1. Introduction
No organization can exist in the absence of necessary and appropriate relationships. Indeed, as Confucius indicated, humans are relational beings, and our lives are interconnected by our relationships [
1]. According to [
2], the interaction between leaders and employees is regarded as the most critical relationship for employees. Thus, the leader’s ability to form an efficient relationship with employees or create an environment that induces expedient relationships will significantly impact the level of their engagement and performance. It is unsurprising that the supervisor-subordinate (SSG) relationship has garnered considerable attention in recent times [
3].
Given the important role that leaders play in fostering employee engagement and performance, the following question is likely to arise: Why are some leaders better at engaging employees than others? Researchers such as [
4,
5] have conducted a number of studies in the field of personality and engagement that essentially provide an answer to this topic. According to other researchers [
6,
7], a leader’s ability to effectively handle the diverse relationships of an organization may be a contributing factor. Indeed, connecting the two (personality and ability to manage relationships) demonstrates how critical relationships are to the success of any organization. One of the best concepts for gaining a better understanding of workplace relationships is guanxi.
Similar to leader-member exchange (LMX), which explains the relationship between leaders and their subordinates from a western context, the concept of guanxi originates from China, and it is a more advanced version of LMX. Guanxi is exceptional in its attempt to keep amicable relationships even beyond the work premises [
8]. Guanxi is associated with Confucianism because it argues that humans are relational beings who cannot be divorced from his or her relationships [
8,
9].
One of the main differences between LMX and guanxi is the limit of the relationship between supervisors and subordinates. In their research [
8,
10], they pointed out that LMX relationships are mostly limited to the workplace, but with guanxi, it exceeds the working environment—it even cuts across the family and friends of the parties involved [
8,
9]. Additionally, as indicated by [
9,
10], LMX is mainly relationship-biased (for the benefit of the organization), while guanxi is mostly relationship-oriented (seeks to benefit the individual beyond the organization).
Researchers [
7,
11] have paid considerable attention to work engagement, especially workplace relationships. Other researchers have highlighted that high levels of employee engagement can readily provide an organization with a competitive edge, particularly because such workers are positively engaged in their job [
12,
13]. Employee engagement is essential because it encourages and creates a ‘go the extra mile’ mindset [
14]. This can help raise employee morale and urge them to be more responsive and proactive in their service delivery.
As revealed by [
15], engaged employees ensure that they meet their job’s requirements and expectations. They exhibit these three key attributes: vigor, dedication, and absorption in the workplace [
16]. The performance of employees is revealed when they are committed to their work and discharge their expected roles in line with the overall objective [
17].
Though there is a lack of substantial research on guanxi and employee engagement, particularly on the working environment of non-Chinese, this research examines the three main dimensions of guanxi (GRX scale) in connection to employee engagement and job performance.
Regarding the influence of the GRX scale (ganqing, renqing, and xinren) and their impact on employee engagement and job performance, as far as the researchers are aware, this research is useful for ascertaining such relationships, especially among non-Chinese personnel. The focus of early researchers was on Chinese indigenes [
1,
18,
19]. Others [
20,
21] also concentrated on the impact of guanxi as a whole but not necessarily the GRX scale.
One of the most dominant theories used in comprehending behavior at the workplace is Social Exchange Theory (SET). According to [
22], the quality of exchange is dependent on the interaction between the supervisor and the subordinate. The positive interactions with management result in feelings of gratitude [
22], create a sense of obligations [
23], generate formidable goodwill [
24], prompt the need to be helpful [
25], and build trust among the parties involved [
22].
According to [
26], the supervisors’ rapport with their subordinates and how employees are managed will influence their engagement level. When employees are engaged, it will increase their commitment level and, eventually, the organization’s overall performance [
15]. Since guanxi seeks to build a formidable rapport between supervisors and their subordinates, this research seeks to find out the impact of the three dimensions of guanxi on employee engagement and job performance in an African working environment.
The rest of the paper is structured as follows. The 2nd section focuses on the literature review and hypotheses development. The 3rd section discusses the research’s methodology. The 4th section entails the data analysis. The 5th and 6th sections address the discussion and implications of the study as well as the limitations and recommendations for future research. The last section presents the conclusion of the study.
4. Data Analysis
This section consists of the descriptive statistics of demographic variables, which were analyzed using SPSS 26. SPSS 26 was utilized to assess the demographic variables using descriptive statistics, and Smart-PLS 3.2.8, as a variance-based PLS-SEM approach, was the primary analysis tool employed. This is because PLS-SEM can simultaneously evaluate all latent constructs’ causal and predictive relevance while accounting for structural model measurement errors [
48,
49]. Additionally, since our study is explanatory in nature, PLS-SEM is the optimal method for this study. In accordance with the recommendations of [
50], the measurement models were evaluated separately from the structural model.
Table 1 reveals the descriptive statistics of the demographic variables.
This research consisted of 530 respondents. Out of the total respondents, 227 (42.8%) were aged under 30 years (mostly those who only had a bachelor’s degree), while 162 (30.6%) were respondents between 31 and 40 years of age. In total, 71 (13.4%) were between 41 and 50 years of age, whereas 70 (4.8%) were over 50 years. In terms of the organizational sector, those in the public sector (62.9 %) outnumbered those in the private sector (37.1%). There were 272 males (51.3 %) and 258 females (48.7 %). The majority of respondents (255) held a bachelor’s degree, followed by 152 (28.7 %) who held a master’s degree. The remaining 72 (13.6%) and 51 (9.6%) had earned a diploma or a doctorate, respectively.
Table 2 explains the path coefficients of the constructs. Cronbach’s alpha is a convenient test for determining a composite score’s reliability or internal consistency. The general rule is that a Cronbach alpha of 0.70 and above is good, 0.80 and above is better, but measurements over 0.95 could also very well indicate the redundancy of the constructs used [
49]. It is recommended that the composite reliability of a construct is at least 0.70. High composite reliability indicates that all your items constantly measure the same construct. The results above show that all the composite reliability for the constructs ranges from 0.760 to 0.840, which exceeds 0.70. For the Average Variance Extracted (AVE), they were all above 0.5. Overall, the measurement model was concluded as appropriate for the analysis [
50].
Table 3 presents the assessment of the effect size of interactions (f
2) between variables. The effect size (f
2) refers to the impact of an exogenous construct on the R
2 value of an endogenous latent variable. According to [
51], the effect size ranges between 0.02 and 0.15 (small effect), between 0.15 and 0.30 (moderate effect), and an effect size above 0.30 is considered to be large.
Table 3 shows a small effect size of (0.101, 0.148, and 0.025). When the Q
2 is greater than 0, it suggests that the model has predictive relevance for a certain endogenous construct. On the contrary, Q
2 values of 0 or below indicate a lack of predictive relevance [
48]. Hence, Q
2 values of 0.261 and 0.100 indicate that the model has predictive relevance.
The results of hypothesized connections between constructs are shown in
Table 4. The path coefficients are standardized between −1 and +1. The closer the estimated path is geared towards 1, the stronger the forecast relationship. The closer the estimated coefficients are to 0, on the other hand, the weaker the relations. With the exemption of the relationship between guanxi and employee engagement, which revealed a negative coefficient, the observation of all other coefficients showed a positive relationship between the entire constructs, although the effect varied. Additionally, this research revealed that ganqing could not significantly impact employees’ performance.
From the above table, it can be seen that there is a strong relationship between renqing and employee engagement, while the direct relationship between xinren and job performance was weaker.
It can be seen from
Table 5 that, aside from ganqing having a negative relationship with employee engagement, there was no mediation between ganqing and job performance. With employee engagement as the mediator between renqing and job performance, the following figures (β = 0.066; t-value = 3.165;
p-value = 0.002) revealed that employee engagement significantly mediates the relationship. Additionally, the following figures (β = 0.021;
t-value = 2.526;
p-value = 0.012) indicated that employee engagement mediated the role between xinren and job performance.
Measurement Model
The figure below (
Figure 2) displays the structural model analysis of the study.
5. Discussion and Practical Implication
While the concept of guanxi is unfamiliar to most Ghanaians, its practice is not. In Ghana, certain behaviors or events are practically the same as the practice of guanxi in the Chinese setting and culture.
Guanxi in the Ghanaian context can also be obtained through religious and social activities [
52]. These groups are structured in such a way that members are required to gather at a specific location regularly. As a result, members of the religious and social groups mingle and share thoughts or recommendations. Therefore, this provides an opportunity for employees to develop a stronger bond with their employers. Most Ghanaians join religious groups and social groups [
30,
53]. It is unsurprising that with the exemption of the relationship between ganqing and employee engagement, all other relationships of the GRX scale with both employee engagement and job performance were significant.
From the hypothesis, the following figures (β = 0.492; t-value = 10.968;
p-value = 0.000) were obtained as an indication of the relationship between renqing and employee engagement. This finding is similar to that of [
7], who found that the more engaged leaders are in discharging their responsibilities, the better their relationship with employees, hence, significantly influencing their job performance. This outcome also agrees with the research works of [
1,
29], who indicated that renqing motivates employees to lend help and go the extra mile, especially in their engagement in the workplace. In addition, this finding affirms the impact of the social exchange theory by revealing that employees mostly reciprocate or duplicate what they see [
22]. Hence, an engaged supervisor gives the subordinates a model/standard as a guide to their progress.
Reciprocity is a need that is ingrained in the hearts of people, and it is highly imperative in the workplace. Previous literature has indicated that management that strengthens the relationship between leaders and their subordinates will always significantly affect employee performance due to the principle of reciprocity [
23,
54]. In that, one of the best offers employees seek to give their employers in return for their concern and good rapport is to ensure that they are more productive at the workplace.
The need for renqing ‘reciprocity’ can be traced to the ancient principle, ‘do unto others, what you expect them to do unto you.’ Hence, in the midst of a positive leadership relationship and care, employees are more than willing to go the extra mile to make their leaders proud [
19,
22]. This win-win outcome is achieved when there is a mutually beneficial relationship at the workplace. Hence, the SET is confirmed by revealing that developing a good dyad relationship is not biased—it definitely benefits both (leaders and subordinates) and, eventually, the organization as a whole.
With Employee Engagement serving as the mediator between ganqing and job performance, this research revealed a negative and non-significant relationship. This finding is contrary to the research of [
55], who found that the relationship between guanxi exchange and work engagement of both nurses and police officers was positive. However, this finding is in line with the work of [
32], who concluded that employees’ level of engagement in the workplace was negative when they had a high emotional attachment with their employers.
The possible reason for the mediator’s negative and non-significant relationship is the nature of guanxi in the workplace. Guanxi in the Ghanaian business community takes the form of recommendations and referrals. The likely challenges with this concept are that it can easily affect the employee’s perception, impression, and attitude. Employees may take the relationship for granted, which may directly affect their engagement level. Additionally, the emotional attachment of supervisors with their subordinates can undermine their ability to directly rebuke them.
In addition, the work of [
56] indicated that there was a negative relationship between guanxi and perceived fairness. In their study, one of the main causes for such a relationship was favoritism. In the context of the study, it implies that the leaders’ rapport with subordinates will likely make them lenient with the subordinates or vice-versa.
Furthermore, due to employees’ social connection beyond the working environment, sometimes it becomes difficult to endure the stigmatization that may arise due to a harsh decision taken against an employee. This kind of challenge is prevalent primarily in the public sector where some employees have a lackadaisical attitude towards work [
14,
57]. Despite this, in an attempt to increase sustainability, organizational profitability and reduce engagement, a number of employers do not hesitate to rebuke and dismiss workers who care less about their engagement at work.
According to the research in [
3], making decisions based on personal relationships is negatively related to employees’ engagement in the workplace. As a result, when employees perceive that HRM makes decisions on the basis of their relationships, their perceptions of procedural fairness can deteriorate. In other words, employees’ perceptions of ganqing procedures could be linked to the standards or guidelines regarding the decision-making of the HR. This indicates that management should be firm regardless of their relationship with employees.
Theoretical Implication
This research adds to the literature by espousing that guanxi is highly imperative and needed in the workplace. Hence, irrespective of the context: whether Asian, Western, or African, relationships in the workplace are very important to all. As Confucius has shown, human beings are relationship beings, and our lives are related on the basis of our relationships [
1]. In addition, this research added to the literature by measuring each of the three dimensions of the GRX scale and their impact on non-Chinese working environments.
From this research, it can be seen that employers initiate new relationships when they hire new employees [
58]. As a result, it is their responsibility to work in close relations in order to nurture the relationships at the workplace. Furthermore, the various stakeholders of an organization need to ensure a solid relationship between employers and employees. This is primarily because, as other researchers have demonstrated, such relationships foster trust [
20], encourage respect [
12], foster togetherness [
10], and emotionally bond employees to their work [
1].
Any leader seeking to increase employee engagement in the 21st century must demonstrate genuine interest and confidence in their employees. The objective of achieving higher productivity can be challenging if leaders do not build positive relationships with their followers. Effective leaders use the insights gained from varied interactions with their staff to increase their morale and confidence.
In support of the social exchange theory, this research demonstrates how the relationship between employers and employees affects their level of reciprocity [
23,
37]. Thus, whenever renqing exists, there are mutual benefits at the workplace. Hence, building a positive dyad relationship is not self-serving—but rather benefits both parties (leaders and subordinates) and, ultimately, the organization as a whole.
6. Limitations and Further Research
There are certain limitations to the findings of this research. The study could be designed to assess the GRX scale (ganqing, renqing, and xinren) through the use of alternative data collection procedures, such as interviews and experimental research. This will reveal the most viable GRX scale in the workplace. Additionally, a future study could test these variables in a specific industry or country.
The research design utilized in this study was cross-sectional, and it offered information about public and private sector organizations in Ghana at a particular time. As a result, conclusions are reached with respect to a specific period in time. Therefore, a longitudinal study could be considered for this study. Thus, data should be collected from organizations over a specified time period. This will serve as a means of determining whether or not the various time intervals have an effect on the outcomes.
In responding to the question, “Why are some leaders better at engaging employees than others?” While other researchers [
4,
5] found that the leader’s personality is a contributing factor, this research found that the rapport between supervisors and their subordinates (even beyond the workplace) is also a contributing factor. Hence, other researchers can focus on other factors that may trigger employee engagement and job performance.
7. Conclusions
The primary goal of this research was to ascertain the impact of the GRX scale on employee engagement and job performance. The researchers sought to comprehend the working relationship by applying SSG (a working relationship beyond the workplace) to a non-Chinese workplace.
This research found that two out of the three dimensions of the GRX scale (renqing and xinren) significantly impacted employee engagement and job performance. Thus, the need to reciprocate a favor (renqing) and the level of trust (xinren) established between supervisors and their subordinates enhances employee engagement and job performance. Nevertheless, ganqing (the emotional aspect of guanxi) was not found to significantly impact both employee engagement and job performance.
With employee engagement serving as the mediator between ganqing and job performance, this research revealed a negative and non-significant relationship. This is mainly because emotional attachment can make it difficult for supervisors to rebuke or correct their subordinates. Furthermore, there is the tendency for subordinates to take their emotional connection with their supervisors for granted. Therefore, undermining their level of engagement.
Additionally, it was revealed that the need for reciprocity (renqing) is highly essential in the workplace because it can serve as a major booster for productivity and growth. Hence when supervisors show genuine concern about their subordinates and build a positive relationship with them even beyond the working environment, it will urge their subordinates to give out their very best towards enhancing the overall productivity of their organization.
In all, this research indicates that guanxi (a Chinese working relationship) is also applicable and helpful in an African working environment and serves as a conduit to promote employee engagement and job performance.