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Abstract

This article explores the influence of Chinese culture on job motivation and its relationship with organizational citizenship behavior, relying on interviews with employees in governmental institutions and corporations in Taiwan. The requirements of relationships and personal pride in Chinese culture create a unique job motivation, which affects an organization's citizenship behavior. An organization's collective benefit and target awareness has an interfering effect on job motivation. The type of organization and employee's age and level of education influence the job motivation and behavior of Chinese employees. The findings will be beneficial in future research and theoretical development.

The unique cultural characteristics of Chinese society (Hsu, 2003) are heavily influenced by Confucian culture (Hwang, 1988). Chinese culture is collective in nature (Traindis, 1995): Chinese are relationship- and society-oriented (Ho, 1991; Yang, 1993) and have an interdependent self-construal perspective (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Hsu, 2003). These orientations may have a variety of effects on the psychology and behavior of Chinese people. First, the standard of behavior in Chinese culture prioritizes collective or group benefits, and organizational roles or missions are viewed as greater than personal needs. There is an inclination to fuse the individual and society to avoid interpersonal conflict. Second, there is an emphasis on returning favors (Liu, 1993, 1996, 2001) and a tendency to make decisions based on relationships. Third, there is a sensitivity to criticism from others, and a requirement for “face” or attention to pride. Fourth, there is an emphasis on family ethics with a respect for authority. Finally, the self-definition of an individual is situational and is affected by other people (Hwang, 1988; Ho, 1991; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Yang, 1993; Traindis, 1995; Hsu, 2003). Given the results of previous studies on job motivations, the need for relationships and face is a concept unique to the Chinese; when an individual decides to strive toward a goal, the awareness of a collective benefit or target will influence the strength and duration of the motivation (Hsu, 2003). This paper will further explore these unique aspects of job motivation in Chinese culture.

Job Motivations in Chinese Culture

Motivations drive individuals' behavior (Steers & Porter, 1991; Porter, Bigley, & Steers, 2003); motivation is not a static psychological construct, but a dynamic process that sustains a journey toward the goal (Drucker, 1954). Scholars have defined over 140 types of motivation (Landy & Backer, 1987; Rainey, 2000); therefore, when motivation theory is applied to the field of organizational behavior job motivation has a richly diverse history (Hsu, 2003).

Western researchers have presented a wide range of definitions of job motivation over the years. For example, Patchen, Pelz, and Allen (1965) defined job motivation as the commitment toward a job, including the willingness to perform extra work. Lawer and Hall (1970) proposed that job motivation is an individual's sense of value derived from his work that creates the desire to excel. Landy and Guison (1970) defined job motivation and its measured scope to expand team attitude, concentration on work, individuality, professional acknowledgment, job curiosity, and sustainability. Pinder (1984) asserted that job motivation is an external driving force generated from within an individual, which stimulates work-related behavior and is characterized by its type, direction, strength, and duration. Steers and Porter (1991) stated that job motivation is the process where a type of behavior is driven, directed, and sustained in an organization (Liu, 1992; Hsu, 2003). Combining the assertions of the above-mentioned researchers, job motivation comprises reasons, conditions, and results related to the question “why must people work hard?”

Western countries have developed an abundance of theories related to job motivation, but the issue of cultural fit must be considered (Yang, 2000). In terms of theories of needs Western societies tend to emphasize individual independence and autonomy, while Chinese societies prioritize needs such as a sense of belonging. In Chinese culture, collective goals may underpin individual efforts. Western theories of job characteristics do not explain many psychological and behavioral phenomena in Chinese organizations, which is why the theory must give more weight to social motivations as related to job characteristics in Chinese culture (Hsu, 2003). Therefore, the development of job motivation theory in Chinese culture should return to basic job motivations and reflect on the meaning of motivations within cultures, i.e., Chinese society has been influenced by Confucianism (Hwang, 1988; Woods & Lamond, 2011) and is a collective culture (Traindis, 1995; Chin, 2015). Chinese people are inclined toward relationships (Ho, 1991), society (Yang, 1993), and a dependent/interdependent self-construal perspective (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Hsu, 2003). As a result, job motivations prioritize collective or group benefits along with a tendency to relationship approach (Hwang, 1988; Ho, 1991; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Liu, 1993, 1996, 2001; Yang, 1993; Traindis, 1995; Woods & Lamond, 2011; Chin, 2015).

