Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T18:04:57.028Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Enhancing the Effects of Power Sharing on Psychological Empowerment: The Roles of Management Control and Power Distance Orientation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Chao C. Chen
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, USA Nanjing University, China
Ann Yan Zhang
Affiliation:
Peking University, China
Hui Wang
Affiliation:
Peking University, China

Abstract

In this article we test a model of bounded empowerment: the boundary conditions under which power sharing affects employees' psychological empowerment. Using data from two telecommunication companies, we investigate how management control and power distance orientation moderate the effects of supervisors' power sharing on employees' psychological empowerment. Results show that power sharing improves job performance partly through psychological empowerment. Furthermore, management control enhances rather than impedes the positive effect of power sharing on psychological empowerment. Power distance orientation further enhances management control's positive moderating effect on employee psychological empowerment. Limitations and implications for future research are also discussed.

本文探讨了权力分享对心理授权感的影响作用, 以及这一影响作用的边界条件。 通过来自两个电信公司的数据, 我们研究了管理控制和权力距离如何调节主管的权力分享行为对下属心理授权感的影响。 研究结果表明, 权力分享行为对下属工作绩效的影响作用是部分通过心理授权感产生的。 同时, 管理控制加强了而不是阻碍了权力分享对心理授权感的正向影响作用, 权力距离也提升了管理控制对下属心理授权感的调节作用。 最后, 我们讨论了本研究的局限和研究意义。

