Investigating the Relationship Between Protestant Work Ethic and Confucian Dynamism: An Empirical Test in Mainland China

Journal of Business Ethics · 2012 · Volume 106 · Issue 2

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between the Protestant Work Ethic (PWE) and Confucian Dynamism in a sample of 1,757 respondents from several provinces in mainland China. Mirels and Garrett’s (J Consult Clin Psychol 36:40–44,1971) PWE Scale and Robertson’s (Manag Int Rev 40:253–268,2000) Confucian Dynamism Scale were used to measure the work ethics. The 16 items of the PWE Scale and eight items of the Confucian Dynamism Scale were initially subjected to a principal components analysis. Factor analysis produced four factors of the PWE, which were labeled as follows: hard work, internal motive, admiration of work itself, and negative attitude to leisure; and three factors of the Confucian Dynamism, which were labeled: long-term orientation, short-term orientation, andguanxiorientation. The results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that all the dimensions of PWE were positively related to Confucian Dynamism, but negatively toguanxiorientation. The results also indicated that three PWE dimensions (“hard work,” “internal motive,” and “admiration of work itself”) were positively and significantly related to long-term orientation, but two of them were related negatively and significantly to the short-term orientation of Confucian Dynamism. In addition, the results showed that the dimension—admiration of work itself—of PWE was significantly and negatively associated with theguanxiorientation, but significantly and positively to the short-term orientation.

Keywords

Protestant Work Ethic, Confucian Dynamism, Values, Chinese culture, Guanxi

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