Constructive Deviance In Chinese Enterprises: Construct, Formation Mechanisms, And Impacts

Workplace deviance is becoming an increasingly important issue for organizations. Traditionally, deviance refers to intentional behaviors that depart from organizational norms that threaten the well-being of an organization, its members, or both(Bennett & Robinson, 2000; Robinson & Bennett, 1995). While deviant behavior may be harmful, employee deviance can be constructive and functional as well. We conceptualize constructive deviance as behaviors that organizational members partake in that depart from norms of the reference group with the intent of improving the well being of an organization, its members or both. Our study on constructive deviance in China could expand the theoretical understanding of deviance to include positive behaviors and emphasize the role of constructive deviance in increasing innovation and fostering organizational change.Based on the literature review, interview, open-ended questionnaire survey and questionnaire survey in advance, employee constructive deviance survey questionnaire was developed. In a samples collected from China, we examined the antecedents, formation mechanisms and consequences. The present study includes 6 substudys, the first substudy developed a generalizable measure, substudy 2 compared the differences of constructive deviance on demographic and organizational variables, substudy3-5 explored the antecedents and formation mechanisms of constructive deviance, the last substudy explored the influence of constructive deviance. The main conclisions are as the following:Firstly, the result of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the structure of constructive deviance in China comprises three factors: organization oriented constructive deviance, individual oriented constructive deviance and client oriented constructive deviance. The reliability and validity of the constructive deviance scale is high enough.Secondly, the results of one-way ANOVA, one-sample T test and multiple comparison analysis indicated that the employees’ perceptions of constructive deviance were different on demographic and organizational variables.Thirdly, the results of hierarchical linear modeling(HLM) indicated that the relationship between empowering leadership has positive effects on employee constructive deviance and its dimension; the results also indicated that the relationship between authoritarian leadership has negative effects on employee constructive deviance and its dimension.Fourthly, explore the individual level formation mechanism through multi-level analysis technology, we found that: power distance moderated the relationship between leadership behavior(including empowering leadership and authoritarian leadership) and constructive deviance; psychological empowerment acted as a mediator between leadership behavior and constructive deviance; the interactions of leadership behavior and power distance were mediated by psychological empowerment, thereby affecting employee constructive deviance.Fifthly, we found the group level formation mechanism of constructive deviance: environment dynamics moderated the relationship between leadership behavior(including empowering leadership and authoritarian leadership) and constructive deviance; constructive deviance climate acted as a mediator between leadership behavior and constructive deviance; the interactions of leadership behavior and environment dynamics were mediated by constructive deviance climate, thereby affecting employee constructive deviance.Sixthly, constructive deviance has a significant positive effect on employee innovation performance and employee career development, and supervisor-subordinate guanxi strengthened the positive relation between constructive deviance and employee career development. Constructive deviance also has a positive relationship with team innovation performance, and average employee innovation performance in teams mediates the relationship between constructive deviance and team innovation performance.