Relationship Needs

Relationship needs include favors and kindness that induce a feeling of obligation (Hsu, 2003). Due to the influence of collective culture, Chinese societies place an emphasis on social relations (Markus & Kitayama, 1991, 1994). Social exchange theory, as proposed by Blau (1964), claims that interaction between people should maintain a balance between giving and receiving; therefore, when an individual accepts a favor he must return the favor to maintain a relationship of mutual benefit. This concept overlaps with the concept of bao in Chinese culture but is not completely identical (Hsu, 2003). According to Liu (1992), the concept of bao in Chinese culture can be categorized as tool bao, emotional bao, and karma bao; social exchange theory is based on a concept similar to tool bao, but Chinese culture also includes emotional bao and karma bao. Emotional bao is defined as receiving favors from others and then returning the favor, or transferring the favor to another individual in the future, such as returning a favor with a favor. Karma bao involves yielding and serving in a manner as soft and generous as the Earth, ensuring that employees will be stable and willing to protect the work environment and respect company discipline.

With roots in Chinese society stretching back thousands of years, the concept of bao refers to Buddhism and exercises a large impact on behavior (Liu, 1992). People with a Chinese cultural background seek security; therefore, they desire to fit into groups, maintain harmony, and avoid conflict in interpersonal relationships in order to match the expectations of others while emphasizing relationships (role obligation) and favors (return obligation).

Face Needs

The need for face is derived from a feeling of responsibility caused by an acceptance of social standards (Hsu, 2003). Exploring the Confucian perspective toward justice, Hwang (1988, 1995) found that it differed from Western theories of justice that rely on legitimacy and fairness; Chinese societies are based on hierarchies between people and the distances in family relations, which determine the allocation principles; therefore, the process of relations and allocations is a “favors and face” model. Chu (1989) asserted that the importance of face cannot be neglected when exploring the achievement motivations of the Chinese because both the face and the achievement motivations contain the element of social approach motivation. Yu (1993) discovered that the strength of social approach achievement motivations will affect an individual's desire to seek external support in his job and the inclination to conform to social standards. As a result, in Chinese culture the individual is more desirous of receiving praise and acknowledgment from others while avoiding criticism and values protecting face and obtaining face.

Collective Benefit and Target Awareness

Shamir (1990) and Van Knippenberg (2000) proposed a collectivist work motivation based on social identity theory to translate Western job motivation theories from the individual to the collective. These researchers asserted that the identity of a team member allows an individual to sense collective needs and collective goals and to generate a collective job motivation that will allow members to strive toward the completion of tasks in unison. The effect of Confucian culture on Chinese society (Hwang, 1988) is rooted in collective culture (Traindis, 1995) as the standard of action, prioritizing group benefits and the pursuit of harmony between the individual and the social order to avoid interpersonal conflict (Liu, 1993, 1996, 2001).

Target awareness is based on the Western theory of setting goals (Locke & Henne, 1986; Lock & Latham, 1990). Compared to simple or poorly defined goals, difficult and clear goals will result in a better job performance because the goal will direct the method and the focus of behavior (Locke, 2000). Hsu (2003) believes that the collective goal is the key to generating individual effort in Chinese societies because the clarity of the collective goal generates a sense of obligation towards the person's job. Collective benefit and target awareness together will influence the strength and sustainability of an individual's decision. Chinese society asserts that collective goals are the key to spurring individual effort; when individuals sense that the collective goal is clear, it can generate a sense of responsibility toward their individual jobs (Hsu, 2003). In comparison to simple or unclear goals, difficult or clear goals will enhance job performance because the target will guide the direction of actions and degree of focus (Locke, 2000). Regarding the job motivations of relationship needs, when an organization's goals are clear employees are more willing to maintain harmonious relations with supervisors, colleagues, and related staff or even cooperate with others to increase the overall performance (Graham, 1991). At the same time, the job motivation of face needs will encourage an individual to complete his or her tasks, to be willing to share the burden of extra work (Patchen, et al., 1965), to assist others, and expect to receive the praise of others when the organization's goals are clear.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

