-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
1/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
1
Running Head: ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION AND WORK ENTHUSIASM
Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
in Two Chinese Cultures
Robert J. Taormina
Jennifer H. Gao
University of Macau
Paper Presented at the
65th
Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management
Honolulu, Hawaii
8 August 2005
Keywords: Organizational Socialization, China, Work Enthusiasm, Culture.
Correspondence:
Robert J. Taormina, Ph.D.Invited Full ProfessorFaculty of Social Sciences and HumanitiesUniversity of MacauAv Padre Tomás Pereira SJ
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
2/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
2
Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
in Two Chinese Cultures
Abstract
Work enthusiasm and organizational socialization (Training, Understanding, Coworker
Support, and Future Prospects) were compared in two predominantly Chinese regions, i.e.,
Macau (a former Portuguese colony in China) and Zhuhai in the People’s Republic of China.
Data were collected from 276 (96 Macau and 180 Zhuhai) full-time, line-level ethnic Chinese
employees in the two regions. Results revealed the Zhuhai employees to be much more
enthusiastic at work. While no differences were found for Coworker Support, the Zhuhai
employees also evaluated Training, Understanding, and Future Prospects more highly than
did the Macau employees. Regression analyses revealed Future Prospects to be the strongest
predictor of work enthusiasm in Zhuhai, while education and years on the job explained most
of the variance for work enthusiasm in Macau. The results of the comparisons are discussed
in terms of the similarities and differences in the cultures and economic development of the
regions.
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
3/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
3
Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
in Two Chinese Cultures
In the last decade, China has gained a great deal of interest among international
researchers because of its steadily increasing importance to the world economy. Although
more than 3,300 scholarly theoretical and empirical papers have been published since 1978
(the beginning of China’s “Open Door” policy) on various aspects of business in China, only
45 studies on human resource management (HRM) factors in China have been published in
the same period (both numbers are from a search of the ABI database as of January 2005).
This lack of research on HRM in China tends to imply that there is a clear need to better
understand the work-related attitudes of Chinese employees. This idea is reinforced in
absolute terms by the 1.2 billion Chinese people who live in China, and the number of
Chinese people around the world who compose increasing portions of the world’s work force.
Given the number of Chinese people that live in China and that are dispersed
throughout Asia (and indeed throughout the rest of the world), one can raise the question as
regards the extent to which work attitudes differ or are similar among Chinese employees
who live and work in different regions. On one hand, the strong arguments in support of
people of Chinese ethnicity maintaining their cultural values wherever they go (Redding,
1990) and the confirmation that there have been significant numbers of Chinese who have
emigrated to many regions of the world, a concept that has come to be known as the Chinese
diaspora (McKeown, 1999), it could be argued that work attitudes that are culturally based
would not differ significantly among Chinese employees in different regions Alternately to
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
4/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
4
national border for over 440 years. Macau was returned by Portugal to the Peoples Republic
of China (the PRC) in December 1999, but, today, Macau is a Special Administrative Region
while Zhuhai is a Special Economic Zone of the PRC, and the border separating Macau and
Zhuhai still exists.
In this paper, work enthusiasm is examined in relation to organizational socialization,
which is assumed to be related to people’s attitudes toward their work. Work attitudes can
take many forms, such as a favorable or unfavorable commitment to one’s organization, high
or low levels of job satisfaction, and a variety of other types of attitudes; including how
willing or enthusiastic an employee is to do their assigned tasks, and even to take on
additional responsibilities.
Work Enthusiasm
An early conceptualization by Katz (1964) categorized employee behavior as in-role
behavior (one’s job tasks) and extra-role behavior (work beyond what is in a job description).
According to Katz, for organizations to operate successfully, employees must be willing to do
more work than their jobs technically specified. Such additional work typically includes extra
job assignments and responsibilities that are not included in job descriptions, but that still
need to be done. Evidence has been accumulating that human resource outcomes are related
to business outcomes (Koys, 2001). For example, studies have shown significant
relationships between HR strategies (e.g., high performance and high commitment work
systems) and organizational performance (Authur, 1994; Huselid, 1995). Conceptually, a
highly enthusiastic workforce should lead to better performance for the organization
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
5/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
5
composed of five items regarding employee acceptance of overtime work, new job
assignments, and extra responsibilities, as well as being self-confident, and open to new ideas.
