Frontiers of Business Research in China

ISSN 1673-7326

ISSN 1673-7431(Online)

CN 11-5746/F

Postal Subscription Code 80-977

   Online First

Administered by

, Volume 13 Issue 1

For Selected: View Abstracts Toggle Thumbnails
RESEARCH
From moral leadership to positive work behaviors: the mediating roles of value congruence and leader-member exchange
Yuanjie Bao, Chaoping Li
Front. Bus. Res. China. 2019, 13 (1): 1-18.  
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-019-0052-3

Abstract   PDF (70162KB)

Limited empirical investigation has been devoted to understanding the multipleeffect mechanisms of moral leadership, especially the relationship between mediators. Drawing from both social learning and social exchange theories, this study examines whether value congruence and leader-member exchange (LMX) mediate the effect of moral leadership on followers’ positive work behaviors. Using two-wave survey data from 395 Chinese employees, the results indicate that both value congruence and LMX act as mediators in the relationship between moral leadership and positive work behaviors. Furthermore, a sequential mediation link from moral leadership to value congruence, then to LMX, and finally to positive work behaviors was established. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
Transformational leadership and employee voice: an affective perspective
Zhen Wang, Shiyong Xu, Yanling Sun, Yanjun Liu
Front. Bus. Res. China. 2019, 13 (1): 19-32.  
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-019-0049-y

Abstract   PDF (52929KB)

This study aims to examine the effect of transformational leadership on employee voice behavior. Specifically, this study investigates the mediating role of positive affect in linking transformational leadership with voice and the moderating role of over-qualification in influencing the mediation of positive affect. In particular, a twowave survey was conducted. A sample of 271 participants complete a questionnaire measuring transformational leadership, positive affect and various demographic variables in the first wave. Then, they complete a second questionnaire measuring perceived over-qualification and voice behavior 2 weeks later. We conduct a series of multiple regression analyses to test the model. The results show that positive affect partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and employee voice behavior. Over-qualification moderated the relationship between positive affect and voice. In addition, moderated mediation analyses reveal that positive affect mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and voice only for highly over-qualified employees. This study investigates a new method linking transformational leadership and voice from an affective perspective by finding the mediating effect of positive affect. We also verify the role of “energized to”process in shaping proactive behaviors. Finally, this study examines the boundary conditions of the effect of positive affect on voice.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
Homeownership, city integration, and the sense of happiness of migrants in urban China
Sihan Zhang, Chuanlu Hou, Jing Chen
Front. Bus. Res. China. 2019, 13 (1): 33-52.  
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-019-0050-5

Abstract   PDF (69904KB)

In the literature on the migrant phenomenon in China, homeownership, city integration, and sense of happiness have all been examined, yet the synergetic relationship among these three factors has not been fully discussed. This study uses the 2012 National Dynamic Monitoring Database of Migrants created by the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China to explore the cooperative relationship between migrants’ homeownership, city integration and the sense of happiness. Generally, renting houses reduces migrants’ sense of happiness. However, with migrants’ greater integration into the place to which they have migrated, the sense of happiness of migrants who live in rental houses is enhanced to a greater degree than those who live in their own houses. This phenomenon is clear among migrants who have moved from less developed regions to developed regions and among those who have moved relatively longer geographical distances. This study demonstrates a city integration mechanism through which homeownership influences migrants’ sense of happiness. We contribute to happiness economics research and propose a scientific basis for speeding up new urbanization as well as improving a housing system which encourages both house renting and purchasing in China.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
Comparing the configured causal antecedents of exploration and exploitation: a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis
Lulu Liu, Fengbin Wang, Xiukun Li
Front. Bus. Res. China. 2019, 13 (1): 53-77.  
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-019-0048-z

Abstract   PDF (100185KB)

Although exploration and exploitation, as a pair of paradoxical organizational outcomes, are generated by different causal conditions, the conjunction of their respective causal antecedents has yet to be fully examined. Combining environmental uncertainty, unit interdependence, entrepreneurial bricolage and firm life cycle stage in a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), the distinct causal configurations of exploration and exploitation are formalized and compared based on a survey of founders or high-level managers in 63 small firms. Results show that contrasted relationships between entrepreneurial bricolage and unit interdependence exist in that the two antecedents are partial substitutes in exploration whereas they are complements in exploitation when combined with other conditions. This study provides empirical evidence on the causal configurations of exploration and exploitation and deepens our current understanding of ambidexterity.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
TMT social capital, network position and innovation: the nature of micro-macro links
Guoyang Zheng, Li Zhu, Chao Liu, Yu Chen
Front. Bus. Res. China. 2019, 13 (1): 78-100.  
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-019-0047-0

Abstract   PDF (73426KB)

Employing a sample of 1476 firms and 5130 firm-years in China, we examine the relationship between social capital and macro organizational innovation. Based on the relational view and social capital theory, this study investigates how the top management team (TMT) inside an organization bridges and bonds social capital to influence innovations combined with organizational network position. Through empirical tests based on listed companies in the whole network of the interlocking directorate using the dataset of listed companies in China from 2008 to 2014, the study finds that: (1) TMT global social capital has an essential positive effect on innovation, (2) TMT overseas social capital has significant positive consequences on prestige and power (network position), (3) network position mediates the relationship between TMT overseas social capital and innovation, and (4) TMT bank social capital has a moderating effect on the relationship between network position and innovation.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
Differentiation and pricing power of online retailers
Zhenjie Wang, Chunling Zhu, Shanwu Tian, Ping Li
Front. Bus. Res. China. 2019, 13 (1): 101-120.  
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-019-0051-4

Abstract   PDF (69317KB)

This study aims to contribute to marketing theory by applying monopolistic competition theory to investigate how differentiation affects online retailers’ pricing power. We examine the intermediary effect of customer loyalty on the relationship between differentiation and pricing power of online retailers. We assume that customers have different preferences for the differentiated characteristics of online retailers, and thus different degrees of willingness to pay premiums, which gives online retailers pricing power. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to test the hypothesized relationships between differentiation, customer loyalty, and pricing power. The statistical results of the empirical data indicate that some of the differentiation characteristics of online retailers can cultivate their pricing power indirectly. Logistics quality followed by commodity assortment and transaction security produces profound effects on the buildup of pricing power with customer loyalty as an intermediary factor. Results further reveal that commodity quality is positively related to pricing power. This study expands the definition of differentiation by combining corporate strategic positioning with commodity pricing. Implications for practice and directions for future research are provided.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
6 articles