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The Influence of Perceptions of PromotionOpportunities on Job Performance and ItsMechanisms: A Case Study of Chinese Junior CivilServants

Lingling Xie & Lihua Yang

To cite this article: Lingling Xie & Lihua Yang (2021) The Influence of Perceptions ofPromotion Opportunities on Job Performance and Its Mechanisms: A Case Study ofChinese Junior Civil Servants, Journal of Contemporary China, 30:127, 118-135, DOI:10.1080/10670564.2020.1766913

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2020.1766913

Published online: 15 May 2020.

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The Influence of Perceptions of Promotion Opportunities on JobPerformance and Its Mechanisms: A Case Study of Chinese JuniorCivil ServantsLingling Xiea and Lihua Yangb

aBeihang University, China; bPeking University, China

ABSTRACTAlthough existing literature has stressed the influences of various factorson job performance, the influence of the perceptions of promotionopportunities on job performance is frequently disregarded in the major-ity of studies on public sector human resource management. Using thesurvey data from Chinese junior civil servants, the study revealed thatperceptions of promotion opportunities can directly influence both taskperformance and contextual performance, and perceptions of promotionopportunities can strengthen task performance and contextual perfor-mance by the mediating role of job engagement. It was also indicatedthat perceptions of promotion opportunities were influenced by rank,supervisor-subordinate relationships, and promotion justice. Thus, thestudy developed a conceptual framework that included the variableslaid-above to understand the mechanisms of the influence of perceptionsof promotion opportunities on job performance.

Introduction

Job performance has become a core topic in practical and academic circles over the past decades.1

However, existing literature on the influencing factors of an individual’s job performance, which isprimarily focused on personality, reward systems, work experience, interpersonal factors and theinfluence of perceptions of promotion opportunities on job performance, is frequently disregardedin the majority of studies on public sector human resource management, especially in China.2

Because the salaries of civil servants are relatively low compared with their counterparts inthe private sector, upward mobility and advancement become particularly important for publicemployees, especially in countries with a high level of power distance, such as China.3 Forexample, Zhou suggested that a higher rank within a hierarchy is an important goal for themajority of the civil servants in China and that promotion incentives play a more important rolein the motivation of civil servants than monetary incentives.4 Lee and Wilkins argued that

CONTACT Lihua Yang lihua.yang@pku.edu.cn School of Government, the Leo KoGuan Building, Peking University, No. 5Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, P. R. China1James R. Van Scotter and Stephan J. Motowidlo, ‘Interpersonal facilitation and job dedication as separate facets of contextualperformance’, Journal of Applied Psychology 81(5), (1996), pp. 525–531.

2Mengzhong Zhang and Wei Zhou, ‘Civil service reforms in Mainland China’, in Public administration in East Asia: Mainland China,Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, ed. Evan M. Berman M. Jae Moon and Heungsuk Choi (New York: Routledge, 2010), pp. 145–164.

3Lijun Zhao, ‘dangdai gongwuyuan xinchou shuiping yingxiang yinsu de shizheng yanjiu’[‘Empirical Study on Influence Factors ofContemporary Civil Service Pay Level’] (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Renmin University, 2006).

4Li-An Zhou, ‘The incentive and cooperation of government officials in the political tournaments: an interpretation of theprolonged local protectionism and duplicative investments in China’, Economic Research Journal 6(1), (2004), pp. 2–3.

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA2021, VOL. 30, NO. 127, 118–135https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2020.1766913

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

career advancement involves both extrinsic and intrinsic motivating practice.5 Promotion playsan important role in the motivation of civil servants for the following reasons: Numerouspeople consider their position to be an important standard of personal value. A job promotionis linked to an individual’s reputation and the honor of his or her entire family.6

Although some studies have examined the influence of promotion opportunities on the careerpath of senior civil servants and the relationship between the economic performance and promotionresults of senior civil servants, minimal systematic and rigorous research has been devoted to theinfluence of promotion opportunities on the job performance of junior civil servants, who comprisethe primary undertakers of grassroots work by directly working with the public and influencing thepublic’s awareness of and trust in the government.7 Although scholars have frequently evaluatedpromotion opportunities based on subjective assessments of supervisors, public servants may formpersonal opinions of their jobs or promotion opportunities that differ from the evaluation ofpromotion opportunities by others.8 This article does not deny that supervisors’ perception oftheir subordinates is important; however, junior civil servants only perform positively when theybelieve that their supervisors intend to promote them. Therefore, it is the perception of promotionopportunities by junior civil servants that predict their performance rather than the supervisors’perceptions of whether their subordinates have a chance of being promoted. The perceptions ofpromotion opportunities by public servants affect their job performance more than the promotionopportunities granted by their supervisors.

This article intends to contribute to public human resource management and China-basedpromotion literature by proposing the perception of promotion opportunities with regard to itsmechanism. The objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to investigate whether the perceptions ofpromotion opportunities affect the job performance of Chinese junior civil servants; (2) to explorethe factors that influence the relationship between civil servants’ perceptions of promotion oppor-tunities and their job performance; and (3) to examine the influencing mechanism of junior civilservants’ perceptions of promotion opportunities on their job performances.

Chinese Public Human Resources Management

Accompanied by China’s transition from a planned-based economy to a market-based economy,several administrative reforms have been launched since Deng Xiaoping initiated the economicreform in 1978.9 In 1993, the Chinese government introduced a newmeritocracy principle-based civilservice system, which is a milestone in the history of personnel management.10 Since then, therehave been many follow-up regulations and decrees for recruiting, rewarding and promoting civil

5Young-joo Lee and Vicky M. Wilkins, ‘More similarities or more differences? Comparing public and nonprofit managers’ jobmotivations’, Public Administration Review 71(1), (2011), pp. 45–56.

6Ruiming Liu, ‘jinsheng jili, zhengzhi kongzhiquan shouyi yu quyu kechixu fazhan’ [‘Promotion Based Incentives, Political ControlBenefits, Regional Sustainable Development’], in quyu jingji luncong(yi) [Regional Economic Review(I)], ed. Yongxiu Bai (Beijing:Zhongguo jingji chubanshe, 2005), pp. 162–171.

7Li-An Zhou, ‘Career Concerns, Incentive Contracts, and Contract Renegotiation in the Chinese Political Economy’ (unpublishedPh.D. thesis, Stanford University, 2002); Hongbin Li and Li-An Zhou, ‘Political turnover and economic performance: the incentiverole of personnel control in China’, Journal of public economics 89(9–10), (2005), pp. 1743–1762; and Peiqiang Gan, ‘xiandaizhengfu yunzuo guocheng zhong jiceng gongwuyuan de dingwei he gongneng’ [‘Function and orientation of junior civilservice in the process of modern government management’], xingzheng luntan[Administrative Tribune] 1, (2004), pp. 50–51.

8Kenneth S. Law, Chi-SumWong, Duanxu Wang, and lihua Wan, ‘Effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on supervisory decisionsin China: An empirical investigation’, International Journal of Human Resource Management 11(4), (2000), pp. 751–765; andWilmar B. Schaufeli, Marisa Salanova, Vicente González-Romá, and Arnold B. Bakker, ‘The measurement of engagement andburnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach’, Journal of Happiness Studies 3(1), (2002), pp. 71–92.

9Kinglun Ngok and Guobin Zhu, ‘Marketization, globalization and administrative reform in China: a zigzag road to a promisingfuture’, International Review of Administrative Sciences 73(2), (2007), pp. 217–233; Qing Miao, A. Newman, G. Schwarz, and L. Xu,‘Participative leadership and the organizational commitment of civil servants in China: the mediating effects of trust insupervisor’, British Journal of Management 24(S1), (2013), pp. 1–41.

10King Kwun Tsao and John Abbott Worthley, ‘Civil service development in China and America: a comparative perspective’, PublicAdministration Review 69(S1), (2009), pp. S88–S94.

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA 119

servants to further the transition to a meritocracy.11 For example, the Provisional Regulations onAppraisal of State Civil Servants (Guojia gongwuyuan kaohe zanxing guiding) was issued in 1994,which aimed at addressing the criterion and procedure of performance evaluation.12 Insofar theperformance of officials has become one of the important considerations in the promotion proce-dure. However, as guanxi still exists to some extent, the promotion system may not work asintended.13

Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses

Based on a systematic review of existing studies, this article proposed that civil servants’ perceptionsof promotion opportunities influence their job engagement and influence their task and contextualperformances.14 The perceptions of promotion opportunities may directly influence task contextualperformances. To explore the factors influencing the relationship between the perceptions ofpromotion opportunities and performance, this article also considered the demographic informationof civil servants (e.g., gender, age, level of education, and rank), their supervisors-subordinate guanxi,and promotion justice (Figure 1).

Promotion and Perceptions of Promotion Opportunities

Promotion is an integral part of organizational career growth, which is frequently defined as themovement from a lower rank to an upper rank within a hierarchy.15 The career ambition of publicemployees is a universal phenomenon no matter what the promotion system in a country is.16 Theextent to which performance affects the probability of upper mobility does not vary from factionalmembers to non-factional members.17

Previous research has emphasized the evaluation of promotion opportunities from the perspec-tive of superior while ignoring the subjective feelings of the civil servants. Because of the differencesin values and experiences between individuals, there is a varying evaluation of career advancementopportunities between superior and subordinate.18 On the other hand, an individual’s attitudes andbehaviors are mainly determined by a person’s perception of reality rather than reality itself.19 In thisstudy, the authors attempt to define the perceptions of promotion opportunities as an individual’ssubjective assessment of his or her chance to move from a lower position to an upper position within

11Mengzhong Zhang and Wei Zhou, ‘Civil service reforms in Mainland China’, in Public administration in East Asia: Mainland China,Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, ed. Evan M. Berman M. Jae Moon and Heungsuk Choi (New York: Routledge, 2010), pp. 145–164.

12King Kwun Tsao and John Abbott Worthley, ‘Civil service development in China and America’, pp. S88–S94.13Yanjie Bian, ‘Bringing strong ties back in: indirect ties, network bridges, and job searches in China’, American Sociological Review,62(3), (1997), pp. 366–385.

14Walter C. Borman and S. M. Motowidlo, ‘Expanding the Criterion Domain to Include Dements of Contextual Performance’, inPersonnel Selection in Organizations, ed. Neil Schmitt and Walter C. Borman (New York: Wiley, 1992), pp. 21–22; James R. VanScotter and Stephan J. Motowidlo, ‘Interpersonal facilitation and job dedication as separate facets of contextual performance’,Journal of Applied Psychology 81(5), (1996), pp. 525–531; Chun Hui, Simon S. K. Lam, and Kenneth K. S. Law, ‘Instrumental valuesof organizational citizenship behavior for promotion: a field quasi-experiment’, Journal of Applied Psychology 85(5), (2000),p.822; William A. Kahn, ‘Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work’, Academy ofManagement Journal 33(4), (1990), pp. 692–724.

15Xueguang Zhou, ‘Political dynamics and bureaucratic career patterns in the People’s Republic of China, 1949–1994ʹ,Comparative Political Studies 34(9), (2001), pp. 1036–1062.

16Jiaqi Liang, ‘Who maximizes (or satisfices) in performance management? An empirical study of the effects of motivation-relatedinstitutional contexts on energy efficiency policy in China’, Public Performance & Management Review 38(2), (2014), pp. 284–315.

17Eun Kyong Choi, ‘Patronage and performance: factors in the political mobility of provincial leaders in post-Deng China’, TheChina Quarterly 212, (2012), pp. 965–981.

18Deanne N. Den Hartog, Corine Boon, Robert M. Verburg, and Marcel A. Croon, ‘HRM, communication, satisfaction, and perceivedperformance: a cross-level test’, Journal of Management 39(6), (2013), pp. 1637–1665.

19Kerstin Alfes and Amanda Shantz, ‘The link between perceived human resource management practices, engagement andemployee behavior: a moderated mediation model’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management 24(2), (2013), pp.330–351.

120 L. XIE AND L. YANG

an organization’s hierarchy. Civil servants’ perceptions of promotion opportunities refer to civilservants’ subjective beliefs about the probability that they will be appointed from a lower rankingposition to an upper ranking position or from a less desirable position to a more desirable position ofthe same rank within a civil service system.

Task Performance and Contextual Performance

Traditionally, previous studies focused on task performance, which represents the effectiveness withwhich one performs their official job duties.20 Recently, scholars have paid attention to contextualperformance, which refers to ‘a set of interpersonal and volitional behaviors that support the socialand motivational context in which organizational work is accomplished’.21 Contextual performanceincludes interpersonal facilitation behaviors and job dedication behaviors, such as cooperation withothers, adherence to organizational rules even when personally inconvenient and volunteering toperform additional tasks.22

The expectancy theory provides the theoretical basis for the predicted relationship betweenperceptions of promotion opportunities and performance.23 Vroom identified three components inthe expectancy theory, which are valence, instrumentality, and expectancy respectively. Expectancyis ‘the extent of the individual’s perception, or belief, that a particular act will produce particularoutcomes’.24 Instrumentality is the degree to which the performance will lead to the desiredoutcome while valence refers to a person’s belief of the importance of the perceived outcome.Expectancy theory suggests that an individual will be motivated to exhibit a high level of perfor-mance when the above components are under the following conditions: The individual values thereward, there is a positive correlation between effort and performance, and favorable performancewill result in a desirable reward.25

Promotion is one of the largest motivations for civil servants in China with a high-power distanceculture. The promotion will satisfy junior civil servants’ important needs (valence). Meanwhile,because motivation = valence × expectancy, if the chance of promotion (expectancy) is high, themotivation of civil servants also becomes high. Empirical studies have shown that performanceinfluences the career advancement of civil servants.26 With the initiation of economic reform, which

Figure 1. Theoretical framework for studying the influence of perceptions of promotion opportunities on job performance.

20Larry J. Williams and Stella E. Anderson, ‘Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizationalcitizenship and in-role behaviors’, Journal of Management 17(3), (1991), pp. 601–617.

21James R. Van Scotter and Stephan J. Motowidlo, ‘Interpersonal facilitation and job dedication as separate facets of contextualperformance’, Journal of Applied Psychology 81(5), (1996), pp. 525.