The latter two items were based on previous research, which indicated that some people are
more enthusiastic than others and that enthusiastic employees are more self-confident (e.g.,
Linnehan, 1998) and open to new ideas (e.g., Paulik, 2001). Gao and Taormina (2003) found
that the Work Enthusiasm variable was highly correlated with employee acceptance of
performance appraisal criteria, and with related factors, such as team work (r = .57), work
communications (r = .60), and work dedication (r = .81) (all p-values < .001). Work
Enthusiasm was also found to be a significant predictor of work dedication (∆ R2 = 31%, p
< .001). Using the Work Enthusiasm measure, the present study explores possible antecedents
to Work Enthusiasm that might be useful in identifying management practices that could
engender work enthusiasm among employees.
Organizational Socialization and Work Enthusiasm
One objective of this study was to examine the relationship between organizational
socialization and work enthusiasm in two Chinese cultures. One theoretical conceptualization
of organizational socialization defines it as “the process by which a person secures relevant
job skills, acquires a functional level of organizational understanding, attains supportive
social interactions with coworkers, and generally accepts the established ways of a particular
organization” (Taormina, 1997, p. 29). This model also posits that organizational socialization
is composed of four content domains, each of which is continually ongoing and evolving
thro gho t an emplo ee’s career The fo r domains are: (1) training offered b organi ation;
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
6/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
6
development are important parts of the HRM process. Their model of the HRM system
demonstrates that through selection, training, development, placement, and motivation, an
organization could achieve effectiveness and efficiency among its human resources. Ideally,
organizational training programs should allow employees to acquire the skills necessary for
superior performance. Also, employees with superior performance should be more
enthusiastic to undertake more demanding or difficult tasks. In addition, an investment in
training could be perceived by employees as their employer’s commitment to them. These
perceptions of employer commitment may generate feelings of reciprocity on the employees’
part and increase their work commitment to the organization (Eisenberger, Armeli, Rexwinkel,
Lynch, & Rhoades, 2001). Therefore, the following hypothesis is set:
H (1): The more highly employees evaluate the Training offered by their companies, the
more enthusiastic they will be at work.
For the understanding component of Taormina’s (1997) organizational socialization
model, there is an extensive literature. Past research has referred to this domain by various
names, such as “learning” or “information-seeking” (for reviews, see Bauer, Morrison, &
Callister, 1988; Fisher, 1986). Some researchers stress that such behaviors are indispensable
to the socialization process (e.g., Ostroff & Kozlowski, 1992) because that is how employees
learn about an organization’s culture, mission, goals, etc. Reio and Wiswell (2000) assessed
the relationships among adult curiosity, workplace learning, and job performance. They found
that curiosity-induced behavior, such as information seeking, played a major role in
workplace learning and job performance In order to take on new job assignments extra
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
7/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
7
made, however, with the caveat that the organizations in question actually function in an
ethical manner. If so, the following hypothesis can be offered:
H (2): The more highly employees evaluate their own Understanding of their companies,
the more enthusiastic they will be at work.
Regarding coworker support, theoretical propositions for a positive relationship
between coworker support and favorable work outcomes are many (see the discussion by
Taormina, 1997). Generally, it is expected that favorable interpersonal relationships among
coworkers will induce positive affect toward the work environment and concomitant positive
outcomes, including increased productivity (Wolf, 1989), improved performance (Eisenberger,
Fasolo, & Davis-LaMastro, 1990), and favorable supervisor evaluations (Staw, Sutton, &
Pelled, 1994). More recent evidence has been supplied by Randall, Cropanzano, Bormann,
and Birjulin (1999), who found that support was positively related to job performance. Using
a field sample of 128 participants, the researchers found a significant regression coefficient
for support as a predictor of performance. Additionally, Eisenberger, et al. (2001) surveyed
413 postal employees to investigate the role of reciprocation in the relationships between
perceived support received in an organization and the employees’ affective organizational
commitment and job performance. Their results suggested that perceived organizational
support enhances in-role performance. Based on such research, which generally indicates a
positive relationship between coworker support and employee affect, the following
hypothesis can be proposed:
H (3): The more highly employees evaluate the Coworker Support in their companies the
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
8/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
8
are rewarded are continued. Conceptually, rewards, benefits, and opportunities for promotion
would increase job satisfaction (e.g., Wright, 1990) as well as job performance (Schleicher,
Greguras, & Watt, 2004). Reward theory also posits that unrewarded behaviors are
discontinued. Consequently, if good job performance is not rewarded, employee motivation is
likely to lag and they might even leave their companies (O’Connell, 2001). Fairburn and
Malcomson (2001) suggested that organizations use promotions and monetary bonuses to
motivate employees, thus helping them to grow professionally, which should increase
productivity.