In 1983, Bateman and Organ proposed the concept of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and it soon became a mainstream topic, which was adopted by many studies. OCB refers to employee behavior in an organization that is meaningful, but these actions do not exist as official roles. Instead, they are unofficial actions that help other individuals or organizations; therefore, they are not bound by contractual obligations or are unaffected by an organization's reward and punishment systems (Organ, 1988). Many studies have shown that OCB has a positive effect on organizations and can help enhance organizational benefit, performance, and production (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Pain, & Bachrach, 2000; Lin, Pan, & Cheng, 2011); simultaneously, OCB has a positive effect on the evaluation of employee performance and recommendations for promotion (Allen & Rush, 1998; Johnson, 2001). OCB, defined as positive behavior that goes beyond the formal requirement of the job but promotes effective functioning of the organization, improves employees' task performance by freeing up resources, helps to coordinate activities between employees, and uplifts coworker productivity (Organ, 1988, 1997; Van Dyne, Graham, & Dienesch, 1994; Podsakoff, et al., 2000; Chin, 2015).

Farh, Earley, and Lin (1997) utilized the surveys of Organ (1988) on the five facets of OCB and Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, and Fetter (1990) to develop an OCB scale tailored for the Chinese; the five facets in the structure included acknowledging the organization, assisting colleagues, responsible behavior, harmonious interpersonal relationships, and protecting organizational resources. Podsakoff, et al. (2000) defined the seven facets of OCB: altruism, sportsmanship, supporting the organization, organizational obedience, initiative, civil morality, and individual growth. The main differences are individual growth and initiative: the former refers to an employee's use of additional time to participate in employee training or taking the initiative to participate in training outside of the job to improve individual ability, and initiative refers to volunteering to assist colleagues or supervisors.

In addition, OCB is an employee's display of aggressive initiative, and scholars assert that the characteristics of active citizenship are similar to OCB. Graham (1991) defined active citizenship to include organizational obedience, the employees' willingness to accept an organization's fair regulations in terms of restriction, work standards, and labor policies; organizational loyalty; the employees' acknowledgment of an organization and willingness to face difficulties and threats with the organization in order to maintain the organization's reputation or even work with others to improve organizational performance; and organizational participation, the employees' willingness to take the initiative in participating in events or meetings held by the organization and to share information with others.

Research Goals

Research goal 1.—To understand the relationship and face needs and their effect on organizational citizenship behavior in the job motivations of Chinese culture

Research goal 2.—To assess collective benefit in terms of relationships or face and to characterize their association with organizational citizenship behavior.

Research goal 3.—To assess how the awareness of relationship and face needs affects organizational citizenship behavior.

Method

The research methods primarily consist of quantitative and qualitative methods. Normally, when the theoretical structure offers clarity, and the goal is the measurement of the relationship between variables, the quantitative method is applied; if the problem lacks a clear concept, then the qualitative method is applied (Yin, 1994; Creswell, 2014). Utilizing the qualitative research method organizes the study participant to define the possible relationships between variables, which is a more appropriate method. The findings of the study can assist with the construction and development of related theories in the future.

This study examined the relationship between the job motivations of Chinese culture and OCB while also exploring whether collective benefit and target awareness affect job motivation. As the number of related papers that can be referenced is severely limited and scholars have differing perspectives, qualitative interview data for analysis is the primary analytical tool.

Participants

The research participants of this paper were employed by governmental institutions and technology or traditional industrial corporations in Taiwan. The participants (12 supervisors and 6 HR directors) were chosen to obtain data from a variety of differing organizational structures, regulations, management methods, and organizational cultures for the study. For example, governmental institutions and companies in traditional industries possess better organizational structure and product stability, while companies in the technology industry are more competitive. In addition, the operational goals of government facilities and private companies vary, and the diversity of operational environments will be examined to differentiate companies in the technology and traditional industries. Due to this situation, two types of organizations from each category were selected for semi-structured interviews. Regarding governmental institutions, a supervisor of policy planning and evaluation was chosen from a central government agency and a local municipal government agency; for technology companies, an integrated circuit (IC) design company and a semi-conductor materials logistics company were selected; and for traditional industries, a bank and a company in the restaurant services industry were chosen. Therefore, a total of six institutions and companies are represented in the data.

