Managing employees in China from Hong Kong : interaction, relationships and productivity as antecedents to motivation

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Leadership & Organization Development Journal

Publication Date

1-1-1998

Volume

19

Issue

3

First Page

147

Last Page

156

Keywords

China, Co-operation, Competition, Hong Kong, Leadership, Motivation

Abstract

States that managers must often try to motivate employees working in another country. Senior accounting managers in Hong Kong were interviewed on their experiences leading professionals in China. Results of structural equation analyses suggest the usefulness of Deutsch's theory of co-operation and competition to understanding how interaction between leaders and employees develops future motivation. Co-operative goals were found to contribute to a constructive discussion of opposing views between managers and employees which, in turn, resulted in productive work and stronger work relationships; these outcomes, in turn, developed motivation to work hard and well on future assignments. These results were interpreted as suggesting that managers can motivate employees through developing strong co-operative goals and the skills of constructive controversy.

DOI

10.1108/01437739810210194

Print ISSN

01437739

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 1998, MCB UP Limited. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

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