Political Skill, Supervisor-Subordinate "Guanxi" and Career Prospects in Chinese Firms

The role of political skill was examined in the dynamics of supervisor-subordinate relationship in Chinese firms. Data from a survey of 343 employees, their 343 direct supervisors, and 662 of their peers were applied to test a model proposing that Chinese subordinates employ political skill to influence their "guanxi" with their supervisors, and so promote their career development. We found that supervisor-subordinate "guanxi" mediated the relationship between political skill and career development of the subordinates. Implications of the findings were discussed. Copyright (c) 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and Society for the Advancement of Management Studies.