Parental Care Takes A Positive Role In Regulating Self-efficacy And Job Input

It is well known that China is a guanxi society. Tough guanxi has attracted much academic attention, research focuses on supervisor-subordinate guanxi is still rare. The pinch of empirical studies at dyadic level on supervisor-subordinate guanxi typically found positive results. They typically define guanxi as quality relationship,focusing selectively on the social affective component. Nevertheless, guanxi is usually a mixture with both expressive and instrumental ingredients. Existing research found that a subordinate’s guanxi with his/her supervisor largely influences supervisor’s allotment of salary and bonuses decision, task assignment, and promotion and so on. Therefore, subordinates employ any practices given it works to develop stronger guanxi with their supervisor. The practices include both work exchanges and non-work exchanges. Most non-work exchanges actually scarify subordinates’ interest to satisfy the supervisor’s personal benefits and interests, to exchange supervisory favors at organizational resources allocation occasions.So it is reasonable to doubt that the positive meaning of supervisor-subordinate guanxi is limited. Previous studies usually take subordinates’ attitudinal reactions to supervisor as outcomes to test the nature of supervisor-subordinate guanxi. This study specifically examined supervisory favors’(indicator of a subordinate’s guanxi with supervisor) influence on work engagement, which is a work-targeted variable.Based on self-determination theory and with the emphasis of the non-work exchange nature of supervisor-subordinate guanxi, the present study particularly hypothesizes that supervisory favors will dilute the positive relationship between self-efficacy and work engagement. The results of two samples supported the hypothesis, thus demonstrate that the positive value of supervisor-subordinate guanxi is limited.Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.