Relationship beyond the Workplace: Impact of Guanxi GRX Scale on Employee Engagement and Performance

Moses Agyemang Ameyaw, Binghai Sun, Samuel Antwi, Geoffrey Bentum-Micah and Jonathan Edmund Ameyaw
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Moses Agyemang Ameyaw: School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Binghai Sun: School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Samuel Antwi: School of Management of E-Business, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
Geoffrey Bentum-Micah: School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Jonathan Edmund Ameyaw: School of Business Administrations Finance, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Greenhill, Accra AH 50, Ghana

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: The primary objective of this research was to find out the impact of GRX scale (ganqing, renqing, and xinren) on a non-Chinese working environment. Thus, to apply and ascertain the effect of the three dimensions of guanxi on employees’ engagement and, eventually, their job performance in an African working environment. This research used social exchange theory to explain the relationship between supervisors and their subordinates. The research data comprises 530 respondents who were randomly chosen from seven organizations. Smart-PLS 3.2.8 was the primary instrument used to analyze the data. The finding indicated that renqing, synonymous with mutual sharing or need for reciprocity, was highly significant with employee engagement and job performance. Hence, a win-win outcome is achieved whenever employers exhibit genuine concern and care for their employees. Additionally, there was a negative relationship between ganqing (emotional attachment) and employee engagement. This revealed that making decisions based on personal relationships will negatively affect employees’ engagement and job performance. This research adds to the literature by revealing that guanxi is applicable in non-Chinese workplaces.

Keywords: ganqing; renqing; xinren; employee engagement; job performance; social exchange theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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