Further, if employees perceive that their organization provides a rewarding future,
employees might be more committed (Taormina, 1999). Such favorable perceptions and
attitudes should also lead to a greater willingness to take on more demanding work (i.e.,
encourage greater enthusiasm for the work). Consequently, it can be expected that:
H (4): The more highly employees evaluate the Future Prospects offered by their
companies, the more enthusiastic they will be at work.
In summary of the above discussion, all four organizational socialization domains
should be positively related to work enthusiasm. That is, the more favorably an employee is
socialized into an organization, the more enthusiastic he or she would be about the work.
Since all the socialization variables were expected to be related to work enthusiasm, multiple
regressions were also planned to determine their effects in the two regions.
Differences between Two Chinese Cultures
Another objective of this study is to examine whether work enthusiasm will differ
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
9/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
9
toward work.
Two cities in China, Macau and Zhuhai, share a border, but have different cultures.
Macau was discovered by the Portuguese and founded as a colony in 1557. As the only
European possession in China, Portuguese Macau enjoyed a trading monopoly for the first
300 years until Britain occupied Hong Kong in 1841, after which Macau became little more
than a resort town for European and Cantonese traders. Macau was returned to Chinese rule
in 1999, now has a population of 437,000 people, and became a “Special Administrative
Region” (similar to that in Hong Kong) under the formula of “one country, two systems”
(Cheng, 1999). Of the two systems, the one in Macau is capitalist since gambling and tourism
make up the main economy of Macau, and Macau is the only place in all of China where
casinos are legal. The other economic system, namely, that of Zhuhai, is socialist as it has
always been a part of Mainland China.
Zhuhai is a Mainland Chinese city that borders Macau on the north and west, and (like
Macau) is a geographical neighbor of Hong Kong, which lies to the east across the Pearl
River Delta on the South China Sea. Zhuhai used to be a small fishing village until 1979,
when it was designated as one of the first “Special Economic Zones” under Deng Xiaoping’s
“Open Door Policy.” Zhuhai now has a population of 1.15 million people and, according to
the Zhuhai Municipal Government (2003), has become one of the most rapidly developing
cities in China.
The majority of residents in both regions are of Chinese ethnicity. Among the majority
Chinese they speak the same Cantonese dialect and share the same Cantonese customs and
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
10/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
10
employees might have been influenced by the Portuguese culture, which has been described
as a Hispanic culture, which has been suggested to be characterized by “sympatia,” i.e., to
expect positive social behaviors to predominate social interactions (Triandis, Marin, Lisansky,
& Betancourt, 1984). If positive social behaviors include being agreeable in the workplace,
such as agreeing to take on extra responsibilities, then the following hypothesis can be
examined:
H(5A): Macau employees will be more enthusiastic than Zhuhai employees at work.
On the other hand, the Zhuhai Chinese might be more likely to reflect the strong work
ethic that is based in deeply-rooted Confucian values (Tsui, Wang, Xin, Zhang, & Fu, 2004).
Specifically, Confucius elaborated five hierarchical relationships that described appropriate
codes of conduct. The first was “Righteousness between ruler and subject,” meaning that
fealty and service was to be given to the ruler/leader by the subject/follower and was to be
returned by the more powerful ruler with protection and sustenance for the less powerful
subject. This portrays a paternalistic relationship in which the sovereign behaves with
benevolence and the subjects are respectful and obedient. The other four relationships (i.e.,
between father and son, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, and among
friends) were prescribed to follow the same hierarchical model of sustenance and support as
that between ruler and subject. In describing these relationships, what Confucius composed
was a code of moral social behavior throughout society, which can be assumed to extend to
relationships at work.
Consequently it can be inferred that Confucian values could influence the Zhuhai
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
11/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
11
Method
Respondents
Data were collected from 276 full-time, line-level employees (134 males and 142
females) in Macau (n = 96) and Zhuhai (n = 180). All the employees were ethnic Chinese,
aged from 18 to 56 years (M = 26.55, SD = 6.08). Most respondents (73.60%) had completed
their secondary school education, with the remainder (26.40%) having completed at least a
tertiary education. The respondents had spent an average of 3.30 years (SD = 2.97) in their
current jobs. As for industry, 60.10% of the respondents were employed in manufacturing or
construction, 23.60% in services, 14.10% in sales, and 2.20% in an unspecified “other”
industry.
Two-tailed t -tests conducted on the respondents’ age, education, and years on their
current jobs revealed no significant differences on these demographics across regions. Also,
Chi-square (Mann-Whitney) tests on the variables of gender and industry type showed no
significant dissimilarities in the proportions of respondents in these categories across regions.
Materials
The questionnaire was designed to assess three topic areas, namely: (1) the
employee’s demographics; (2) work enthusiasm; and (3) organizational socialization. The
demographics section asked for information about respondents’ gender, age, education level,
industry in which employed, number of years at their current job, ethnicity, and job status
(ethnicity was included to ascertain that the respondents were Chinese, and job status was
included to ensure that they were line level employees)
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
12/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
12
were derived from research that showed enthusiastic employees to be more self-confident
(e.g., Linnehan, 1998) and open to new ideas (e.g., Paulik, 2001). Respondents were asked
the extent to which they agreed to be evaluated on these items in a performance appraisal.
This approach was used because it was thought that employees who would agree to be
evaluated on such extra-role behaviors (e.g., to take on extra work) would be more
enthusiastic about their work. The response format for these items was a 7-point Likert scale
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The original reliability for this
variable was .80 (Gao & Taormina, 2003), and in the current study was .82.
Organizational Socialization. Organizational socialization was assessed with
Taormina’s (2004) 20-item Organizational Socialization Inventory (OSI), which is an updated
version of Taormina’s (1994) measure. The OSI assesses respondents’ evaluations of the four
domains of the socialization construct, namely: (1) Training received; (2) Understanding of
the job and organization; (3) Coworker Support; and (4) Future Prospects in the employing
organization. Each of the four domains has five items, e.g., “This organization has provided
excellent job training for me” (for Training) and “I know very well how to get things done in
this organization” (for Understanding). The reliability scores on the original OSI were .76 for
Training, .79 for Understating, .81 for Coworker support, and .76 for Future prospects
(Taormina, 1994). The response format for these items was also a 7-point Likert scale ranging
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).
Language of the Questionnaire. All the items (apart from the OSI) were translated
from the original English into traditional Chinese by a bilingual professor at the Guangdong
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
13/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
13
undergone a similar, rigorous translation procedure by professional translators (see Taormina,
2004), that version was used for the OSI. Also, since English is used somewhat in both
Zhuhai and Macau, both the English and Chinese phrases were used on the questionnaire to
optimize understanding of the items.
Procedure
Over a period of several weeks, the questionnaires were handed to employees in
several large, Chinese organizations, with 550 going to employees in Macau and 550 to
employees in Zhuhai, as they were leaving their workplace after finishing work in the late
afternoon. The employees were approached individually, told the general purpose of the study
(i.e., to assess employees’ attitudes about their work), and asked to complete the
questionnaire. Respondents were assured that the study was being conducted independently
of the companies in which they worked and that their answers would be kept anonymous.
Everyone who agreed to participate in the study was given the questionnaire with an attached,
stamped, return-addressed envelope to encourage reply. The cover page briefly explained the
purpose of this study and guaranteed confidentiality. A total of 348 completed questionnaires
(110 from Macau, and 238 from Zhuhai) were returned, yielding an overall return rate of
32.82% (20.91% for Macau, and 44.73% for Zhuhai). As this study targeted only ethnic
Chinese, line-level employees, respondents who claimed an ethnic background other than
Chinese were not included, as were respondent who claimed to be supervisors. This left a
total of 276 questionnaires for data analysis.
Results
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
14/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
14
Prospects; and .82 for Work Enthusiasm.
To assess the correlations among the main variables, the data for both regions were
combined. The data in the analysis included the four organizational socialization variables,
Work Enthusiasm, and the demographics with increasing functions (i.e., age, education, and
years on the job). In addition, the demographics of gender and region (coded as dummy
variable) were also entered into the analysis. The means, standard deviations,
intercorrelations, and scale reliabilities for all the variables are shown in Table 1.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Table 1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As shown in the table, the correlations between the four organizational socialization
variables and Work Enthusiasm were all highly significant and in the predicted direction.
Training was highly and significantly correlated with Work Enthusiasm (r = .35), and the
same held true for Understanding (r = .31), Coworker Support (r = .36), and Future Prospects
(r = .64), with all p-values < .001. These results lent strong support to H(1) through H(4).
Tests for Cultural Comparisons
To test for differences across the Macau and Zhuhai regions, an independent sample,
two-tailed t -test was run on the means for Work Enthusiasm. The test yielded a highly
significant difference, with the Zhuhai mean significantly higher than the Macau mean ( p
< .001). This result led to the rejection of H(5A), but lent strong support for the acceptance of
its alternate hypothesis H(5B) indicating that the Zhuhai (PRC) employees were
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
15/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
15
all significantly higher than the Macau means. For Training and Future Prospects, the Zhuhai
means were higher than the Macau means to a very significant extent (both ps < .001). For
Understanding, the Zhuhai mean again significantly surpassed the Macau mean ( p < .005).
The mean scores for the cultural comparisons on Work Enthusiasm and all four of the
organizational socialization variables are shown in Table 2.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Table 2
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Test for Multicollinearity
Given the significant correlations among the variables, tests for multicollinearity were
run on the socialization and demographic variables as they were to be assessed as possible
predictors in the planned regression using Work Enthusiasm as the criterion variable. The test
requires the intended criterion to be excluded while each potential predictor is regressed on
the remaining predictors, such that a tolerance (1- R2
) value of less than .10 for any of the
regressions would be considered problematic (see Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998,
p.193). In the eight regressions that were run (for the four demographic and the four
socialization variables), the tolerance values ranged from .48 to 1.00. Since all the values
were well above the .10 cutoff, multicollinearity did not appear to be a problem.
Regressions
Three multivariate regressions were run to determine the effects of organizational
socialization on Work Enthusiasm while controlling for the effects of the four demographics
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
16/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
16
variance (∆ R2 = 34%), after controlling for the demographics (with a combined ∆ R
2 = 16%),
F (3,263) = 184.71, p < .001.
In the second analysis, for the Zhuhai sample (n = 180), a total of 40% of the variance
was explained, once again with Future Prospects accounting for the majority of the explained
variance (∆ R2 = 34%), after controlling for the effects of the demographics (with a ∆ R
2 = 6%),
F (2,171) = 58.14, p < .001.
In the third analysis, for the Macau sample (n = 96), a total of 61% of the variance
was explained, with Future Prospects accounting for a lesser amount of explained variance
(∆ R2 = 10%), and Coworker Support accounting for a small amount as well (∆ R
2 = 2%), after
controlling for the demographics (with a combined ∆ R2 = 49%), F (4,88) = 36.70, p < .001.
The results of these regressions are presented in Table 3.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Table 3
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Discussion
The results showed that significant differences exist between the Chinese regions on
their evaluations of socialization in their organizations, on their enthusiasm at work, and on
certain variables that influence their work enthusiasm. The results also revealed that the
organizational socialization domain of Future Prospects was a significant predictor of Work
Enthusiasm in both regions.
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
17/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
17
mean scores were significantly higher than those for Macau on Training, Understanding, and
Future Prospects. The only socialization variable not to show a mean difference was
Coworker Support. A possible explanation for this could be the deeply rooted Confucian
value of social harmony, which could be the most fundamental of all such values (see Chai,
1965), which could include the idea of social harmony in the workplace (Withane, 1991). In
fact, a previous study of three other Chinese cultures (i.e., Singapore, Hong Kong, and the
PRC) also found no difference in coworker support (Taormina, 1998).
The significant differences on the other three socialization variables of Training,
Understanding, and Future Prospects, however, suggest meaningful differences in the way
Chinese employees in the two regions view their organizations. Clearly, the Zhuhai
employees see their companies as offering them more useful training, a better understanding,
and more opportunities for advancement than do the Macau employees. Beside the cultural
dissimilarities, the differences on these socialization variables may reflect economic
differences between Zhuhai and Macau.
Specifically, Zhuhai (with a population of 1.15 million people and a geographical
territory of 7,649 square kilometers) has had an economic focus since it was designated as
one of the four earliest Special Economic Zones in China in 1980. Since that time, the fixed
assets investment there reached US$13.5 billion by the year 2002 (Zhuhai Municipal
Government, 2003). Consequently, Zhuhai has become an attractive place to work for people
from all over China because business opportunities are increasing as more enterprises are
setting up offices there With the large amount of financial investment in the Zhuhai region
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
18/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
18
from 1996 to 1999, and has averaged a positive growth of less than 5% between 2000 and
2002 (World Trade Center Macau, 2002).
Differences in Work Enthusiasm. As with the organizational socialization variables,
the mean Work Enthusiasm score for Zhuhai was also significantly higher than that for
Macau, lending strong support to H(5B). This outcome could be due to a stronger Confucian
culture among the Mainland Chinese workers, as hypothesized. Alternately, it could be
argued that there is a greater enthusiasm among workers in Zhuhai because the stronger and
growing economy there provides incentives to pursue the more abundant opportunities for
advancement than are found in Macau. Given the very high mean differences on both Work
Enthusiasm and Future Prospects between the two regions, these results might also reflect a
combined effect of both the stronger economy and stronger Confucian values in Zhuhai.
Determining which of these two factors, or perhaps a combination of the two factors, is the
cause of these differences could be a topic for future research.
Organizational Socialization and Work Enthusiasm
The theoretical notion that organizational socialization plays a significant role in
Work Enthusiasm (Hypotheses 1-4) was supported by the strong correlations found in the
data. All four socialization dimensions had highly significant, positive correlations with Work
Enthusiasm. These results suggest that companies can engender higher levels of work
enthusiasm by providing their employees with good training, endeavoring to improve their
employees’ understanding of the organization and how it operates, offering supportive
working environments and allowing opportunities for rewards and advancement The last of
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
19/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
19
the combined data from both regions to determine the overall effects. In the analysis, 34% of
the variance for Work Enthusiasm was explained. After controlling for the demographics
(wherein Education accounted for 13% and Years on the Job accounted for 3%), Future
Prospects accounted for 34% of the variance, indicating that socialization does play a major
role in engendering work enthusiasm.
When the data were broken down by region, a notable pattern emerged. In Zhuhai,
where 40% of the total variance was explained by only two variables, the strongest predictor
of Work Enthusiasm was again the socialization variable of Future Prospects (which
accounted for 34%), followed by Education (which accounted for the remaining 6%).
Apparently, the greater opportunities in the Zhuhai economy were reflected in the strong
effect that Future Prospects had in predicting Work Enthusiasm. The presence of Education as
a predictor might reflect the value that Chinese culture places on education.
In Macau, where 61% of the variance was explained, the two main predictors were
both demographic variables, namely, Education (which accounted for 26% of the variance)
and Years on the Job (which accounted for 23%). The remaining variance was explained by
the two socialization variables of Future Prospects (10%) and Coworker Support (2%).
The rather dissimilar outcomes between the regions may be explained by the cultural
and economic differences in the two regions. Macau, with a population of 437,000 people,
and a relatively small and limited geographical territory (a promontory with two small islands
that together cover a territory of only 21 square kilometers), has been a tourist and gambling
enclave for hundreds of years It therefore has a culture that can be described as a relaxing
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
20/27
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
21/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
21
References
Adler, N.J. (1986). International dimensions of organizational behavior. Boston: Kent
Publishing.
Arthur, J. B. (1994). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and
turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 670-687.
Bauer, T.N., Morrison, E.W., & Callister, R.R. (1998). Organizational socialization: A review
and directions for future research. In K.M. Rowland & G.R. Ferris (Eds.) Research in
personnel and human resources management (Vol. 16), 149-214. Greenwich, CT: JAI
Press.
Bernardin, H.J., & Beatty, R.W. (1984). Performance appraisal: Assessing human behavior at
work. Boston: Kent.
Chai, C. (1965). Confucianism as humanism. In C. Chai & W. Chai (Eds.), The sacred books
of Confucius and other Confucian classics (pp. 1-7). New York: Bantam.
Cheng, C.M.B. (1999). Macau: A cultural Janus. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Eisenberger, R., Fasolo, P., & Davis-LaMastro, V. (1990). Perceived organizational support
and employee diligence, commitment, and innovation. Journal of Applied Psychology,
75(1), 51-59.
Eisenberger, R., Armeli, S., Rexwinkel, B., Lynch, P.D. & Rhoades, L. (2001). Reciprocation
of perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(1), 42-51.
Fairburn, J.A. & Malcomson, J.M. (2001). Performance, promotion, and the Peter Principle.
The Review of Economic Studies 68(234) 45 66
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
22/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
22
areas. The 7th International Human Resource Management Conference. Limerick,
Ireland.
Hair, J.F., Anderson, R.E., Tatham, R.L., & Black, W.C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis
(5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall.
Hong Kong Trade & Development Council. (2004). http://www.tdctrade.com/prd/zhuhai.htm.
Accessed January 2005.
Huselid, M. A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover,
productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38,
635-672.
Katz, D. (1964). The motivational basis of organizational behavior. Behavioral Science, 9,
131-133.
Koys, D. J. (2001). The effects of employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior,
and turnover on organizational effectives: a unit-level, longitudinal study. Personnel
Psychology, 54(1), 101-114.
Linnehan, F. (1998). Examining selective determinants of job performance for entry and
lower-level workers in Mexico. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 47(4),
547-557.
McKeown, A. (1999). Conceptualizing Chinese diasporas: 1842 to 1949. Journal of Asian
Studies, 58(2), 306-337.
O’Connell, N.L. (2001). Rewarding employees with psychic income pays long-term
dividends Benefits Quarterly 17(3) 7 21
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
23/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
23
Randall, M.L., Cropanzano, R., Bormann, C.A. & Birjulin, A. (1999). Organizational politics
and organizational support as predictors of work attitudes, job performance, and
organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(2), 159-174.
Redding. S.G. (1990). The spirit of Chinese capitalism. New York: deGruyter.
Reio, T.G., & Wiswell, A. (2000). Field investigation of the relationship among adult curiosity,
workplace learning, and job performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly,
11(1), 5-30.
Schleicher, D.J., Greguras, G.J., & Watt, J.D. (2004). Reexamining the job satisfaction-
performance relationship: The complexity of attitudes. Journal of Applied Psychology,
89(1), 165-177.
Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: MacMillan.
Smircich, L. (1983). Concepts of culture and organizational analysis. Administrative Science
Quarterly, 28(3), 339-358.
Staw, B.M., Sutton, R.I., & Pelled, L.H. (1994). Employee positive emotion and favorable
outcomes at the workplace. Organization Science, 5(1), 51-71.
Taormina, R.J. (1994). The Organizational Socialization Inventory. International Journal of
Selection and Assessment, 2(3), 133-145.
Taormina, R.J. (1997). Organizational socialization: A multidomain, continuous process
model. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 5(1), 29-47.
Taormina, R.J. (1998). Employee attitudes toward organizational socialization in the People’s
Republic of China Hong Kong and Singapore Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
24/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
24
Taormina, R.J. (2004). Convergent validation of two measures of organizational socialization.
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(1), 76-94.
Triandis, H.C., Marin, G., Lisansky, J., & Betancourt, H. (1984). Simpatia as a culture script
of Hispanics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47(6), 1363-1375.
Tsui, A.S., Wang, H. Xin, K. Zhang, L., & Fu, P.P. (2004). Let a thousand flowers bloom:
Variation of leadership styles among Chinese CEOs. Organizational Dynamics, 33, 5-20.
Withane, S. (1991). Confucian influence in human resource management in the Far East.
Management Decision, 29(6), 29-34.
Wolf, J.R. (1989). Human resource management. Psychiatric Annals, 19(8), 432-434.
World Trade Center Macau. (2002). http://www.wtc-macau.com/news/n24/n24-4page.htm.
Accessed January 2005.
Wright, P.L. (1990). Teller job satisfaction and organizational commitment as they relate to
career orientations. Human Relations, 43(4), 369-381.
Zhuhai Municipal Government. (2003). Zhuhai Year Book. Zhuhai, China.
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
25/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
25
Table 1. Means, standard deviations, and correlations among Work Enthusiasm, organizational socialization scales, and demographic variables
for the Macau and Zhuhai respondents (N = 276).
Variable Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1. Work Enthusiasm 4.83 1.05 (.82)
2. Training 4.50 1.50 .35 (.95)
3. Understanding 5.35 0.83 .31 .64 (.81)
4. Coworker Support 5.16 0.97 .36 .44 .49 (.87)
5. Future Prospects 4.06 1.25 .64 .64 .53 .51 (.86)
6. Gender 0.51 0.50 -.03 .07 .07 -.02 .01 ---
7. Age 26.55 6.08 .12 .10 .19 -.16 .11 .04 ---
8. Chinese Region 1.65 0.48 .38 .27 .20 .11 .40 .07 -.09 ---
9. Education 2.26 0.44 .35 -.17 -.13 .02 .11 .03 .10 .18 ---
10. Years on the Job 3.34 2.97 .15 .05 .10 -.11 .06 .01 .65 -.09 .08 ---
Note: Gender was coded: Female = 0, Male = 1. Region was coded: Macau = 1, Zhuhai = 2. Significance levels for the correlations (r ) were:
For r > .12, p < .05; for r > .16, p < .01; for r > .17, p < .005; and for r > .20, p < .001.
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
26/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
26
Table 2. Comparison of Macau and Zhuhai mean scores for Work Enthusiasm and for the
organizational socialization variables (N = 276).
Macau Zhuhai
(N = 96) (N = 180) df t
Work Enthusiasm 4.28 (1.04) 5.12 (0.94) 1,274 6.82**
Organizational Socialization
Training 3.95 (1.46) 4.79 (1.45) 1,274 4.60**
Understanding 5.12 (0.80) 5.48 (0.82) 1,274 3.40*
Coworker Support 5.01 (1.01) 5.24 (0.95) 1,274 1.90
Future Prospects 3.38 (1.09) 4.42 (1.17) 1,274 7.14**
Note. The scores for all variables ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).
Standard deviations are in parentheses. The denominator degrees of freedom differ because
of unequal variances.
* p < .005
** p < .001
-
8/18/2019 Effects of Organizational Socialization on Work Enthusiasm
27/27
WORK ENTHUSIASM IN TWO CULTURES
27
Table 3. Stepwise multiple regression analyses on Work Enthusiasm using the organizational socialization (OS) variables as predictors after
controlling for the demographic (Control) variables for the Macau data (N = 96), the Zhuhai data (N = 180), and the combined data (N = 276).
Macau Zhuhai Combined
Variables Beta ∆R 2 Beta ∆R
2 Beta ∆R
2
Age (Control) -.02 -.02 -.11
Education (Control) .54**** .26 .22**** .06 .28**** .13
Gender (Control) -.05 -.03 -.04
Years on the Job (Control) .36**** .23 .10 .13*** .03
Training (OS) .01 .01 .01
Understanding (OS) .07 -.05 .22
Coworker Support (OS) .15* .02 .11 .08
Future Prospects (OS) .28**** .10 .59**** .34 .60**** .34
Total∆R 2 .61 .40 .50
F (df) 36.70**** (4,88) 58.14**** (2,171) 184.71**** (3,263)
Note: The total df do not always add to N-1 due to listwise deletion of cases with missing data.
* p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .005; **** p < .001.