Favor in exchange for trust? The role of subordinates’ attribution of supervisory favors

Xinhui Jiang, Chao Chen and Kan Shi ()

Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 2013, vol. 30, issue 2, 513-536

Abstract: Favor exchange is known to be essential for building personal relationships (guanxi) in China. In two studies, we explore the effect of supervisory favors on subordinates’ trust in supervisor; we further explore how subordinates’ attributions of supervisory favors affect trust in supervisor independently and in interaction with supervisory favors. We find evidence that supervisory favors has a positive effect on trust in the supervisor; merit attribution of supervisory favors has a positive effect on trust in the supervisor but personal favor attribution has a negative effect; merit attribution also moderates the effect of supervisory favors such that supervisory favors has a stronger positive effect on trust in the supervisor for subordinates who make higher merit attribution than for those who make lower merit attribution. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

Keywords: Merit attribution; Personal favor attribution; Guanxi; Supervisory favors; Trust in supervisor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:asiapa:v:30:y:2013:i:2:p:513-536

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DOI: 10.1007/s10490-011-9256-6

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