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2014

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

Ahearne, M., Mathieu, J., & Rapp, A. 2005. To empower or not to empower your sales force? An empirical examination of influence of leadership empowerment behavior on customer satisfaction and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(5): 945955.Google Scholar
Arnold, J. A., Arad, S., Rhoades, J. A., & Drasgow, F. 2000. The empowering leadership questionnaire: The construction and validation of a new scale for measuring leader behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(3): 250260.Google Scholar
Aryee, S., & Chen, Z. X. 2006. Leader-member exchange in a Chinese context: Antecedents, the mediating role of psychological empowerment and outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 59(7): 793801.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. 1978. The self-system in reciprocal determinism. American Psychologist, 33(4): 344358.Google Scholar
Bliese, P. D. 1998. Group size, ICC values, and group-level correlations: A simulation. Organizational Research Methods, 1(4): 355373.Google Scholar
Brislin, R. W. 1981. Translation and content analysis of oral and written material. In Triandis, H. C. & Berry, J. W. (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: Methodology, Vol. 2: 389444. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Brockner, J., Ackerman, J., Greenberg, J., Gelfand, M. J.; Francesco, A. M., Chen, Z. X., Leung, K., Bierbrauer, G., Gomez, C., Kirkman, B. L., & Shapiro, D. 2001. Culture and procedural justice: The influence of power distance on reactions to voice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37(4): 300315.Google Scholar
Chen, C. C., & Farh, J. L. 2010. Developments in understanding Chinese leadership: Paternalism and its elaborations, moderations, and alternatives. In Bond, M. (Ed.), Oxford handbook of Chinese psychology: 599622. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Chen, G., Kirkman, B. L., Kanfer, R., Allen, D., & Rosen, B. 2007. A multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2): 331346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, M.-J., & Miller, D. 2010. West meets East: Toward an ambicultural approach to management. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(4): 1724.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Z. X., & Aryee, S. 2007. Delegation and employee work outcomes: An examination of the cultural context of mediating processes in China. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1): 226238.Google Scholar
Child, J., & Tse, D. K. 2001. China's transition and its implications for international business. Journal of International Business Studies, 32(1): 521.Google Scholar
Clugston, M., Howell, J. P., & Dorfman, P. W. 2000. Does cultural socialization predict multiple bases and foci of commitment? Journal of Management, 26(1): 530.Google Scholar
Conger, J. A., & Kanungo, R. N. 1988. The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13(3): 471482.Google Scholar
Conger, J. A., Kanungo, R. N., & Menon, S. T. 2000. Charismatic leadership and follower effects. Journal of Organizationl Behavior, 21(7): 747767.3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drucker, P. F. 1954. The practice of management. New York: Harper.Google Scholar
Etzioni, A. 1965. Organizational control structure. In March, J. G. (Ed.), Handbook of organizations: 650677. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Fang, T. 2012. Yin Yang: From Chinese dialectical thinking to a new perspective on culture. Management and Organization Review, 8(1): 2550.Google Scholar
Farh, J. L., Earley, P. C., & Lin, S. C. 1997. Impetus for action: A cultural analysis of justice and organizational citizenship behavior in Chinese Society. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(3): 421444.Google Scholar
Farh, J. L., Hackett, R. D. & Liang, J. 2007. Individual-level cultural values as moderators of perceived organizational support-employee outcome relationships in China: Comparing the effects of power distance and traditionality. Academy of Management Journal, 50(3): 715729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fayol, H. 1949. General and Industrial Management, Translated by Storrs, Constance. London: Pitman.Google Scholar
Forrester, R. 2000. Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea. Academy of Management Executive, 14(3): 6781.Google Scholar
Giglioni, B. G., & Bedeian, A. G. 1974. A conspectus of management control theory: 1900–1972. Academy of Management Journal, 17(2): 292305.Google Scholar
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. 1980. Work redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 1991. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Huang, X., Iun, J., Liu, A. L., & Gong, Y. P. 2009. Does participative leadership enhance work performance by inducing empowerment or trust? The differential effects on managerial and non-managerial subordinates. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(1): 122143.Google Scholar
Ilgen, D. R., Fisher, C. D., & Taylor, M. S. 1979. Consequences of individual feedback on behavior in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64(4): 349371.Google Scholar
Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., de Luque, M. S., & House, R. J. 2006. In the eye of the beholder: Cross-cultural lessons in leadership from Project GLOBE. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1): 6790.Google Scholar
Keller, T., & Dansereau, F. 1995. Leadership and empowerment: A social exchange perspective. Human Relations, 48(2): 127146.Google Scholar
Kirkman, B. L., & Rosen, B. 1999. Beyond self-management: Antecedents and consequences of team empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1): 5874.Google Scholar
Kirkman, B. L., Chen, G., Farh, J. L., Chen, Z. X., & Lowe, K. B. 2009. Individual power distance orientation and follower reactions to transformational leaders: A cross-level, cross-cultural examination. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4): 744764.Google Scholar
Konczak, L. J., Stelly, D., & Trusty, M. 2000. Defining and measuring empowering leader behavior: Development of an upward feedback instrument. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60(2): 301313.Google Scholar
Lam, S. S., Chen, X. P., & Schaubroeck, J. 2002. Participative decision making and employee performance in different cultures: The moderating effects of allocentrism/idiocentrism and efficacy. Academy of Management Journal, 45(5): 905914.Google Scholar
Li, P., Bai, Y. T., & Xi, Y. M. 2012. The contextual antecedents of organizational trust: A multidimensional cross-level analysis. Management and Organizational Review, 8(2): 371396.Google Scholar
Li, P. P. 2012. Toward an integrative framework of indigenous research: The geocentric implications of Yin-Yang Balance. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 29(4): 849872.Google Scholar
Li, S. M., Xia, J., Long, X. N., & Tan, J. 2012. Control modes and outcomes of transformed state-owned enterprises in China: An empirical test. Management and Organization Review, 8(2): 283309.Google Scholar
Lian, H. W., Ferris, D. L., & Brown, D.J. 2012. Does power distance exacerbate or mitigate the effects of abusive supervision? It depends on the outcome. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(1): 107123.Google Scholar
Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., & Sparrowe, R. T. 2000. An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(3): 407416.Google Scholar
Locke, E. A., Latham, G. P., & Erez, M. 1988. The determinants of goal commitment. Academy of Management Review, 13(1): 2340.Google Scholar
Manz, C. C., & Sims, H. P. 1987. Leading workers to lead themselves: The external leadership of self-managing work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32(1): 106129.Google Scholar
Mills, P. K., & Ungson, G. R. 2003. Reassessing the limits of structural empowerment: Organizational constitution and trust as controls. Academy of Management Review, 28(1): 143153.Google Scholar
Newman, W. H. 1951. Administrative action. New York: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Ouchi, W. G. 1979. A conceptual framework for the design of organizational control mechanisms. Management Science, 25(9): 833850.Google Scholar
Reeves, T. K., & Woodward, J. 1970. The study of managerial control. In Woodward, J. (Ed.), Industrial organization: Behavior and control: 3156. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Robert, C., Probst, T. M., Martocchio, J. J., Drasgow, F., & Lawler, J. J. 2000. Empowerment and continuous improvement in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India: Predicting fit on the basis of dimensions of power distance and individualism. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5): 643658.Google Scholar
Schaubroeck, J., Lam, S. S. K., & Cha, S. E. 2007. Embracing transformational leadership: Team values and the impact of leader behavior on team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4): 10201030.Google Scholar
Smith, E. E., & Knight, K. E. 1969. Effects of feedback on efficiency and problem solving efficiency in training groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 53: 224226.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M. 1995. Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5): 14421465.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M. 1996. Social structural characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 39(2): 483504.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M., & Mishra, A. K. 1999. Giving up control without losing control: Trust and its substitutes' effects on managers' involving employees in decision making. Group & Organization Management, 24(2): 155187.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M., Kizilos, M., & Nason, S. 1997. A dimensional analysis of empowerment in relation to performance, job satisfaction, and job-related strain. Journal of Management, 23(5): 679704.Google Scholar
Srivastava, A., Bartol, K. M., & Locke, E. A. 2006. Empowering leadership in management team: Effects on knowledge sharing, efficacy and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(6): 12391251.Google Scholar
Tannenbaum, A. 1968. Control in organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Thomas, K. W., & Velthouse, B. A. 1990. Cognitive elements of empowerment: An ‘interpretive’ model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15(4): 666681.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. D. 1967. Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Tsui, A. S., & Lau, C. M. 2002. The management of enterprises in the People's Republic of China. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishing.Google Scholar
Wagner, S. H., Parker, C. P., & Christiansen, N. D. 2003. Employees that think and act like owners: Effects of ownership beliefs. Personnel Psychology, 56: 847871.Google Scholar
Wang, A. C., Hsieh, H. H., Tsai, C. Y., & Cheng, B. S. 2012. Does value congruence lead to voice? Cooperative voice and cooperative silence under team and differentiated transformational leadership. Management and Organizational Review, 8(2): 341370.Google Scholar
Wang, H., Law, K. S., Hackett, R., Wang, D. X., & Chen, Z. X. 2005. Leader-member exchange as a mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 48(3): 420432.Google Scholar
Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. 2010. Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1): 107128.Google Scholar
Zhang, Z., Zyphur, M. J., & Preacher, K. J. 2009. Testing multilevel mediation using hierarchical linear models. Organizational Research Methods, 12(4): 125.Google Scholar
Zhang, Z. X., Chen, C. C., Liu, L. A., & Liu, X. F. 2008. Chinese traditions and western theories: Influences on business leaders in China. In Chen, C. C. & Lee, Y. T. (Eds.), Leadership and management in China: Philosophies, theories, and practice: 239271. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar