Asia Pacific Management Review xxx (xxxx) xxx

H O S T E D BY Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Asia Pacific Management Review

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apmrv

Supervisor-subordinate guanxi and emotional exhaustion: The moderating effect

of supervisor job autonomy and workload levels in organizations
Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol
International College, National Institute of Development Administration 118 Moo3, Serithai Road118 Moo3, Serithai Road, Klong-Chan, Bangkapi, Bangkok, 10240, Thailand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This research utilizes the conservation of resources (COR) theory to examine the effect of supervisor-
Received 7 April 2020 subordinate guanxi on the emotional exhaustion of the Thai subordinates working under Chinese su-
Received in revised form pervisors at Chinese subsidiaries in Thailand. Specifically, this study examines the role of supervisor job
2 April 2021
autonomy and workload as moderators of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on subordinates' emotional
Accepted 2 May 2021
exhaustion. Survey data were obtained from 201 dyads comprised of Chinese supervisors and their Thai
Available online xxx
subordinates at the subsidiaries of a Chinese multinational enterprise in Rayong, Thailand. A partial least
squares structural equation model was used for data analysis. The analysis significantly supports the
Keywords:
Cross-cultural management
negative association between supervisor-subordinate guanxi effects on the emotional exhaustion of Thai
Expatriate subordinates. The effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi is positively moderated by the Chinese su-
Social psychology pervisors' level of job autonomy. However, it is negatively moderated by the level of workload generally
Leadership experienced by Thai subordinates at this organization. Findings support and advance previous research,
Well-being illustrating that not every group of employees will benefit from guanxi equally; whether an employee
Stress benefits from guanxi depends on the supervisor's authority and the levels of workload.
Guanxi © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of College of Management, National Cheng Kung
University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction impact is emotional exhaustion (Bücker et al., 2014; Yang, 2017).

Over the past decade, the presence of Chinese MNEs in Thailand
has increased extensively. According to China data Insights (2017),
China has become Thailand's second-largest direct foreign invest-
ment source, leading many Chinese multinational enterprises
(MNEs) to establish subsidiaries in Thailand. However, prior
research on working relationships between Chinese supervisors
and Thai employees has indicated that Thai employees frequently
experience challenges when working with Chinese supervisors due
to cultural differences (Guang & Charoensukmongkol, 2020). These
cultural differences lead to disagreements between Chinese su-
pervisors and Thai employees in various aspects of work-based
values (Liang et al., 2015; Seriwatana & Charoensukmongkol,
2021; Sorndee et al., 2017), contributing to dissatisfaction with
Chinese supervisors (Bunchapattanasakda & Wong, 2010). Gener-
ally, when they work under foreign supervisors whose cultures
differ significantly from their own, employees' psychological
E-mail address: peerayuth.c@nida.ac.th.
Peer review under responsibility of College of Management, National Cheng
Kung University.
Emotional exhaustion is an extraordinarily affective and chronic
type of work-related strain that frequently happens to employees in
multicultural environments (Suthatorn & Charoensukmongkol,
2018). This problem can lead to the deterioration of employees'
well-being and performance (Chan, 2021; Goel & Verma, 2020). For
example, Karatepe (2011) found that emotional exhaustion tended
to damage life satisfaction and increase turnover intentions. Chao
et al. (2019) found that emotional exhaustion can lead to the loss
of job enthusiasm and absenteeism. Given the negative conse-
quences of emotional exhaustion, new research should examine
what could reduce this problem in Thai employees working with
Chinese supervisors at Chinese MNEs.
Strong personal relationships between employees and super-
visors can reduce emotional exhaustion (Karatepe, 2011; Khan
et al., 2020; Phungsoonthorn & Charoensukmongkol, 2019). In
the context of Chinese culture, a unique type of social relationship
among people in Chinese corporations that could lessen emotional
exhaustion is ‘guanxi’ (Zhang et al., 2015; Zhang & Oczkowski,
2016). Guanxi refers to a personal and reciprocal social connec-
tion, which is the basis for effective collaboration within Chinese
society (Chen & Tjosvold, 2006). Strong supervisor-subordinate

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2021.05.001
1029-3132/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article as: P. Charoensukmongkol, Supervisor-subordinate guanxi and emotional exhaustion: The moderating effect of supervisor
job autonomy and workload levels in organizations, Asia Pacific Management Review, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2021.05.001
P. Charoensukmongkol
guanxi can promote employees' positive work attitudes and be-
haviors, particularly in supervisor-subordinate relationships (Guan
& Frenkel, 2019; Wang et al., 2019; Wang & Varma, 2019).
