| Context matters: Intra-national variation in workers’ reciprocity behavior |
Received:October 06, 2017 Revised:October 06, 2017 |
Key Words: Reciprocity; Supervisor support; Intra-cultural values |
| Author Name | Affiliation | | AMY TIAN* | Curtin University | | jos gamble | Royal Holloway, University of London | | Bo Zhang | College of Business Administration Capital University of Economics and Business |
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Abstract: |
| This paper aimed to demonstrate the importance of intra-national variation in employee reciprocity behavior. Specifically, it examined how employee reciprocity behavior was jointly influenced by the level of regional economic development where they worked, their hukou identity status, and their collectivistic cultural values. Data were collected from two separate samples (Study 1, n=786; Study 2, n = 507) across different Chinese regions. Hierarchical linear moderated regression was used to test the proposed moderation effects. Study 1 results indicated that the supervisor support and OCB relationship was stronger for employees from the less economically developed regions (e.g., Hunan) than those from the more highly developed regions (e.g., Shanghai). A follow-up Study 2, confirmed the intra-national variability in reciprocity behavior, and extended the finding by demonstrating that reciprocity behavior was more frequent amongst workers without local hukou identity (i.e., migrants) with relatively high collectivistic values. This study offered a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of both cultural and non-cultural influences on reciprocity behavior. First, we demonstrated the importance of intra-national variation in employee reciprocity behavior in relation to their collectivistic cultural values. Secondly, we identify the moderating effects of a culturally appropriate contextual variable (i.e., hukou identity status) on reciprocity behavior in the Chinese context. |
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