Social face concerns and conflict avoidance of Chinese employees with their Western or Chinese managers
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Human Relations
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Volume
64
Issue
8
First Page
1031
Last Page
1050
Keywords
conflict avoidance, cross-cultural interaction, face negotiation theory, social face concerns
Abstract
This study explores behavioral strategies in conflict avoidance and how they are related to social face concerns. One hundred and thirty-two Chinese employees recalled an incident where they avoided a conflict with their supervisors. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the categorization of yielding, outflanking, delay, and passive aggression as alternative approaches to avoiding conflict. Overall, other-face was positively associated with yielding and delay, whereas self-face was positively associated with passive aggression. The associations of social face concerns and avoidance were stronger among employees who interacted with Chinese managers compared with those working for Western managers. In conjunction with recent studies, findings challenge the traditional theorizing that the Chinese value of social face leads to passive avoidance.
DOI
10.1177/0018726711400927
Print ISSN
00187267
E-ISSN
1741282X
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2011 by The Tavistock Institute
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Peng, A. C., & Tjosvold, D. (2011). Social face concerns and conflict avoidance of Chinese employees with their Western or Chinese managers. Human Relations, 64(8), 1031-1050. doi: 10.1177/0018726711400927