Guanxi Practices and Trust in Management: A Procedural Justice Perspective

Chao C. Chen (), Ya-Ru Chen () and Katherine Xin ()
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Chao C. Chen: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 111 Washington Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102
Ya-Ru Chen: Stern School of Business, Room 7-05, New York University, 40 West 4th Street, New York, New York 10012
Katherine Xin: China Europe International Business School, and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 699 Hongfeng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201206, P.R. China

Organization Science, 2004, vol. 15, issue 2, 200-209

Abstract: Taking a procedural justice perspective, we examined the effect of guanxi practices in human resources management (i.e., making human resources management decisions on the basis of personal relationships) on employees' trust in management in Chinese organizations. Two studies were conducted. In the first, a survey study, we found a negative effect of guanxi practices on trust in management, which was mediated by perceived procedural justice. In the second, an experimental study, we found that the negative effect of guanxi practices varied as a function of guanxi bases: favoring a nephew or a hometown fellow lowered trust, but favoring a college schoolmate or a close friend did not. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords: trust; guanxi; procedural justice; Chinese management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (65)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:15:y:2004:i:2:p:200-209

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