Data Collection

Data collection was separated into two parts. First, the six institutions or companies were chosen for on-site semi-structured interviews with supervisors or HR directors. Ando, Cousins, and Young (2014) pointed out that studies on the higher level concept would group various types of symptoms under the concept of “physiological symptom,” while for the lower level concept the group would comprise a list of various sensory symptoms and their distinct differences from each other. Since this study was exploratory research, it was necessary to carry out a number of in-depth interviews to collect the views of the interviewees for analysis. Therefore, we selected personnel and business unit executives as interview participants, since the views of employees may be more suitable for a questionnaire that examines a wide range of subjects. The interview questions are listed below:

Based on your observations, are the employees in your institution or company getting along harmoniously? When working on tasks, do the employees offer each other assistance? When the organization or supervisors give encouragement or guidance, do the employees accept that advice with gratitude and continue to work hard? (Relationship needs)

Based on your observations, when your institution or company praises or awards the efforts of employees, does that provide an encouraging effect on the employee's future work? Do employees aggressively compete to give a superior individual performance? Do they have a strong desire to earn public praise and reward from the organization? (Face needs)

Based on your observations, do the employees of your institution or company put more emphasis on individual or collective benefits? Has your institution or company established clear performance targets for the organization or individuals? (Collective benefit and clear goals)

Based on your observations, what is the level of acknowledgment and loyalty given by employees toward the institution or company? Are employees willing to jointly protect the reputation of the organization? Are employees willing to share the burden or perform extra work or assist colleagues with the completion of tasks? Are employees willing to participate in the organization's events and share knowledge with their colleagues? (OCB)

Do you feel that the institution's or company's employee awards or the creation of a harmonious work environment has helped enhance the employees' willingness to cooperate? Or share the burden of extra work? Or increase loyalty toward the organization? (Relationship needs affecting results)

Do you feel that employees who desire face or are ambitious are more willing to help their colleagues? Or share the burden of extra work? Or increase acknowledgment and loyalty toward the organization? (Face needs affecting results)

Do you think that employees' emphasis on collective benefit or establishing clear goals is beneficial to mutual cooperation between employees? Or make a greater effort to enhance organizational performance? (Collective benefit and target awareness affecting results)

Next, the data provided by the interviewees and the researchers' long-term observation of work experience in government departments and enterprises were utilized to form a more complete understanding of the situation.

Analysis Method

The descriptions given by the interviewees, and related literature, were used as guidance in the qualitative analysis. The collected data were compared to the theories to explore the relationships between the variables.

Results

Research Discovery Analysis

This paper is based on the interview data from the six institutions or companies that were employed to compare the three types of organizations according to relationship needs, face needs, collective benefit, and OCB. The data is organized in Table 1 with the analysis presented below.

TABLE 1

Comparison of Job Motivation, Collective Benefit, Target Awareness, and OCB in Three Types of Organizations

Categorization	Government Institution	Technology Companies	Traditional Industry Companies
Relationship needs
Satisfaction type	Enter the organization, achieve sense of belonging and job security.	Professionalism is respected and performance opportunities are granted.	Harmony with the team, job security.
Satisfaction method	Establish nepotism, strive for harmony, and strive to meet the needs of supervisors.	Mutual respect, professionalism in sharing workload.	Adhere to company regulations, respect the mutual expectations of organization and colleagues.
Face needs
Satisfaction type	Expect harmony with colleagues, receive acknowledgment and praise from supervisors.	Professionalism is praised, harmony with colleagues.	Good work atmosphere and benefits, security in work environment.
Satisfaction method	Work hard, act and work to receive praise from supervisors and colleagues.	Perform to ability, achieve good individual performance.	Work hard without complaint, and receive acknowledgment from supervisors and colleagues.
Sensory scope	Abilities are admired by supervisors, colleagues, and external forces.	Receive awards and praise from supervisors, become a model for colleagues.	Good work performance to meet company expectations.
Collective benefit	Greater than personal benefit.	Equal to personal benefit.	Greater than personal benefit.
Target awareness	Organizational goals are clear, individual goals are unclear.	Organizational and individual goals are both clear.	Organizational goals are clear, individual goals are unclear.
OCB
Obedience	High	Medium	High
Loyalty	High	Medium	High
Participation	More passive	Initiative	Initiative

Relationship needs.—In terms of satisfaction of relationship needs, employees of governmental institutions and traditional companies were more oriented toward integration into the organization, had a sense of belonging, and sought job security; employees in technology companies preferred to be respected for their professionalism and to have the opportunity to perform. In terms of methods of satisfying relational needs, governmental employees were focused on establishing favoritism with their superiors and sought harmony while striving to meet the needs of their superiors. Employees of technology companies stressed mutual respect and professionalism when sharing workloads. Employees of traditional companies preferred to adhere to the company's regulations and to meet the mutual expectations of the organization and colleagues. Employees in government emphasized a need for praise from supervisors in order to receive promotion opportunities. Employees in technology companies valued obtaining comparable rewards and praise as a motivation for future work. Employees of traditional companies preferred to seek harmony with colleagues and a balanced living and work environment.