Despite an abundance of literature supporting the benefits of
supervisor-subordinate guanxi, there are still significant research
gaps. First, prior research on supervisor-subordinate guanxi is pri-
marily based on studies of employees in China; less is known about
supervisor-subordinate guanxi concerning foreign employees
working for Chinese supervisors at Chinese corporations outside
China. It is also unclear whether guanxi can promote psychological
well-being among these foreign employees. Second, despite evi-
dence showing the benefits of guanxi on various aspects of work
attitudes, work behavior, and performance outcomes of employees
(Guan & Frenkel, 2019; Wang et al., 2019; Wang & Varma, 2019),
little research addresses the benefits of guanxi for psychological
well-being. Hu, Schaufeli, & Taris (2016) provide one of the only
studies addressing how guanxi explains burnout among Chinese
employees and supervisors in China. Whether guanxi that Chinese
supervisors establish with their foreign subordinates could also
promote employees' psychological well-being remains unknown.
Therefore, such research is crucial to broaden the knowledge of
guanxi research and clarify guanxi's role within a cross-cultural
work context. Finally, although most guanxi research has exam-
ined its effects on outcome variables, there is still a lack of research
evidence clarifying under which conditions guanxi could offer
benefits to employees. Indeed, very few studies have clarified this
issue. For example, Li and Chen (2015) found that employees'
collectivism orientation moderated guanxi's effect on employees'
knowledge-sharing behavior. Tang et al. (2020) found that family-
friendly organizational practices moderated supervisor-
subordinate guanxi's effect on work-family conflict. However,
whether supervisor characteristics and work characteristics influ-
ence guanxi's benefit has not been clarified in the literature. Addi-
tional research is essential if scholars wish to broaden the
understanding of the other aspect of conditions that could limit the
importance of guanxi within organizational contexts or make
employee benefits from guanxi less effective.
This study addresses the noted research gaps and examines the
effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on the emotional exhaus-
tion that Thai employees experience at a Chinese subsidiary in
Thailand. Supervisor-subordinate guanxi represents a high-quality
interpersonal relationship between the supervisor and the subor-
dinate, facilitating personal support from one's supervisor (Guan &
Frenkel, 2019; Zhang et al., 2016). Therefore, guanxi might reduce
the level of emotional exhaustion that Thai employees experience
with Chinese supervisors. This research uses the conservation of
resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989) to support supervisor-
subordinate guanxi's benefits on employees' emotional exhaus-
tion. Moreover, this research explores conditional factors that could
enhance or reduce supervisor-subordinate guanxi affecting Thai
employees' emotional exhaustion. There are two moderating con-
ditions: (1) Chinese supervisors' level of job autonomy and (2) Thai
employees' workload at the selected organization. From the
perspective of COR theory, Chinese supervisors' level of job au-
tonomy is the moderator and represents a critical resource in terms
of authority and discretion, potentially affecting the quality of
guanxi support that supervisors provide their subordinates
(Stiglbauer & Kovacs, 2018). The more autonomy the supervisors
have, the more resources the subordinates can obtain from the
supervisors (Halliday et al., 2018). Workload within the organiza-
tion is also a moderator, representing the quantitative job demands
that might weaken the effect of guanxi support from the supervisor
on employees' emotional exhaustion (Charoensukmongkol &
Puyod, 2020). Thus, the higher the employees' workload, the
greater the threat to resource loss (Hobfoll, 2011), which lowers the
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benefits of guanxi. The review of supervisor-subordinate guanxi and
its theoretical support, explaining how it can prevent emotional
exhaustion and offering theoretical explanations regarding the
moderating variables' role, are described in the next section.
2. Literature review
2.1. Supervisor-subordinate guanxi
Law et al. (2000) stated that ‘guan’ in Chinese means a locked
door or gateway, and ‘xi’ means linkage or a system of links. In
general, guanxi describes a personal connection that provides the
basis for effective collaboration in China (Chen & Tjosvold, 2006).
