Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T18:00:24.078Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions: An Empirical Study of Business Employees in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Yaotian Pan ,
Julie A. Rowney  and
Mark F. Peterson
Yaotian Pan
Affiliation:
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Julie A. Rowney
Affiliation:
University of Calgary, Canada
Mark F. Peterson
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University, U.S
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Five schools of Chinese cultural traditions that implicitly influence current management thought in China are used to create a four-factor Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions (SCCT) model. A sample of 2658 people in businesses in Beijing was used to develop the dimensions that were then cross-validated in a nation-wide sample of 718 business employees. The four dimensions show plausible patterns of convergent and discriminant validity with generic domains of values represented by the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS). We suggest that the Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions provides a unique model of Chinese culture that complements other generic measures, thereby allowing a deep understanding of Chinese culture.

Keywords

Chinese cultureempirical studymodel buildingvalues中国文化实证研究模型建立价值观
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 8 , Issue 1: Special Issue Indigenous Management Research in China , March 2012 , pp. 77 - 95
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ames, R. T. 1983. The art of mlership: A study in ancient Chinese political thought. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.Google Scholar
Ames, R. T. 1993. Sun Tzu: The art of warfare. New York: Ballantine Books.Google Scholar
Benson, J. 1998. Developing a strong program of construct validation: A test anxiety example. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 17(1): 10–17.Google Scholar
Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. 1993. Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In Bollen, K. A. & Long, J. S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models: 136-162. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Chai, S.-K., & Rhee, M. 2010. Confucian capitalism and the paradox of closure and structural holes in East Asian firms. Management and Organization Review, 6(1): 5–29.Google Scholar
Chan, W. 1963. A source book in Chinese philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. 2002. Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2): 233–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chin, W. W. 1998. Issues and opinion on structural equation modeling. MIS Quarterly, 22(1): 7–16.Google Scholar
Chinese Culture Connection. 1987. Chinese values and the search for culture-free dimensions of culture, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 18(2): 143–164.Google Scholar
Cleary, T. 1988. Sun Tzu: The art of war. Boston, MA: Shambhala.Google Scholar
Conway, J. M., & Huffcutt, A. I. 2003. A review and evaluation of exploratory factor analysis practices in organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 6(2): 147–168.Google Scholar
De Bary, W. T., Chan, W. T., & Watson, B. 1960. Sources of Chinese tradition. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Fabrigar, L. R., Wegener, D. T., MacCallum, R. C., & Strahan, E.J. 1999. Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research. Psychological Methods, 4(3): 272–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fan, Y. 2000. A classification of Chinese culture. International Journal of Cross Culture Management, 7(2): 3–10.Google Scholar
Fang, T. 2012. Yin Yang: A new perspective on culture. Management and Organization Review, 8(1): 25–50.Google Scholar
Gorsuch, R. L. 1997. Exploratory factor analysis: Its role in item analysis. Journal of Personality Assessment, 68(3): 532–560.Google Scholar
Griffith, S. B. 1971. The art of war: Sun Tzu. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. 1998. Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 2001. Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. 2004. Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Hoyle, R. H., & Panter, A. T. 1995. Writing about structural equation models. In Hoyle, R. H. (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications: 158-176. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Hsu, C. Y. 2008. The modern history of China - The rise of modern China: 1600-2000. Beijing: World Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. 1999. Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1): 1–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jorcskog, K. G., & Sorbom, D. 1996. LISREL 8: User's reference guide. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Kaplan, D. 2000. Structural equation modeling: Foundations and extensions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Kicrman, F. A. 1981. Taoism and Chinese religion. Amherst, MA: The University of Massachusetts Press.Google Scholar
Kim, Y. C. 1981. Oriental thought: An introduction to the philosophical and religious thought of Asia. Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Littlcfield Publishers.Google Scholar
Kroebcr, A. L., & Kluckhohn, C. 1963. Culture: A critical review of concepts and definitions. New York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Kulich, S. J., & Zhang, R. 2010. The multiple frames of ‘Chinese’ values: From tradition to modernity and beyond. In Bond, M. H. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of Chinese psychology: in press. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