Face needs.—The employees in all three types of organizations expected a harmonious work environment. Governmental employees preferred to work hard, behave well, and complete tasks to earn the praise of their superiors and colleagues. Employees at technology companies emphasized the full use of their abilities for good individual performance. Employees at traditional companies tended to work hard without complaint and obtain acknowledgment from superiors and colleagues. Governmental employees stressed the use of abilities to earn the praise of supervisors, colleagues, and clients. Employees at technology companies focused on obtaining awards and acknowledgment from their supervisors and becoming models for their colleagues. Employees at traditional companies emphasized good work performance to meet the expectations of the company.

Collective benefit.—Employees of governmental institutions and companies in traditional industries emphasized collective benefit over individual benefit; those in technology companies focused on both collective and individual benefit.

Target awareness.—Governmental institutions and companies in traditional industries had specific organizational goals but their individual goals were less clear; both the organizational and the individual goals of tech companies were clearer.

Organizational citizenship behavior.—Employees in the government and traditional industries possessed high levels of organizational obedience, but these levels were medium in tech companies. Employees in all three types of organizations had similar levels of organizational obedience. Regarding organizational participation, governmental employees were more passive, while employees in the tech and traditional industries were more likely to take the initiative.

To summarize the analysis above, employees of all three types of organizations displayed positive job motivation and behavior in the aspects of relationship needs, face needs, collective benefit, target awareness, and OCB. However, there were differences among the three types of institutions. Relationship needs, face needs, collective benefit, and target awareness were similar in the government agencies and companies in traditional industries; a wider gap existed between the employees in corporate and governmental organizations.

Research Propositions Based on Qualitative Assessment

Relationship needs and OCB.—Governments tend to have bureaucratic organizational structures and administrate according to the law; various standards such as wages, benefits, and work regulations follow a rigid format. As a result, employees with a Chinese cultural background emphasize relations that rely on nepotism or favoritism, similar to the “internal groups” and “external groups” in Western management theories. Enjoying closer relationships with their supervisors, the employees of internal groups will naturally receive better treatment. For example, an interviewee expressed, “Public servants often seek nepotism since if you are the ‘king's’ follower, you will have higher obedience, loyalty, and organizational participation.”

Technology companies face a rapidly changing and fiercely competitive environment, which results in an emphasis on employee professionalism with flexible standards. Employees who are more professional with better abilities will receive more respect within the company from supervisors and colleagues. An interviewee said, “Tech companies have a complete inclination toward an individual's professional abilities; therefore, employees with better abilities receive more respect and better treatment. Of course, this approach also increases employee obedience, loyalty, and organizational participation.”

Employees of companies in traditional industries focus on job security and respect from their supervisors, colleagues, and clients. An interviewee pointed out, “Companies in traditional industries stress standard operating procedures; basically, employees that work hard, are responsible, and have a good attitude are more popular. Most of these employees bear hardship without complaint and on average rank higher in terms of obedience, loyalty, and participation toward the company. However, in recent years, due to an increased level of education and advancements in technology and information resulting in the dissemination of Western cultural influences, the younger generation's attitudes toward work are beginning to shift.”

Employees of differing organizations in Taiwan vary in terms of job characteristics, but all have diverse needs in individual relationships; basically, those with higher organizational obedience, loyalty, and participation have been reported to display different types of OCB.

Individuals' job motivations in Chinese culture have relationship needs in interpersonal networks that tend toward seeking security and harmony within the group; maintaining harmonious relations with supervisors, colleagues, and other related staff to avoid conflict and meet the expectations of others; and emphasizing the performance of favors (role obligations) and emotions (returning obligations; Hwang, 1988; Liu, 1993, 1996, 2001; Hsu, 2003). Employees with a Chinese cultural background are more willing to be subjected to the fair restrictions, work standards, and labor policy regulations set by the company and hope to achieve a sense of belonging in an organization (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Hsu, 2003) to obtain job security; next, employees are willing to stand with an organization and face threats to protect an organization's reputation, and even work with others to increase overall performance; also, employees are willing to take the initiative to participate in meetings and to share information with others while professing loyalty to the organization and the supervisors. Therefore, relationship needs in Taiwan seem to be beneficial in increasing OCB among an organization's employees and are beneficial to obedience, loyalty, and participation within an organization.

Proposition 1. The strength of an employee's relationship needs toward an organization is beneficial in increasing employee OCB: (a) willingness to subject themselves to an organization's established fair restrictions, work standards, labor policies, and related regulations; (b) increased loyalty which drives them to face threats with the organization; and (c) willingness to take the initiative to participate in the organization's events, to share the burden of extra work, and assist others in the organization.

Face Needs and OCB.—Public servants working in governmental institutions are hired after passing a fiercely competitive national examination; highly educated and competitive in spirit, their acknowledgment toward an organization and their loyalty are both basic requirements of governing institutions. An interviewee expressed, “Most public servants take the initiative in tasks when they first enter the governing institution and express loyalty toward the organization in the hopes of receiving praise from supervisors, which is beneficial to their future promotion opportunities.”

The employees of technology companies possess strong professional abilities and emphasize individual achievement and performance while expecting to gain the approval of supervisors and colleagues within the company. An interviewee pointed out that “the professional employees at tech companies hope to perform well at work, and aside from expecting to earn praise and acknowledgment from supervisors and colleagues, they desire better opportunities to develop in the future.”

In comparison, the employees of companies in traditional industries work hard without complaint in exchange for a secure job and future development opportunities while caring strongly about acknowledgment from supervisors, employees, and customers. An interviewee commented, “The employees of companies in traditional industries are more willing to adhere to a company's regulations and work hard without complaint in the hopes of performing well and meeting the company's expectations.”

To summarize, the employees of differing organizations in Taiwan vary in terms of job characteristics, but all share an emphasis on individual achievement and performance while expecting to gain respect and acknowledgment from supervisors and colleagues. Therefore, most are willing to devote themselves to the organization and to express their obedience, loyalty, and participation toward the organization.

The individuals' job motivations in Taiwan emphasize face (Hwang, 1988; Liu, 1993, 1996, 2001), which creates a sense of responsibility and concern for social standards (Hsu, 2003). In other words, the individual in Chinese culture strongly desires to receive praise from others and avoid criticism because employees working in an organization are more willing to accept an organization's fair restrictions, work standards, labor policies, and other regulations; employees are inclined to take the initiative in obtaining acknowledgment from others and protecting their own face in order to meet the expectations of supervisors, colleagues, and other related staff. In order for employees to meet the expectations of others' and society's standards, they must perform well at their own jobs and be willing to share the burden of extra work (Patchen, Pelz, & Allen, 1965). Therefore, the face needs of employees in Chinese culture are beneficial in increasing employee OCB and the obedience, loyalty, and participation of employees.

Proposition 2. The strength of an employee's face needs is beneficial in increasing an employee's OCB: (a) willingness to be subject to an organization's fair restrictions, work standards, labor policies, and related regulations; (b) loyalty toward an organization to work positively and obtain the acknowledgment of others and protect an individual's face; meeting the expectations of others and society's standards to complete his own work and be willing to share the burden of extra work.

The Effect of Collective Benefit and Target Awareness

Government employees lean toward bureaucratic organization and emphasize teamwork to share both honor and shame. Normally, the collective benefit is above individual benefit; simultaneously, administrative institutions set annual targets for the organization and department but the individual goals of public servants receive less attention. An interviewee stated, “Governmental institutions demand team spirit and set annual goals for the organization and department that public servants must abide by and complete in accordance with the law; therefore, acknowledgment and loyalty to the organization are basic requirements for public servants. If governmental institutions can set clearer goals for an organization or department, it will be more beneficial and better motivate public servants to complete their tasks.”

Facing an environment that is rapidly changing and intensely competitive, employees of technology companies have an inclination to emphasize both individual and collective benefits; each year, companies must set specific goals for the organization and the individual. An interviewee pointed out: “Tech companies must accept intense competition; therefore, aside from emphasizing the collective benefit of the company, they must also focus on the individual benefits of employees to retain talent. The company sets specific annual goals for both the organization and the individual to address the constantly changing business environment. If companies can clearly notify employees of annual policy and targets, it will strengthen the employees' job performance.”

Companies in traditional industries prioritize the collective benefit of the company and establish specific annual goals for the organization for departments and employees to complete together. An interviewee said, “Although the operating environment of companies in traditional industries is not as competitive as tech companies, there is still an emphasis on collective benefit; clear annual goals are set for both the organization and the individual employees, and employees are encouraged to work hard to achieve those goals.”

Overall, interviewees at all three types of organizations felt that collective benefit and clear goals are beneficial in increasing OCB among employees.

Proposition 3. The employees' emphasis on collective benefits will affect the strength of the relationship between relationship needs and OCB.

Proposition 4. The employee's emphasis on collective benefit puts face needs and OCB at odds in Chinese culture. The employee's emphasis on the amount of collective benefit will affect the strength of the relationship between face needs and OCB.

Chinese values assert that collective goals are the key to spurring individual effort; when individuals accept a collective goal, it can generate a sense of responsibility and obligation toward their jobs (Hsu, 2003). In comparison to simple or unclear goals, difficult or clear goals will lead to better job performance because the target will guide the direction of actions and focus (Locke, 2000). Regarding the job motivations of relationship needs, when an organization's goals are clear employees are more willing to cooperate with supervisors, colleagues, and other related staff while maintaining harmonious relations or even cooperating with others to increase the overall performance or benefit (Graham, 1991). At the same time, the job motivation of face needs will motivate an individual to complete his tasks and be willing to share the burden of extra work (Patchen, et al., 1965) and assist others because there is an expectation of receiving the praise and acknowledgment of others. Thus, clear annual goals are beneficial to increasing the OCB of employees and employee obedience, loyalty, and participation in an organization.

Proposition 5. The clarity of an organization's goal will affect the strength of the relationship between relationship needs and OCB.

Proposition 6. The clarity of an organization's goal will affect the strength of the relationship between face needs and OCB.

Discussion

Several conclusions can be obtained based on the above-mentioned analyses: first, there is a positive correlation in job motivation and behavior in governmental institutions, tech companies, and companies in traditional industries in the five aspects of relationship needs, face needs, collective benefit, target awareness, and OCB. Next, although the employees of various organizations in Chinese culture possess a wide range of job characteristics, there are diverse individual relationship needs; basically, obedience, loyalty, and participation in an organization are higher but can display different OCB. Therefore, the stronger the relationship needs of employees in differing organizations in Chinese culture, the more beneficial it is in increasing employee OCB. Third, although the employees of various organizations in Chinese culture possess diverse job characteristics, they still hold individual achievement and performance in high regard; they simultaneously hope to receive respect from supervisors and colleagues. Employees are more willing to devote themselves to an organization through the display of obedience, loyalty, and participation. Finally, the interviewees in all three types of Organizations feel that collective benefit and clear goals are beneficial in increasing employee OCB. This conclusion fits well with the views of past studies, which have emphasized that Chinese culture is heavily influenced by Confucianism (Hwang, 1988), is a collective culture (Traindis, 1995), and that the Chinese are relationship- and society oriented (Ho, 1991; Yang, 1993) and hold an interdependent self-construal perspective (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Hsu, 2003). It is widely acknowledged that the content domain of OCB in China differs from that developed in the West, mainly due to the impact of Confucian doctrines on Chinese work behavior (Farh, Hackett & Jian 2007; Tsui, Nifadkar, & Ou, 2007; Keister & Zhang, 2009; Han & Altman, 2010; Chin, 2015). Compared to the West, Chinese people as collectivists place a greater value on harmony, which reflects a unique cultural characteristic and proclivity originating in Confucian ideology (Ngo, Lau, & Foley 2008) Chen & Miller 2010) Han & Altman 2010; Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010; Tjosvold, Wu, & Chen 2010; Yu & Zaheer 2010; and Chin, 2015).

As this paper only chose six government institutions or companies for interview in this study, the inference in study results is limited and must be expanded upon by researchers. Moreover, as the number of job motivation management concepts in Chinese culture proliferate, subsequent studies can be designed according to this hypothesis and establish the variables and models required to conduct objective quantitative studies to supplement the shortcomings of the qualitative research methods.

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An Exploration of the Relationships between Job Motivation,Collective Benefit,Target Awareness,and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Chinese Culture 1

Abstract

Job Motivations in Chinese Culture

Relationship Needs

Face Needs

Collective Benefit and Target Awareness

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Research Goals

Method

Participants

Data Collection

Analysis Method

Results

Research Discovery Analysis

Research Propositions Based on Qualitative Assessment

The Effect of Collective Benefit and Target Awareness

Discussion

References