This definition is consistent with Chou, Han, & Zhang (2014), who
conceptualizes guanxi as “a subordinate's perception of the degree
of the quality of work relationship that determines expected be-
haviors and reciprocal treatment” (p.22). Chen and Tjosvold (2006)
also regard personal guanxi as a private channel through which
people communicate and exchange. Individuals are more likely to
display favoritism toward people with better guanxi; conversely,
people who do not share common guanxi are considered to be
outsiders and tend to receive less favorable treatment or are
perceived less favorably (Miao et al., 2020).
Guanxi also plays an influential role for employees in Chinese
workplace settings (Miao et al., 2020). In particular, supervisor-
subordinate guanxi is a high-quality interpersonal relationship
that offers both parties mutual benefits (Guan & Frenkel, 2019). In
addition to the work-based relationship that employees generally
develop with their supervisor in the workplace, employees in
Chinese organizations engage in social activities that help establish
personal and non-work-related relationships with their supervisor
(Charoensukmongkol, 2021). Engaging in such activities can help
employees obtain favorable treatment, protection, or career
advancement (Zhang et al., 2016). For example, Law et al. (2000)
found that supervisor-subordinate guanxi can influence Chinese
supervisors' administrative decisions, such as job assignments,
bonus allocations, and chances of promotion. Guanxi also yields
various benefits to supervisors, as it helps them gain trust and
commitment from their subordinates. For example, Zhang et al.
(2015) used a sample of employees at a Chinese university to
show that guanxi with their supervisor encouraged subordinates to
demonstrate extra-role behaviors and achieve higher task perfor-
mance. Zhang and Oczkowski (2016) also found that guanxi con-
tributes to employees’ lower counterproductive work behavior and
leads to higher job satisfaction.
Some scholars have shown that guanxi can promote employee
psychological well-being. For example, Hu et al. (2016) found that
guanxi with a supervisor is a social resource that could reduce
Chinese police officers' burnout. Despite this evidence, research
examining guanxi's effect on employee well-being is scarce, espe-
cially scholarship that addresses foreign employees working under
Chinese supervisors. Moreover, there is a lack of solid theoretical
work to support guanxi's role in affecting employee well-being. The
present study aims to clarify this particular role of guanxi.
2.2. Conservation of resources (COR) theory
Guanxi's effect on reducing employees' emotional exhaustion
can be explained by the conservation of resources (COR) theory
(Hobfoll, 1989). Previously, COR theory has been used to explain
emotional exhaustion in the workplace (Montani et al., 2018). The
theory refers to the role of resources in determining individuals'
stress levels in their workplace, and resources can take several
forms (Cho & Yang, 2018). Hobfoll (1989) defines resources as
“objects, personal characteristics, conditions, or energies … valued
P. Charoensukmongkol
by the individual” (p. 516). Resources can also be organizational
resources (e.g., job autonomy and managerial positions), social re-
sources (e.g., social support and social networking), and psycho-
logical resources (e.g., self-efficacy and personality). COR theory
suggests that individuals are motivated to create, maintain, and
increase their stock of valued resources to cope with stress (Hobfoll,
2011). The theory also posits that emotional exhaustion occurs
when individuals lack sufficient resources to deal with job de-
mands or work stressors.
Given that resources are challenging to obtain and maintain,
Hobfoll (2011) adds that resource loss, according to COR theory,
appears more salient and has a more significant impact on stress
occurrence than does resource gain. Individuals who encounter or
are threatened by resources-loss are more likely to feel emotionally
exhausted. Another assertion of COR theory is that individuals are
motivated to protect and invest in their current resources to acquire
new resources (Hobfoll, 2011). When individuals cannot acquire
resources following an initial resource investment, they are more
likely to experience stress.
2.3. Hypotheses development
2.3.1. Supervisor-subordinate guanxi and emotional exhaustion of
subordinates
This research proposes that the quality of guanxi that Chinese
supervisors establish with their Thai employees can negatively
determine the emotional exhaustion that Thai subordinates expe-
rience. Decision-making and resource allocation in the Chinese
work context are strongly influenced by guanxi's quality between
resource allocators and recipients (Bond & Hwang, 1986). Super-
visors in Chinese organizations tend to have extensive control over
resource allocation, such as promotions and career advancement
opportunities (Rehman et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2019). Supervisor-
subordinate guanxi plays an essential role in providing the sub-
ordinates the opportunity to acquire valuable resources from their
supervisor (Wei et al., 2010). Wang et al. (2019) suggest that sub-
ordinates who develop close guanxi with their supervisors are more
likely to succeed in their career development and have greater
positive self-worth in their organization. They are perceived as
having greater efficacy and are believed to be more important than
other employees, thereby increasing their perceived status. Thus,
Chinese supervisors are more likely to give trust, care, and special
treatment to subordinates within good quality guanxi than those
outside the guanxi (Zhang & Oczkowski, 2016).