LaFleur, W. R. 1988. Buddhism: A cultural perspective. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Leung, K. 2009. Never the twain shall meet? Integrating Chinese and Western management research. Management and Organization Review, 5(1): 121–129.Google Scholar
Leung, K., Bond, M. H., Carrasquel, S. R., Munoz, C., Hernandez, M., Murakami, F., Yamaguchi, S., Bierbrauer, G., & Singelis, T. M. 2002. Social axioms: The search for universal dimensions of general beliefs about how the world functions. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33(3): 286–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, N. 2011. Capitalism in China: A centrally managed capitalism (CMC) and its future. Management and Organization Review, 7(1): 63–96.Google Scholar
Lytle, A. L., Brett, J. M., Bareness, Z. I., Tinsley, C. H., & Janssens, M. 1995. A paradigm for quantitative cross-cultural research in organizational behavior. In Cummings, L. L. & Staw, B. M. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, Vol. 17: 167–214. Greenwich, CT: JA1 Press.Google Scholar
Marcoulides, G. A., & Hershberger, S. L. 1997. Multivariate statistical methods: A first course. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. 1994. Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Peterson, M. F., & Pike, K. L. 2002. Ernies and etics for organizational studies: A lesson in contrast from linguistics. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 2(1): 5–19.Google Scholar
Peterson, M. F., & Smith, P. B. 2008. Social structures and processes in cross cultural management. In Smith, P. B., Peterson, M. F. & Thomas, D. C. (Eds.), The handbook of cross cultural management research: 35-58. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press.Google Scholar
Ralston, D. A., Egri, C. P., Stewart, S., Terpstra, R. H., & Yu, K. 1999. Doing business in the 21st century with the new generation of Chinese managers: A study of generational shifts in work values in China. Journal of International Business Studies, 30(2): 415–427.Google Scholar
Rindova, V. P., & Starbuck, W. H. 1997. Ancient Chinese theories of control. Journal of Management Inquiry, 6(2): 144–159.Google Scholar
Ross, N. W. 1981. Buddhism: A way of life and thought. New York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Rubin, V. A. 1976. Individual and state in ancient China: Essays on four Chinese philosophers. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Sagiv, L., Schwartz, S. H., & Arieli, S. 2011. Personal values, national culture and organizations: Insights applying the Schwartz value framework. In Ashkanasy, N. M., Wilderom, C. P. M. & Peterson, M. F. (Eds.), The handbook of organizational culture and climate (2nd ed.): 515–537. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press.Google Scholar
Schwartz, S. H. 1992. Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In Zanna, M. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 25: 1–65. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Schwartz, S. H. 2005. Basic human values: Their content and structure across countries. In Tamayo, A. & Porto, J. B. (Eds.), Valores e trabalho [Values and work]: 21-55. Brasilia: Editora Universidade de Brasilia.Google Scholar
Schwartz, S. H., Verkasalo, M., Antonovsky, A., & Sagiv, L. 1997. Value priorities and social desirability: Much substance, some style. British Journal of Social Psychology, 36(1): 3–18.Google Scholar
Slote, W. H., & De Vos, G. A. 1998. Confucianism and the family. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Smith, D. H. 1973. Confucius. London: Maurice Temple Smith.Google Scholar
Smith, P. B. 2004. Acquiescent response bias as an aspect of cultural communications style. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(1): 50–61.Google Scholar
Story, F. 1985. Dimensions of Buddhist thought. Randy: Buddhist Publication Society.Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. 2001. Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Triandis, H. C. 1972. The analysis of subjective culture. New York: Addison-Weslcy Publisher.Google Scholar
Triandis, H. C. 1996. The psychological measurement of cultural syndromes. American Psychologist, 51(4): 407–415.Google Scholar
Vandenberg, R. J., & Lance, C. E. 2000. A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: Suggestions, practices, and recommendations for organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 3(1): 4–70.Google Scholar
Waley, A. 1997. Tao Te Ching. Wordsworth Editions.Google Scholar
Watson, B. 1967. Basic writings of Mo Tzu, Hsun Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Weber, M. 1930. The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. London: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Weiss, J. W., & Bloom, D. 1990. Managing in China: Expatriate experiences and training recommendations. Business Horizons, 33(3): 23–29.Google Scholar
Wu, J. 1990. Sun Tzu's Art of War. Beijing: Military Science Press.Google Scholar
Xing, F. 1995. The Chinese cultural system: Implications for cross-cultural management. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 60(1): 14–20.Google Scholar
Yau, O. H. M. 1994. Consumer behavior in China: Customer satisfaction and cultural values. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Zwick, W. R., & Velicer, W. F. 1986. Comparison of five rules for determining the number of components to retain. Psychological Bulletin, 99(3): 432–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar