milder ethical judgments when the person being judged is an in-group member (versus out-group member) or friend (versus stranger). In addition, individuals have milder ethical judgments when the person being judged is a friend instead of an in-group member, which suggests that as social closeness increases we become milder in our ethical judgments. To provide support that this phenomenon is primarily a product of one’s social closeness with the person to be judged and that these effects are not attributable to a subset of people who are low in moral attentiveness nor attributable to a subset of people who perceive ...

Business schools play an instrumental role in laying the foundations for ethical behavior and socially responsible actions in the business community. Drawing on social learning, information processing, and identity theories and using data collected from 318 business students, we found that ethical climate was an important predictor of ethical behavior, such that students with positive perceptions about their schooli¦s ethical environment were more likely to refrain from unethical behaviors. We further found that moral identity strengthened the effect of ethical climate to the extent that students with a high moral identity were less likely to engage in unethical behaviors. A higher institutional identity was also found to yield similar effects. In addition to offering a number of new and theoretically significant contributions about the impact of both individual (moral and institutional identity) and situational (ethical climate) factors on ethical behavior, this study suggests important pathways through ...

Drawing on self-regulatory theory, the present study examined the impact of ethical leadership on three types of deviant behaviors, as well as the mediating role of moral disengagement and the mode...

This study investigated workplace fun practices, fun experience, and work outcomes (work engagement and job satisfaction). Drawing on social exchange and information processing theories and the dem...