Guanxi is considered a social resource according to COR theory
(Guan & Frenkel, 2019). Guan and Frenkel (2019) used COR theory
to explain the effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on sub-
ordinates’ task performance and organizational citizenship
behavior. Under COR theory, the guanxi that Thai subordinates
develop with their Chinese supervisors is regarded as an essential
social resource because it allows them to access essential resources
that promote their work well-being (Fu & Charoensukmongkol,
2021) and prevent them from experiencing resources-loss (Guan
& Frenkel, 2019). Guanxi promotes resource acquisition because it
increases the chance Thai subordinates have to receive special
treatment and support from their Chinese supervisors, which may
significantly impact their well-being at the organization. For
example, Thai employees with better guanxi may be assigned less
stressful tasks or be appointed to a high-status position by their
Chinese supervisor (Wang et al., 2019).
Guanxi also increases the likelihood that Thai subordinates will
be recognized and receive more favorable evaluations from their
Chinese supervisors. Thus, employees within the guanxi network
could be less susceptible to a loss of resources, reducing their
possible emotional exhaustion. Conversely, employees outside the
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guanxi network could experience greater resource loss if they do
not receive valuable support from their supervisor like those within
the guanxi network. The perception of unequal treatment that
subordinates outside the guanxi network experience may lead to
emotional exhaustion; thus, the first hypothesis is proposed:
Hypothesis 1. supervisor-subordinate guanxi relates negatively
to the emotional exhaustion of Thai subordinates.
2.3.2. Moderating effect of supervisor job autonomy
We posit that the Chinese supervisor's job autonomy could
moderate supervisor-subordinate guanxi's effect on Thai em-
ployees' emotional exhaustion. Job autonomy refers to the extent to
which individuals have discretion over when, where, and how to do
their job (Stiglbauer & Kovacs, 2018). Job autonomy also reflects the
degree of discretion employees have over essential decisions in
their work, such as the timing and methods of their tasks (Parker
et al., 2001). For employees who take a supervisory or managerial
position, job autonomy plays a vital role in their ability to manage
tasks effectively (Tummers et al., 2018). Job autonomy is necessary
for supervisors to execute their functional roles smoothly. Halliday
et al. (2018) suggest that job autonomy is a crucial organizational
resource for managers and plays a facilitating role in promoting
work-goal achievements. Moreover, it can reduce job stressors and
stimulate personal growth, learning, and development. A supervi-
sor's job autonomy can also impact their subordinates' well-being
(McGuire et al., 2015; Parker et al., 2001). Autonomy affects the
supervisor's ability to make decisions, so supervisors with high job
autonomy are better positioned to provide their employees with
additional resources. McGuire et al. (2015) found that supervisors
who have sufficient autonomy could offer more appropriate
workplace accommodations to subordinates who suffer from work
injuries than those with low autonomy. McKnight et al. (2001)
found that managerial autonomy has a strong influence on em-
ployees' work morale.
We propose that Chinese supervisors' job autonomy might in-
fluence the extent to which supervisor-subordinate guanxi reduces
Thai subordinates' emotional exhaustion. Essentially, supervisors'
job autonomy level can affect their discretion on resource allocation
(Parker et al., 2001). When supervisors have high job autonomy,
they can administer rewards or punishments to their subordinates.
This characteristic of job autonomy enables supervisors to provide
special treatment to those with whom they share guanxi. As
Whitaker and Dahling (2013) suggest, “Increased latitude con-
cerning the methods used to meet objectives may prompt behav-
iors that deviate from organizational rules or alienate others in the
workplace” (p. 359). Whitaker and Dahling (2013) also argue that
job autonomy might encourage some supervisors to put their
agenda ahead of the larger social group's interests and positive
organizational functioning. When supervisors have greater job
autonomy, supervisor-subordinate guanxi tends to be particularly
important for the subordinates to obtain benefits from the personal
network they develop with their supervisors.
Conversely, when supervisors have low job autonomy, they may
have limited authority to make decisions that benefit their sub-
ordinates. For example, the supervisors may lack the power to
guarantee their subordinates' job security or promotions. Even with
guanxi, subordinates may not see concrete benefits from their
relationship with their supervisor. According to COR theory, lack of
authority could impose a threat of resource loss to subordinates and
prevent them from gaining resources by establishing guanxi with
their supervisor (Hobfoll, 1989). Therefore, despite the importance
of supervisor-subordinate guanxi in lowering subordinates'
emotional exhaustion, supervisor-subordinate guanxi's overall ef-
fect is more substantial for Thai subordinates working for Chinese
P. Charoensukmongkol
supervisors who have high job autonomy. The effect of supervisor-
subordinate guanxi is likely weaker for Thai subordinates working
for Chinese supervisors with low job autonomy. Thus, the following
hypothesis is presented:
Hypothesis 2. The job autonomy of Chinese supervisors positively
moderates supervisor-subordinate guanxi's effect on Thai sub-
ordinates' emotional exhaustion.
2.3.3. Moderating effect of workload within organizations
We also posit that the effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on
Thai employees' emotional exhaustion could be moderated by the
workload that employees generally undertake. Workload refers to
the quantitative value of tasks and responsibilities that employees
have to handle daily. Under COR theory, workload represents the
unfavorable work conditions leading to resource depletion and
emotional exhaustion (Hobfoll, 2011). According to COR theory,
threats to resource loss present in the form of role demands reflected
by high workloads (Hobfoll, 1989). When individuals face a signifi-
cant workload, their resources' depletion can easily lead to stress
(Charoensukmongkol & Puyod, 2020). However, to understand how
workload could attenuate the benefit of supervisor-subordinate
guanxi on the emotional exhaustion, COR theory needs to be sup-
plemented by the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory to explain
this phenomenon fully. Like the COR theory, the JD-R theory con-
siders the role of job demands and job resources as significant pre-
dictors of emotional exhaustion (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014).
However, the JD-R theory suggests that emotional exhaustion can be
effectively tackled when the amount of job resources that employees
obtain outweighs the number of job demands that they experience
(Bakker & Demerouti, 2014; Charoensukmongkol & Suthatorn,
2018). The number of job demands that outweigh job resources
tends to reduce job resources' effectiveness in helping employees
cope with emotional exhaustion (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014).
Because employees with high workloads are more prone to experi-
encing higher resource depletion rates and threats to resource loss,
the benefits of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on lowering emotional
exhaustion could be attenuated in this case. Although subordinates
still receive support or special treatment from the supervisor via
guanxi, the nature of high workloads might reduce guanxi's benefits
on lowering their emotional exhaustion. Thus, the effect of
supervisor-subordinate guanxi on emotional exhaustion could be
weaker for Thai employees who generally have high workload
conditions as compared to those with low workload conditions,
leading to the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3. The effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on Thai
subordinates' emotional exhaustion is negatively moderated by
workload volume in the organization.
All hypotheses appear in Fig. 1..
3. Methods
3.1. Sample and data collection procedure
The sampling frame where the data collection was conducted
was the industrial area in Rayong, Thailand. The sample of Chinese
supervisors and Thai subordinates was drawn from Chinese MNEs
located in this city. In particular, Rayong is a suitable place to obtain
this sample of Chinese supervisors and Thai subordinates because it
is the key industrial area in Thailand where most Chinese MNEs are
established. At the time of data collection, there were approxi-
mately 100 Chinese MNEs located in the city. The ethical procedure
of this research was approved by the instritutional review board of
the National Institute of Development Administration (ECNIDA
2020/0035). The management of the human resource departments
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of these MNEs was contacted in advance with the help of a Chinese
student research assistant to ask for permission to collect data at
their workplaces. Forty-eight companies agreed to participate in
the data collection. After granting their approval, the managers of
these subsidiaries were asked about the number of Chinese expa-
triates who held supervisory positions and had Thai subordinates
working for them. In all, 210 pairs of Chinese expatriates and Thai
subordinates met this criterion. Only one Thai employee working
directly under each Chinese supervisor was selected at random for
data collection.
Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from
randomly-selected Thai subordinates and their direct Chinese su-
pervisors to prevent common method bias (CMB) in the data
(Podsakoff et al., 2003). Thai subordinates answered questionnaires
measuring supervisor-subordinate Guanxi, emotional exhaustion,
and workload; the Chinese supervisors answered questionnaires
measuring job autonomy. The questionnaires and a cover letter
were distributed to the Chinese supervisors and Thai subordinates
in person. The participants were informed that data collection was
voluntary and anonymous. Because the data analysis was based on
the data obtained from two sources, the questionnaires sent to the
Chinese supervisor and the Thai subordinate who worked together
were coded with the same numbers for matching purposes. Data
collection took two weeks to finish and included 201 pairs of
completed surveys, yielding a 95.7% response rate.
Respondents’ demographic characteristics appear in Table 1. The
mean age of the respondents was 33.23 years (SD ¼ 6.17). The
majority was female, and most had worked at the organization for
1e2 years. The length of the supervisor-subordinate work rela-
tionship was approximately 1e2 years.
3.2. Measures
Supervisor-subordinate guanxi is measured by the scale devel-
oped by Yang and Lau (2015). The scale contains 6 questions. All
questions are assessed by a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Sample items are “Your
Chinese supervisor invites you for lunch/dinner” and “You call or visit
your Chinese supervisor after office hours or on holidays.” These sets
of questions were answered by Thai subordinates.
Emotional exhaustion is measured by the Maslach Burnout In-
ventory (MBI) developed by Maslach and Jackson (1981). The scale
contains 5 questions. All questions are assessed by a 5-point Likert
scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Sample
items are “I feel burned out from my work” and “Working all day is
really a strain for me.” These questions were answered by Thai
subordinates.
Supervisor job autonomy is measured by the scale of Riordan
et al. (2005). The scale contains 3 questions. All questions are
assessed by a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree)
to 5 (strongly agree). Sample items are “The company gives me
enough authority in deciding how to accomplish my work” and “The
company gives me enough freedom over how I do my job.” These
questions were answered by Chinese supervisors.
Workload in the organization is measured by 3 questions ob-
tained from the scale developed by Patterson et al. (2005). All
questions are assessed by a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Sample items are “People are
expected to do too much in a day” and “People here are under pressure
to meet targets.” These questions were answered by Thai
subordinates.
The original questions were translated into Mandarin Chinese
for Chinese supervisors and into Thai for the Thai subordinates. The
back-translation was then performed and validated by a panel of
bilingual experts (Brislin, 1970).
P. Charoensukmongkol
Fig. 1. Conceptual model and hypotheses.
Table 1
Demographic characteristics of the sample.
Variables
Gender of Thai subordinates
Age of Thai subordinates
Job tenure of Thai subordinates
Length of supervisor-subordinate work relationship
3.3. Control variables
This research included control variables for personal and work-
related characteristics that might influence Thai subordinates'
emotional exhaustion. Personal control variables included Thai
subordinates' age and gender, while work-related control variables
included Thai subordinates' job tenure and the length of
supervisor-subordinate work relationships. These employees’
characteristics were chosen as the control variables because prior
research found that they influence emotional exhaustion. Age can
influence emotional exhaustion because younger people are less
emotionally mature, making them experience emotional exhaus-
tion easier than their older counterparts (Charoensukmongkol &
Phungsoonthorn, 2020). Gender can influence emotional exhaus-
tion because Kim & Cha (2015) found that females tended to
experience occupational stress more than males, leading more
quickly to emotional exhaustion. Job tenure can influence
emotional exhaustion because employees who stay longer in the
organization tend to gain more experience (Puyod &
Charoensukmongkol, 2019), thereby allowing them to cope better
with stressors than those with short tenure (Boyas & Wind, 2010).
Finally, the length of supervisor-subordinate work relationships can
affect emotional exhaustion because employees who work for their
supervisor longer are likely to gain more trust from the supervisor,
lessening the chance of conflict that might lead to emotional
exhaustion (Guang & Charoensukmongkol, 2020).
