The Impact Of Guanxi Human Resource Management Practice On Victim’s Workplace Ostracism

Guanxi HRM practice is common in Chinese indigenous workplace,but few studies have been carried out through the segmentation framework of Guanxi executor,beneficiary and victim,and there is a lack of attention to the behavioral response mechanisms of Guanxi victim and beneficiary in Guanxi resource allocation.Based on social comparison theory,this study attempts to explore the relationship between Guanxi HRM practice and victim’s ostracism towards beneficiary and uncover the intrinsic emotional mechanism,as well as to examine the moderating role of beneficiary’s self-enhancement motive in this process.Given the sensitivity of the research question and the fact that multiple agents involved in the research,four experiment studies are proposed to validate the research model.In experiment 1,116 undergraduates(62 in high scenario and 54 in low scenario)were recruited to participate in the field experiment 1a,and 122 undergraduates(64 in high scenario and 58 in low scenario)were recruited to participate in the experiment 1b at two western comprehensive universities.It aimed to examine that Guanxi HRM practice affects victim’s workplace ostracism.Experiment 2 recruited 120 employees(60 in high scenario and 60 in low scenario)to participate in a one-way betweensubjects experiment designed to test the chain mediating effect of Guanxi HRM practice on victim’s workplace ostracism toward beneficiary by contempt and envy emotion through victim’s moral appraisal.Experiment 3 conducted 2(self-enhancement motive:high vs.low)× 2(Guanxi HRM practice: high vs.low)between-subjects factorial design on 211 employees,it aimed to test the moderating effect of beneficiary’s selfenhancement motive on the relationship between Guanxi HRM practice and victim’s workplace ostracism.Experiment 4 was a 2(self-enhancement motive: high vs.low)×2(Guanxi HRM practice: high vs.low)between-subjects experiment with 218 employees,aiming to verify that Guanxi beneficiary’s self-enhancement motive has a moderating chain mediating effect.The findings suggest that Guanxi HRM practice elicit victim’s ostracism toward beneficiary(experiment 1).Specifically,Guanxi victim develops low moral appraisal of Guanxi HRM practice,which induces contempt and envy emotion toward beneficiary,which in turn generates workplace ostracism toward beneficiary(experiment 2).Further,beneficiary’s self-enhancement motive moderates the relationship between Guanxi HRM practice and victim’s ostracism(experiment 3)as well as victim’s contempt and envy emotion and workplace ostracism(experiment 4),and also moderates the chain mediated effect of Guanxi HRM practice influencing workplace ostracism through victim’s moral appraisal,contempt,and envy emotion(experiment 4).This study has important theoretical insights and practical implications.For theoretical contribution,this study contributes to the construction of nomological network of Guanxi HRM practice under the stakeholder framework,discusses the dark side of Guanxi HRM practice from the perspective of victim-beneficiary interaction,and explores the underlying mechanism from both upward and downward social comparison emotions.In addition,this study also tests the boundary condition under which Guanxi HRM practice affect victim’s workplace ostracism.In terms of practical implications,this study provides suggestions for managers to correctly implement the decision of Guanxi HRM decisions in the indigenous context.