22Ibid, pp. 525–531.23Victor Harold Vroom, Work and Motivation (New York: Wiley, 1964).24Gerald A. Cole, Management Theory and Practice (London: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2004).25Victor Harold Vroom, Work and Motivation (New York: Wiley, 1964).26Hongbin Li and Li-An Zhou, ‘Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China’,Journal of Public Economics 89(9–10), (2005), pp. 1743–1762.

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA 121

is centered on economic construction, and administrative reform, which is focused on a service-centered government, the effective enhancement of civil servants’ performances have become a keywork emphasis of the government. It is expected that the performance and attainment of promotionare great in the current promotion system. Empirical studies have shown that performance influ-ences the career advancement of civil servants at a provincial level.27 In particular, provincial leaderswho significantly contribute to the central treasury during their tenure are more likely to bepromoted than to be demoted.28 Civil servants who expect a high chance of promotion aremotivated to maximize their task performance to achieve career advancement. Thus, civil servantswho expect a high chance of promotion are motivated to maximize their task performance toachieve advancement.

In addition to a genuine desire to perform better because of being motivated, civil servants alsolike to enhance their contextual performance to create good impressions at work. The main premiseof impression management is the process by which individuals attempt to create a desirableimage.29 Bolino argued that individuals engage in this behavior not only because they want to ‘dogood’ but also because they want to ‘look good’ and obtain the desired reward of becoming a good‘actor.’30 Hui et al. (2000) suggested that individuals who consider extra-role performance to be aninstrument for securing a promotion are more likely to perform higher levels of extra-role perfor-mance prior to promotion than individuals who believe that extra-role performance is lessinstrumental.31 Individuals who believe in the higher instrumentality of extra-role performance aremore likely to reduce their extra-role performance after they are promoted. Individuals who perceivethe instrumentality of extra-role performance are less likely to decrease their extra-role performanceeven if they are not promoted because they hope to be promoted in the future. Thus, junior civilservants with stronger perceptions they may be promoted in the future are more likely to exhibit ahigh level of contextual performance, by which junior civil servants hope to make a good impressionto obtain a promotion.

Based on such analyses, two research hypotheses are described as follows:

Hypothesis 1: Perceptions of promotion opportunities are positively related to task performance.

Hypothesis 2: Perceptions of promotion opportunities are positively related to contextualperformance.

Job Engagement

Job engagement is a person’s enthusiastic and positive affective state in his or her job.32 Jobengagement includes three dimensions, namely, vigor, dedication, and absorption.33 Kahn distin-guished between engagement and disengagement and referred to job engagement as ‘the simul-taneous employment and expression of a person’s “preferred self” in task behaviors that promote

27Li-An Zhou, ‘Career Concerns, Incentive Contracts, and Contract Renegotiation in the Chinese Political Economy’ (unpublishedPh.D. thesis, Stanford University, 2002).

28Zhiyue Bo, ‘Economic performance and political mobility: Chinese provincial leaders’, Journal of Contemporary China 5(12),(1996), pp. 135–154.

29Philip E. Tetlock and Antony S. Manstead, ‘Impression management versus intrapsychic explanations in social psychology: auseful dichotomy?’ Psychological Review 92(1), (1985), pp. 59–77.

30Mark C. Bolino, ‘Citizenship and impression management: good soldiers or good actors?’ Academy of Management Review 24(1),(1999), pp. 82–98.

31Chun Hui, Simon S. K. Lam, and Kenneth K. S. Law, ‘Instrumental values of organizational citizenship behavior for promotion: afield quasi-experiment’, Journal of Applied Psychology 85(5), (2000), pp. 822–828.

32Wilmar B. Schaufeli et al., ‘The measurement of engagement and burnout: a two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach’,Journal of Happiness Studies 3(1), (2002), pp. 71–92.

33Wilmar B. Schaufeli and Arnold B. Bakker, ‘Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: amulti-sample study’, Journal of Organizational Behavior 25(3), (2004), pp. 293–315.

122 L. XIE AND L. YANG

connections to work and to others, personal presence (physical, cognitive, and emotional) andactive, full performances.’34

Based on expectancy theory, a person’s high perception of promotion opportunity means highexpectancy, which leads to strong motivation for him or her. Therefore, the perceptions of promo-tion opportunities are positively associated with job engagement.35

This article further suggests that job engagement can be a mediator in the relationships betweenperceptions of promotion opportunities and performance. Engaged individuals will invest highlevels of physical and mental resilience in their work and are enthusiastic, concentrated, and deeplyengrossed in their work. Furthermore, engaged persons are also willing to invest in an emotional andcognitive effort while working. Consistent with this logic, individuals with high engagement shouldbe more willing to surpass their job requirements and exhibit more contextual performance.36

Previous studies have shown that engaged individuals will effectively enhance their task perfor-mance and contextual performance.37

Thus, this study argues that the junior civil servant with a high possibility of promotion is likely tobe motivated to invest effort into work or pay attention to other colleagues, which in turn willimprove his or her task performance and contextual performance.

Based on such analyses, the authors proposed two additional hypotheses:

Hypothesis 3: Job engagement partially mediates the relationship between perceptions of promo-tion opportunities and task performance.

Hypothesis 4: Job engagement partially mediates the relationship between perceptions of promo-tion opportunities and contextual performance.

Demographic Information: gender, Age, Education, and Rank

In this study, the authors primarily considered four demographic variables: gender, age, education,and rank. National appointments and promotion policies exerted a profound influence on thepromotion of civil servants in China. Among these state policies, the criteria for the promotion ofcivil servants are still set by the sihua policy, which was proposed by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970sand early 1980s and includes revolutionariness (ge ming hua), knowledge (zhi shi hua), youthfulness(nian qing hua) and professionalism (zhuan ye hua).38

According to the principle proposed by Deng Xiaoping, ‘youthfulness’ is a basic orientation forthe current system of selection and appointment of cadres in China. In addition, the ‘better educatedand more professional’ aspect of Deng Xiaoping’s sihua policy also highlights the important promo-tion criterion of education. The Working Regulation for Selection and Appointment of Party’s andGovernment’s Leadership and Cadres emphasizes the educational requirements for civil service.Empirical studies have demonstrated that the level of education became a more important promo-tion criterion in the reform era than in the perform era.39 Junior civil servants who have not received

34William A. Kahn, ‘Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work’, Academy of ManagementJournal 33(4), (1990), p. 700.

35Victor Harold Vroom, Work and Motivation (New York: Wiley, 1964).36Shu-Ling Chen, ‘The relationship of leader psychological capital and follower psychological capital, job engagement and jobperformance: a multilevel mediating perspective’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management 26(18), (2015), pp.2349–2365; Bruce Louis Rich, Jeffrey A. Lepine, and Eean R. Crawford, ‘Job engagement: antecedents and effects on jobperformance’, Academy of Management Journal 53(3), (2010), pp. 617–635.

37Michael S. Christian, Adela S. Garza, and Jerel E. Slaughter, ‘Work engagement: a quantitative review and test of its relationswith task and contextual performance’, Personnel Psychology 64(1), (2011), pp. 89–136.

38Yang Zhong, Local Government and Politics in China: Challenges from Below (New York: Routledge, 2015).39Wei Zhao and Xueguang Zhou, ‘Chinese organizations in transition: changing promotion patterns in the reform era’,Organization Science 15(2), (2004), pp. 186–199.

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA 123

their college education have rushed to participate in college programs to satisfy educationalrequirements for career advancement.40

Females may perceive fewer promotion opportunities due to the influence of social bias andculture, and high-level civil servants may possess higher perceptions of promotion opportunities dueto ‘guanyin’ (the obsession with securing a government post) and the feeling of ‘ta shangle buzi’(setting foot on the step).41 Based on these aspects, the following hypotheses are formulated:

Hypothesis 5: Male junior civil servants have stronger perceptions of promotion opportunities thantheir female counterparts.

Hypothesis 6: Age is negatively related to perceptions of promotion opportunities.

Hypothesis 7: Level of education is positively related to perceptions of promotion opportunities.

Hypothesis 8: Rank is positively related to perceptions of promotion opportunities.

Organizational Settings: supervisor-Subordinate Relationship and Promotion Justice

Since the adoption of the 1993 Provisional Regulations on State Civil Servants and the 2005 CivilService Law, secret civil service appointments have been replaced by the principles of ‘openness,fairness, competition, and selection of the best’.42 In addition to traditional approaches to promo-tion, internal competition (jing zheng shang gang) and open competition (gong kai xuan ba) belowthe bureau level (ju ji) are specified in civil service law. According to the outline of the plans to expandthe cadre personnel institutional reform between 2010 and 2020, which was issued in 2009, massparticipation in nominating cadre candidates and accountability in recommending candidates havebecome the main priorities of cadre personnel institutional reform.43

Most scholars agree that the current selection and promotion of civil servants are more openand competitive compared with previous secret appointments; however, the relationship (guanxi)still plays an important role in the assessment of the probability of career advancement of juniorcivil servants because China is a guanxi-oriented country.44 Because people are more likely todisplay favoritism between two people based on the guanxi in the Chinese context, it is expectedthat superiors prefer to select and appoint junior civil servants based on their personal relation-ships with candidates rather than their actual performance.45 For example, junior civil servantswho maintain good relationships with their superiors will win superiority over their competitorsin the phase of democratic recommendations, which is an important process in the selection ofjunior civil servants.46 Thus, whether a junior civil servant can be advanced depends significantlyon the guanxi with his or her supervisors.

40Yang Zhong, Local Government and Politics in China: Challenges from Below (New York: Routledge, 2015).41Jenny M. Hoobler, Sandy J. Wayne, and Grace Lemmon, ‘Bosses’ perceptions of family-work conflict and women’s promotability:glass ceiling effects’, Academy of Management Journal 52(5), (2009), pp. 939–957.

42Caroline Haiyan Tong, Jeffrey D. Straussman, and Walter D. Broadnax, ‘Civil service reform in the People’s Republic of China:case studies of early implementation’, Public Administration and Development: The International Journal of ManagementResearch and Practice 19(2), (1999), pp. 193–206.

43Yijia Jing and Qianwei Zhu, ‘Civil service reform in China: An unfinished task of value balancing’, Review of Public PersonnelAdministration 32(2), (2012), pp. 134–148.

44Jiing-Lih Farh, Anne S. Tsui, Katherine Xin, and Bor-Shiuan Cheng, ‘The influence of relational demography and guanxi: theChinese case’, Organization Science 9(4), (1998), pp. 471–488; Chao C. Chen, Ya-Ru Chen, and Katherine Xin, ‘Guanxi practicesand trust in management: a procedural justice perspective’, Organization Science 15(2),(2004),pp.200–209;Li-Qun Wei, Jun Liu,Yuan-Yi Chen, and Long-Zeng Wu, ‘Political skill, supervisor–subordinate guanxi and career prospects in Chinese firms’, Journalof Management Studies 47(3), (2010), pp. 437–454.

45Kwang-kuo Hwang, ‘Face and favor: the Chinese power game’, American Journal of Sociology 92(4), (1987), pp. 944–974.46Junqi Feng, ‘zhongxian ganbuz’[‘Cadres in Zhong County’] (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Peking University, 2010).

124 L. XIE AND L. YANG

Perceptions of fairness in the promotion system are a major concern for both organizations andindividuals, especially for persons who view promotion as a sign of success.47 Civil servants aresignificantly concerned with promotion justice because, compared with other human resourcepractices such as pay increases, the promotion system is relatively invisible and ambiguous.48

According to the theory of organizational politics, organizational political behaviors that are linkedto the promotion will increase the sensitivity of civil servants to promotion justice.49 Junior civilservants tend to assess the degree of promotion justice in an organization using the informationthey gathered, which will exert an additional influence on their working attitude and behavior.50

Junior civil servants who perceive promotion systems in their organizations as transparent willobserve that every candidate for the position has the same promotion opportunity.51 Even if anindividual is not qualified for a promotion at that time, he or she will still believe that he or she willhave the opportunity for promotion in the future through individual effort. Conversely, when juniorcivil servants believe that promotion is unfair (for instance, that the promotion procedure operates ina black box), they may feel that their chances for promotion are slim, regardless of their capabilities.

Based on these aspects, the last two hypotheses of the study were constructed as follows:

Hypothesis 9: supervisor-subordinate relationship (guanxi) is positively related to perceptions ofpromotion opportunities.

Hypothesis 10: promotion justice is positively related to perceptions of promotion opportunities.

Design, Methodology, and Approach

Sample and Procedure

It is especially hard to adopt a random survey method to examine politically sensitive topics.52

‘Undertaking surveys of party cadres and civil servants in China is complex, and access is difficult’.-53 Furthermore, as the scientific research methods, especially the survey approach, were intro-duced in China for relatively a short time, individuals would not like to fill out the questionnaire,not even to say such a politically sensitive survey. For instance, adopting random sampling bymailing out a questionnaire to civil services in China would lead to a near-zero response rate.54

Therefore, the authors adopted a convenience sampling by distributed questionnaire to junior civilservants who attended part-time MPA (Master of Public Administration) programs at the univer-sities in Beijing. These students came from different government departments of Beijing. In themeantime, snowball sampling was employed to collecting the data of government officials from

47Antonio L. García-Izquierdo, Silvia Moscoso, and Pedro J. Ramos-Villagrasa, ‘Reactions to the Fairness of Promotion Methods:procedural justice and job satisfaction’, International Journal of Selection and Assessment 20(4), (2012), pp. 394–403.

48David M. Kaplan and Gerald R. Ferris, ‘Fairness perceptions of employee promotion systems: a two-study investigation ofantecedents and mediators’, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 31(6), (2001), pp. 1204–1222.

49Gerald R. Ferris, Donald B. Fedor, and Thomas R. King, ‘A political conceptualization of managerial behavior’, Human ResourceManagement Review 4(1), (1994), pp. 1–34; Gerald R. Ferris, Dwight D. Frink, Maria Carmen Galang, Jing Zhou, K. MicheleKacmar, and Jack L. Howard, ‘Perceptions of organizational politics: prediction, stress-related implications, and outcomes’,Human Relations 49(2), (1996), pp. 233–266.

50Antonio L. García-Izquierdo et al., ‘Reactions to the Fairness of Promotion Methods: procedural justice and job satisfaction’,International Journal of Selection and Assessment 20(4), (2012), pp. 394–403.

51David M. Kaplan and Gerald R. Ferris, ‘Fairness perceptions of employee promotion systems: a two-study investigation ofantecedents and mediators’, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 31(6), (2001), pp. 1204–1222.

52Liang Ma, Huangfeng Tang, and Bo Yan, ‘Public Employees’ Perceived Promotion Channels in Local China: merit-based orGuanxi-orientated?’ Australian Journal of Public Administration 74(3), (2015), pp. 283–297.

53Tom Christensen, Lisheng Dong, Martin Painter, and Richard M. Walker, ‘Imitating the west? Evidence on administrative reformfrom the upper echelons of Chinese provincial government’, Public Administration Review 72(6), (2012), pp. 798–806.

54Peter J. Robertson, Carlos Wing-Hung Lo, and Shui-Yan Tang, ‘Money, mission, or match: antecedents of commitment amongpublic employees in China’, Administration & Society 39(1), (2007), pp. 3–24.

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Beijing and Hubei province. Finally, a total of 560 questionnaires were distributed, and 451 validquestionnaires were collected for a response rate of 80.5%, of which 252 respondents were MPAprogram students and 199 respondents were government officials from Beijing and Hubeiprovince.

The average age of the participants was 32 years old. Approximately 61 percent of the partici-pants were male, and over 90 percent of the participants possessed a college or more advanceddegree. Meanwhile, approximately 31 percent of the participants were chiefs at the section level(zheng-ke-ji), and 73 percent of the participants came from the administrative organization (Table 1).The authors also conduct a T-test, and the result showed that no significant differences existedbetween MPA in Beijing and government officials in Beijing and Hubei province who participated inthis study. To ensure the confidentiality of the participants’ answers, the authors placed eachquestionnaire that was distributed in the workplace in an envelope, and all of the respondentswere asked to fill the questionnaire anonymously. Furthermore, the authors also performed onsiteand telephone interviews to complement the data from the surveys.

Measurement

Perceptions of Promotion OpportunitiesBased on onsite and telephone interviews with civil servants and human resource managementscholars, the authors developed a scale for ‘perceptions of promotion opportunities.’ The extent ofthe agreement was evaluated on a scale ranging from 1 (‘to a very small extent’) to 5 (‘to a very largeextent’). It is worthy to note that in addition to upward mobility, the horizontal transfer (jiao liu)system, which is also mandated by civil service law, encourages and regulates civil service rotationsfrom one position to another position within the same rank, which produces the common phenom-enon of ‘hidden ladders’ in China.55 As previously mentioned, the authors suggest that promotion incivil service includes both explicit and implicit career advancement in a particular Chinese context.The former is a vertical career advancement within the organization’s hierarchy, whereas the latter

Table 1. Background information of survey respondents in Beijing and Hubei province in China (N = 451)

Variables Frequencies Valid Percent

1. GenderMale 274 61.6Female 171 38.4

2. AgeBelow 25 55 12.226–30 183 40.631–35 83 18.436–40 64 14.2Above 40 66 14.6

3. Education levelHigh-school degree or below 4 .9Associate’s degree 31 7.0Bachelor’s degree 361 81.5Graduate degree or above 47 10.6

4. RankDivision personnel and clerks (ke-yuan or below) 137 32.1Deputy division directors and deputies at the sub-division level (fu-ke-ji) 104 24.4Division directors and chiefs at the sub-division level (zheng-ke-ji) 135 31.6Deputies at the section level (fu-chu-ji) 29 11.9

5. DepartmentAdministrative Organization 325 73.2Communist Party of China Organization 78 17.6Other 41 9.2

55Junqi Feng, ‘zhongxian ganbuz’[‘Cadres in Zhong County’] (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Peking University, 2010).

126 L. XIE AND L. YANG

refers to a horizontal movement within an extensive scope of the civil service system. When a civilservant is implicitly promoted, his or her political power is strengthened; however, his or her rankdoes not change. So, this scale not only includes vertical promotion items such as ‘It is very likely thatI can be promoted in the future’, but also includes the items about horizontal promotion such as ‘Myprospects of being transferred to a better position seem higher.’ The result exploratory factoranalysis (EFA) showed that the scale was unidimensional. All of the communalities varied between.717 and .824. Therefore, the authors remained all of the six items. The alpha for the perceptions ofpromotion opportunities in this study was 0.912.

Task PerformanceThe self-rating of task performance was measured with a scale used in the study by Wang et al.,which was applied in the Chinese context. The scale included four items that were measured on a 7-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). For example, the scale included the item‘my supervisor is satisfied with my performance.’ The alpha for task performance in this study was0.950.56

Contextual PerformanceThe authors adopted the extensively used contextual performance self-rating scale developed byVan Scotter and Motowidlo.57 Participants were asked to indicate their degree of agreement witheach statement using a 7-point scale (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree). Sample itemsincluded ‘I praise co-workers when they are successful’ and ‘I support or encourage a co-worker witha personal problem’. The result of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) indicated that the scale isunidimensional. Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was determined to be 0.920.

Job EngagementJob engagement was measured using the Work Engagement Scale (OCS) developed by Schaufeli etal.58 All items were scored on a 7-point frequency rating scale that ranged from 0 (‘never’) to 6(‘always’). The results of the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) demonstrated that it is unidimensional.Sample items included ‘at my work, I feel bursting with energy’ and ‘when I am working, I forgeteverything else around me.’ The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was determined to be 0 .79.

Supervisor-subordinate GuanxiThe supervisor-subordinate guanxiwas obtained from Law et al.,59 All items were scored on a 5-pointscale (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree). Sample items included ‘during holidays or afteroffice hours, I would call my supervisor or visit him/her’ and ‘my supervisor invites me to his/herhome for lunch or dinner.’ Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was determined to be 0.968.

Promotion JusticeAlthough certain scales measure organization justice, appropriate scales for measuring promotionjustice in the context of the Chinese civil service system are rare.60 The authors employed the

56ZhongJun Wang, Lirong Long, and Lidan Liu, ‘zuzhizhong zhuguan-xiashu guanxi de yunzuo jizhi yu xiaoguo’[‘Operationmechanism and effects of supervisor-subordinate Guanxi in Chinese organizations’], xinli xuebao [Journal of Psychology] 43(7),(2011), pp. 798–809.

57James R. Van Scotter and Stephan J. Motowidlo, ‘Interpersonal facilitation and job dedication as separate facets of contextualperformance’, Journal of Applied Psychology 81(5), (1996), pp. 525–531.

58Wilmar B. Schaufeli and Arnold B. Bakker, ‘Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: amulti-sample study’, Journal of Organizational Behavior 25(3), (2004), pp. 293–315.

59Kenneth S. Law et al., ‘Effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on supervisory decisions in China: an empirical investigation’,International Journal of Human Resource Management 11(4), (2000), pp. 751–765.

60Yadong Luo, ‘The independent and interactive roles of procedural, distributive, and interactional justice in strategic alliances’,Academy of Management Journal 50(3), (2007), pp. 644–664; Brian P. Niehoff and Robert H. Moorman, ‘Justice as a mediator ofthe relationship between methods of monitoring and organizational citizenship behavior’, Academy of Management journal 36(3), (1993), pp. 527–556.

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Chinese version of the promotion justice scale, which was developed based on the indigenousChinese context.61 All items were scored on a 5-point scale that ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to5 (strongly agree). Sample items included ‘the promoted cadres best meet the requirements of thepromoting position’ and ‘the superiors promote cadres absolutely based on their ability.’ The internalconsistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for the scale was 0.967.

Demographic VariableLevel of education is divided into the following four categories: 1 = High-school degree or below,2 = Associate’s degree, 3 = Bachelor’s degree, and 4 = Graduate degree or above. Rank is divided intofour categories: 1 = division personnel and clerks (ke-yuan or below), 2 = deputy division directorsand deputies at the sub-division level (fu-ke-ji), 3 = division directors and chiefs at the sub-divisionlevel (zheng-ke-ji), and 4 = deputies at the section level (fu-chu-ji). The authors transformed thenominal variables into a series of dummy variables: for the gender variable, the authors definedgender1, whereas the authors defined gender2 (female) as the reference group; in the educationcategory, the authors created edu1, edu2, and edu3, whereas edu4 (individuals with graduatedegrees or above) denoted the reference group; in the rank category, the authors created rank2,rank3, and rank4, whereas rank1 (division personnel and clerks (ke-yuan or below) denoted thereference group.

Control VariablesDemographic variables are likely to influence individual behavior and performance.62 Thus, theauthors control for these variables (gender and age) in this study.

Common Method Bias

Because dependent and independent variables were obtained from the same source, a potentialproblem of common method variance may occur among all items. The authors adopted severalremedies to reduce common method bias: (1) protecting respondent anonymity and confidentialityto reduce concerns such as respondents’ social desirability and evaluation apprehension. Forinstance, every questionnaire was placed in an envelope to ensure anonymity; (2) using proximal/methodological separator techniques by employing 5-point Likert scales and 7-point Likert scales forthe same survey; and (3) conducting the Harmon one-factor analysis to test the degree of commonmethods bias. According to Podsakoff, a common method bias problem is likely occurred if a singlefactor emerges that explains the majority of the variance in the resulting factors.63 The results ofprincipal factor analysis with Varimax rotation showed that the largest factor explained only 19.642%of the total variance. Therefore, common method bias is not a critical problem in this study.

Results

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics and correlations for all study variables. Perceptions ofpromotion opportunities was found to be significant and correlated with gender (r = −.091, p < 0.1,age (r = −.100, p < 0.05), education (r = .084, p < 0.1), rank(r = .082, p < 0.1), supervisor-subordinateguanxi (r = .656, p < 0.001), promotion justice (r = .655, p < 0.001), task performance (r = .597,p < 0.001), and contextual performance (r = .471, p < 0.001). The correlation results also show that job

61Xiujuan Wang and Xiaochun Wang, renji guanxi yu zhiwujinsheng gongzhengxing [Interpersonal relationship and promotionjustice] (Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe, 2005).

62Soumendu Biswas, ‘Antecedent of in-role performance: test of a latent variable mediated model’, Indian Journal of IndustrialRelations (2011), pp. 149–161; Saija Mauno, Ulla Kinnunen, and Mervi Ruokolainen, ‘Job demands and resources as antecedentsof work engagement: a longitudinal study’, Journal of Vocational Behavior 70(1), (2007), pp. 149–171.

63Philip M. Podsakoff, Scott B. MacKenzie, and Nathan P. Podsakoff, ‘Common method biases in behavioral research: a criticalreview of the literature and recommended remedies’, Journal of Applied Psychology 88(5), (2003), pp.879–903.

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engagement had significant relationships with perceptions of promotion opportunities (r = .581,p < 0.001), task performance (r = .600, p < 0.001), and contextual performance (r = .597, p < 0.001). Allthe relationships are consistent with the hypotheses in the direction of prediction.

The Direct Impact of Perceptions of Promotion Opportunities on Task Performance andContext Performance

To test hypotheses 1 and 2, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted (Table 3). First,the authors entered the control variables (gender and age). Second, the authors tested the positiverelationship between the perception of promotion opportunities and task performance (model 4). Inthis analysis, the perception of promotion opportunities was considered to be an independentvariable, whereas task performance was considered a dependent variable. The results revealed

Table 2. Means, standard deviations, and correlations of the research variables (N = 451)

Researchvariables Mean

Standarddeviation 1a 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1. Gender 1.38 .487 12. Age 32.38 6.761 −.191*** 13. Level ofeducation

3.02 .461 .050 −.091 1

4. Rank 2.30 1.164 −.101* .662*** −.043 15. Supervisor-subordinateguanxi

2.7676 .95743 −.074 −.009 .116** .185*** 1

6. Promotionjustice

2.8869 .97343 −.103* .035 .050 .261*** .647*** 1

7. Perceptionsofpromotionopportunities 3.1000 1.03760 −.091† −.100* .084† .082† .656*** .655*** 18. Jobengagement

3.5448 1.26828 −.106* .130** .048 .272*** .594*** .664*** .581*** 1

9. Taskperformance

4.6749 1.30465 −.053 .104* −.015 .172*** .530*** .480*** .597*** .600*** 1

10. Contextualperformance

5.2425 1.06831 −.088† .150** −.001 .139** .353*** .387*** .471*** .597*** .657*** 1

† p < 0.1; *p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.aNumbers 1 to 10 refer to 10 research variables.

Table 3. Regression results for Hypotheses 1, 2, 3, and 4 (N = 451)

Job engagement Task performance Contextual performance

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6 Model 7 Model 8

Control variablesGender .083† .020 .032 −.032 −.037 .055 .005 −.002Age .114* .186*** .098* .171*** .105** .139** .196*** .110**Direct effectPerception of promotionopportunities

– .601*** – .620*** – – .487*** –

Mediation effectPerception of promotionopportunities

– – – – .409*** – – .210***

Job engagement – – – – .350*** – – .460***R2 .023 .377 .012 .388 .465 .025 .258 .389Adjusted R2 .019 .373 .007 .384 .460 .021 .253 .384F 5.264** 88.644*** 2.621† 92.064*** 94.241*** 5.670** 50.349 69.216ΔR2 .023 .354 .012 .376 .076 .025 .232 .132ΔF 5.264** 249.458*** 2.621† 267.742*** 62.025*** 5.670** 136.191*** 93.646***

†p < 0.1; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.

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that the former was positively and significantly related to the latter (β = .620, p < 0.001), whichindicated that the first hypothesis was supported; using the same approach, the authors tested thepositive relationship between perception of promotion opportunities and contextual performance(model 7). The results also showed a positive and significant relation between the independent anddependent variables (β = .487, p < 0.001). Thus, hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported.

Factors Influencing the Perceptions of Promotion Opportunities on Task Performance andContextual Performance

To test hypotheses 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, multiple regression analysis was also used to test thedeterminants of the perception of promotion opportunities (Table 4). In this analysis, the perceptionof promotion opportunities was considered to be a dependent variable; several independent variableswere entered simultaneously (Model 9). The results showed that the perceptions of promotionopportunities by division directors and chiefs at the sub-division level (zheng-ke-ji) were higher thanthe perceptions of promotion opportunities by division personnel and clerks (ke-yuan or below)(p < 0.05). The authors also determined that supervisor-subordinate guanxi (β = .361, p < 0.001) andpromotion justice (β = .342, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of the perception of promotionopportunities. Thus, hypotheses 9 and 10 were acceptable, whereas rank was partially supported.

The authors also tested the correlation between demographic variables, organizational settingsvariables and job engagement (Table 2). Job engagement was found to be significant and correlatedwith gender (r = −.106, p < 0.05), age (r = 0.130, p < 0.01), rank (r = 0.272, p < 0.001), supervisor-subordinate guanxi (r = 0.594, p < 0.001), and promotion justice (r = 0.664, p < 0.001).

A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine hypotheses 3 and 4 in thisanalysis with gender and age, which were considered to be controlled variables (Model 1, Model 3and Model 6) (Table 3).

The authors followed Baron and Kenny’s procedure to test mediation.64 First, the independentvariable should predict the mediator variable. The results indicated that the perceptions of

Table 4. Regression result for hypotheses 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 (N = 451)

Independent Variables Results from Model 9 DV = PPO

Gender .010Age −.047EducationEdu1 a .075Edu2 b −.078Edu3 c −.029RankRank2 d −.053Rank3 e .145*Rank4 f −.049Supervisor-subordinate relationship .361***Promotion justice .342***R2 .426Adjusted R2 .407F 21.487***

* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.aComparisons between high-school degree or below and graduate degree orabove

bComparisons between associate’s degree and graduate degree or abovecComparisons between bachelor’s degree or below and graduate degree or abovedComparisons between fu-ke-ji and ke-yuan or beloweComparisons between zheng-ke-ji and ke-yuan or belowfComparisons between fu-chu-ji and ke-yuan or below

64R. M. Baron and D. A. Kenny, ‘The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual,strategic, and Statistical consideration’, Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 51(6) (1986), pp. 1173–1182.

130 L. XIE AND L. YANG

promotion opportunities and job engagement were positively associated after the controlled vari-ables were entered (β = .601, p < .001, Model 2). Second, the independent variable should predict thedependent variable (Hypotheses 1 and 2, Models 4 and 7). The results revealed that the perception ofpromotion opportunities was positively and significantly related to task performance and contextualperformance as previously demonstrated. Third, the mediator variable must be related to thedependent variable after controlling for the independent variable (Model 5 and Model 8). Whenthe regression weight of the perception of promotion opportunities is smaller than previous values,the authors can predict that the mediator variable partially mediates the relationship between theindependent variable and the dependent variable. The results revealed that the perception ofpromotion opportunities has a positive and significant effect on task performance, with a smallerregression weight of the independent variable in model 5 (β = .409, p < 0.001) than in model 4(β = .620, p < 0.001). Although the regression coefficient weights of the perception of promotionopportunities (model 8, β = .210, p < 0.001) decreased compared to model 7 (β = .487, p < 0.001),they continued to be significant predictors of contextual performance. Thus, job engagementpartially mediates the relationship between the perceptions of promotion opportunities, taskperformance, and contextual performance. Hypotheses 3 and hypothesis 4 were supported.

An Adjusted Framework

As anticipated, the authors discovered that civil servants’ perceptions of promotion opportunitiespredicted job engagement, which influenced their task or contextual job performances. In addition,the perceptions of promotion opportunities for civil servants in the zheng-ke-ji rank were higher thanthe perceptions of promotion opportunities for civil servants in the ke-yuan or below rank, whereassupervisor-subordinate guanxi and promotion justice were positively associated with the perceptionof promotion opportunities (Figure 2).

Given the relatively high correlation among predictor variables, a multicollinearity problem thataffects the signs and significance of the regression coefficients may exist. The authors checked forpotential multi-collinearity using variance inflation factors (VIFs). The result of variance inflationfactors in all models was substantially below 3, which is an acceptable limit.65 Thus, the issue ofmulticollinearity is not a major concern in this analysis. The value of the Durbin-Watson statistic wasapproximately 2, which indicated that the residuals from the multiple regression were independent.

Discussion, Implications, and Limitations

Perceptions of Promotion Opportunities Influence Task and Contextual Performance, butExert More Influence on Task Performance than Contextual Performance

This study clarified the role of perceptions of promotion opportunities in the Chinese context andintroduced evidence of the relationship between perceptions of promotion opportunities and perfor-mances among junior civil servants. Characterized by a high level of power distance and centralization,junior civil servants in China are especially concerned with their position within the party or govern-mental system. Although some scholars have used subjective measures, which are assessed by super-visors, the authors focus on the perception of promotion opportunities as perceived by junior civilservants.66 This study showed that the subjective perceptions of junior civil servants are useful forunderstanding and predicting their performance.

65Joseph F. Hair JR., Rolph E. Anderson, Ronald L. Tatham, and William C. Black, Multivariate Data Analysis (5th Edition) (NJ:Prentice Hall, 1998).

66Kenneth S. Law, ‘Effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on supervisory decisions in China: an empirical investigation’,International Journal of Human Resource Management 11(4), (2000), pp. 751–765; Rebecca A. Thacker and Sandy J. Wayne,‘An examination of the relationship between upward influence tactics and assessments of promotability’, Journal ofManagement 21(4), (1995), pp. 739–756.

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In addition to stressing that the perception of promotion opportunities is a key driver of theperformance of junior civil servants, this study also confirmed that the perceptions of promotionopportunities influenced both task and contextual performance, which corresponds with a previousstudy.67 However, this study consolidates the evidence that perceptions of promotion opportunitiesexhibit a greater influence on task performance than contextual performance. It is not surprising thatthe perception of more opportunities by junior civil servants leads to better task performance. Thisstudy contributes to the understanding of the different roles of perceptions of promotion opportu-nities in the job performances of junior civil servants in China.

The Influencing Factors of the Impact of Perceptions of Promotion Opportunities on JobPerformance

This study showed that junior civil servants’ job engagement partially mediated the perception ofpromotion opportunities on performance relationships. Recognizing the significance of the percep-tion of promotion opportunities is insufficient. It would be more effective if the people were to openthe ‘black box’ and try to understand the mechanism of the relationship between the perception ofpromotion opportunities and performance. In China, various barriers exist for persons who desire tomove between the public and private sectors due to the imperfections of the civil servants’ socialsecurity mechanism. Therefore, even when civil servants view their probability of promotion asespecially low, they will not initially quit. Civil servants with low levels of perceived promotionopportunities who have no intention of ‘voting with their feet’ may adopt an implicit type ofresignation, namely, decreasing job engagement, to exhibit their negative emotions. Therefore,the authors focused on job engagement as behavior that mediates the relationship betweenperceptions of promotion opportunities and total performance.

The results of this study also showed that the hypotheses that predict the significant relationshipamong the perception of promotion opportunities, promotion justice, and supervisor-subordinateguanxi were supported. This result is interesting because the empirical evidence presented in thisarticle indicated that the organizational environment of junior civil servants is an important ante-cedent to the prediction of their perception of promotion opportunities. The degree to which juniorcivil servants perceive promotion opportunities is substantially dependent on (1) whether individuals

Figure 2. An adjusted framework.aComparisons between zheng-ke-ji and ke-yuan or below.

67Chun Hui, Simon S. K. Lam, and Kenneth K. S. Law, ‘Instrumental values of organizational citizenship behavior for promotion: afield quasi-experiment’, Journal of Applied Psychology 85(5), (2000), p.822.

132 L. XIE AND L. YANG

perceive that the organization’s promotion is fair and (2) whether individuals have good guanxi withtheir supervisors. The empirical results correspond with previous studies.68 For example, Law et al.argued that although promotion decisions are not always rendered by the supervisor, Chinesesupervisors show a high propensity to recommend and promote in-group members with whomthey maintain good relationships.69

A Possible Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Influence of Perceptions ofPromotion Opportunities on Job Performance

Based on research in the field of job performance, the examination of mechanisms assists in theidentification of how independent variables affect individual performance. In this study, the authorsexamined the hypotheses in the Chinese context, in which the idea of official centeredness (guan benwei) is deeply ingrained.70 The authors conceptualized the perception of promotion opportunities asa subjective assessment of promotability and demonstrated how the perceptions of promotionopportunities influence job performance. The research also showed that organizational settings areimportant predictors when the antecedents of the perception of promotion opportunities areconsidered.

This study confirmed the conceptual framework for the understanding of the influencingmechanism of junior civil servants’ perceptions of promotion opportunities on their job perfor-mance, which will facilitate the enhancement or maintenance of the individual performances of civilservants in the public sector in China and other countries.

Implications for Public Policy and Practitioners

Policymakers at low to high levels may benefit from the understanding that governmental policy,regulation, and promotion criterion will affect junior civil servants’ perception of promotion oppor-tunities. If they aim to encourage positive attitude, behavior, and performance among junior civilservants, they require a much better understanding of the mechanisms of the perceptions ofpromotion opportunities. They need to carefully review the current promotion policy and ensurethat the promotion policy is scientific, transparent and equal.

Models based on perceptions of promotion opportunity yield useful practical applications in acontext where individuals think highly of positions in a public organization. Public human resourcemanagers (including the organization department), supervisors and junior civil servants will allbenefit from a better understanding of how the perceptions of promotion opportunities work toelicit motivation and improve performance. Human resource managers, the organization’s depart-ments, and supervisors should contribute to joint efforts in improving the perception of thepromotion of junior civil servants. In an environment in which the majority of the staff believe thatpromotion is limited to a few people, it is not surprising how low morale is at work. For example, theperception of promotion opportunities must be enhanced by improving the procedural and dis-tributive justice of promotion. Regardless of whether they have succeeded in past promotioncompetitions, junior civil servants will believe that they have a chance of future promotion as longas they believe that everyone has the same opportunity to participate in the promotion competition.Supervisors should be aware of the expectation of career advancement by their subordinates andaim to establish a good relationship with their subordinates. Even junior civil servants can benefit

68Kenneth S. Law et al., ‘Effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on supervisory decisions in China: an empirical investigation’,International Journal of Human Resource Management 11(4), (2000), pp. 751–765; Hongbin Li and Li-An Zhou, ‘Political turnoverand economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China’, Journal of Public Economics 89(9–10), (2005), pp.1743–1762.

69Kenneth S. Law et al., ‘Effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on supervisory decisions in China: an empirical investigation’,International Journal of Human Resource Management 11(4), (2000), pp. 751–765.

70Yang Zhong, Local Government and Politics in China: Challenges from below (New York: Routledge, 2015).

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from a better understanding of their motives and behaviors. The findings of this study provide juniorcivil servants with an explanation of why they behave differently when they do and do not believethat they have a chance to move upward within the hierarchy.

Limitations

This study, however, is not without its limitations. First, this study was embedded in the context ofChina, which is characterized by the two-track promotion system. This might restrict its applicabilityto other countries to some extent. However, the theoretical and conceptual framework for under-standing the influence of perceptions of promotion opportunities on job performance developed inthis study does provide a valuable reference for us to study the relevant issues in other countries.Second, although as mentioned before, the common method bias in this study is not critical, self-reported performance measures might still create some potential commonmethod biases by variousmechanisms.71 Thus, additional field-based studies should be conducted to further test the findingsof the study in the future. In particular, both subjective and objective data should be collected toevaluate the job performance of Chinese civil servants, and the authors hope that different types ofperformance measures can finally shed light on the whole picture of performance.72 Third, thesamples the authors studied mainly came from Beijing (in north China) and Hubei province (incentral China). Future studies should include civil servants from other regions to test the consistencyof the findings in other regions of China. Fourth, this study only focused on Chinese junior civilservants and did not study intermediate and senior civil servants. Future studies should be con-ducted to explore the influence of perceptions of promotion opportunities of intermediate andsenior civil servants on their job performance. Lastly, this article mainly focused on the core relation-ships among promotion opportunity’s determinants and its influence on job engagement, andperformance. However, some important relationships are not involved in this study, future researchwill further explore the mechanism of the influence of demographic variables and organizationsetting variables on the performance and job engagements. Therefore, these key variables and othervariables will be paid more attention in future study.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Junxia Wang, Lifang Deng, and Jiazhuan Du for comments and suggestions on anearlier version of the article. The authors would also like to thank Junxia Wang, Danyang Li, Linlin Hou, Ye Wang, andYanzhong Zhao for their help on data collection.

Disclosure statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication ofthis article.

71Philip M. Podsakoff, Scott B. MacKenzie, and Nathan P. Podsakoff, ‘Common method biases in behavioral research: a criticalreview of the literature and recommended remedies’, Journal of Applied Psychology 88(5), (2003), pp.879–903.

72Rhys Andrews, George A. Boyne, and Richard M. Walker, ‘Subjective and Objective Measures of Organizational Performance’, inPublic Service Performance: Perspectives on Measurement and Management, ed. George A. Boyne, Kenneth J. Meier, Laurence J.O’Toole, Jr. and Richard M. Walker (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp.14–34; Rhys Andrews, George Boyne, andRichard M. Walker, ‘The impact of management on administrative and survey measures of organizational performance’, PublicManagement Review 13(2), (2011), pp. 227–255; Robert D. Behn, ‘Why measure performance? Different purposes requiredifferent measures’, Public Administration Review 63(5), (2003), pp. 586–606; Gene A. Brewer, ‘All Measures of Performance areSubjective: More Evidence on US Federal Agencies’, in Public Service Performance: Perspectives on Measurement andManagement, ed. George A. Boyne et al. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp. 35–54.

134 L. XIE AND L. YANG

Funding

The study was supported by the Key Project of the National Social Science Fund of China #1 under Grant [number14ZDB143]; the Key Project of the National Social Science Fund of China #2 under Grant [number 18VZL001]; and theMinistry of education of Humanities and Social Science project #3 under Grant [No. 15YJC630139].

Notes on contributors

Lingling Xie is an associate professor at the School of Public Administration, Beihang University. She specializes inChinese public personnel management and public administration.

Lihua Yang is a professor of public administration and the director of the Department of Public Policy at the School ofGovernment and a research professor at the Institute of State Governance and the Institute of Public Governance,Peking University. His research interests include Chinese public administration, environmental governance and policy,and research methods.

Appendix A

Perceptions of promotion opportunities(1) It is very likely that I can be promoted in the near future.(2) I think I have the potential to receive the promotion.(3) I think I may move up very soon.(4) My prospects for a career promotion seem considerably promising.(5) My prospects of being transferred to a better position seem higher.(6) It seems that I may be transferred to a better position very soon.

Task performance(1) I consider myself surpassing my colleagues in terms of performance.(2) My superiors are relatively satisfied with my performance.(3) My colleagues think highly of my performance.(4) My performance is often praised and acknowledged by the organization.

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