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Descriptive statistics
Male: 133 (34%)
Female: 68 (66%)
Mean: 33.23
S.D.: 6.165
Less than 1 year: 51 (25%)
1e2 years: 70 (35%)
3e4 years: 34 (18%)
5e6 years: 17 (8%)
7e8 years: 7: (3%)
9e10 years: 2 (1%)
More than 10 years: 20 (10%)
Less than 1 year: 65 (32%)
1e2 years: 73 (36%)
3e4 years: 31 (15%)
5e6 years: 19 (10%)
7e8 years: 10 (5%)
9e10 years: 3 (2%)
3.4. Data analysis
Partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is
used as a statistical analytical method to test the hypotheses. PLS-
SEM offers more flexibility than covariance-based SEM because it
produces less bias estimation when the sample size is small (Chin,
1998). Moreover, Hair et al. (2017) recommended using PLS-SEM
when analyzing complex models, mainly when there are multiple
moderations in the analysis. Given that the sample of this research
is quite small (n ¼ 201) and the hypotheses in this research
involved two interacting variables, PLS-SEM seems to be a suitable
method for analyzing the data in this research. The estimation was
conducted in WarpPLS software version 6.0.
4. Results
The psychometric quality of the measurement scales must be
assessed before running PLS-SEM estimation. The quality of the
convergence validity was evaluated by judging factor loadings,
which must be greater than 0.5 (Hair et al., 2011). One item of
supervisor-subordinate guanxi had fa actor loading below 0.5; this
item was then deleted. The factor loadings of the remaining items
as shown in Table 2 confirm that the convergence validity passes
the requirements. Discriminant validity is confirmed by comparing
whether the square root of the average variance extracted from a
particular latent variable is greater than other correlations
P. Charoensukmongkol
involving that latent variable (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The results
shown in Table 3 confirm that all latent variables pass this condi-
tion. Next, construct reliability of the latent variables is judged by
Cronbach's alphas and composite reliability coefficients, which
must be higher than 0.7 (Nunnally, 1978). The results shown in
Table 3 confirmed that the coefficients of all latent variables pass
this condition.
Moreover, the potential of multicollinearity is judged by full
variance inflation factor (VIF) statistics, which must be below 3.3
(Petter et al., 2007). The results show that the highest value of the
full VIF statistics in the model is 1.50, which satisfies this condition.
Lastly, the potential of common method bias (CMB) is also detected
using Harman's one-factor test (Podsakoff et al., 2003). The result of
the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the one-factor
confirmatory factor analysis model did not fit the data well
(c2 ¼ 6667.112; d. f. ¼ 8021; p < .001). In addition, the results from
the exploratory factor analysis using all observed measures with
Varimax rotation show that no single factor had a factor loading
greater than 50 percent. These results ensured that CMB is not
unsuitable for this research.
The results from hypotheses testing using PLS-SEM analysis are
reported in Table 4. Model 1 is a based model that only includes
supervisor-subordinate guanxi and control variables as the pre-
dictors of emotional exhaustion. Model 2 and Model 3 add the
interaction of supervisor-subordinate guanxi and the job autonomy
of the Chinese supervisors, as well as the interaction of supervisor-
subordinate guanxi and the level of workload in the organization
separately. Lastly, both interaction terms are included together in
Model 4.
Hypothesis 1 states that supervisor-subordinate guanxi is
negatively related to the emotional exhaustion of Thai sub-
ordinates. The results, as shown in Model 1 (b ¼ 0.249; p < .001),
and Model 2 (b ¼ 0.221; p < .001), indicate that supervisor-
subordinate guanxi has a negative association with the emotional
exhaustion of the Thai subordinates; all results are statistically
significant. Thus, Hypothesis 1 is supported.
Hypothesis 2 states that the effect of supervisor-subordinate
guanxi on the emotional exhaustion of Thai subordinates is posi-
tively moderated by the job autonomy of Chinese supervisors. The
moderating effect is assessed by considering the beta coefficient of
the interaction between supervisor-subordinate guanxi and the job
autonomy of the Chinese supervisors. The results, as shown in
Model 2 (b ¼ 0.232; p < .001), indicate that the beta coefficients of
Table 2
Factor loadings of latent variables.
Indicators Supervisor-Subordinate Emotional exhaustion of the Thai
Guanxi subordinates
GX1 (0.784)
GX2 (0.721)
GX3 (0.787)
GX4 (0.657)
GX5 (0.873)
EMX1 (0.861)
EMX2 (0.903)
EMX3 (0.882)
EMX4 (0.897)
EMX5 (0.921)
JA1
JA2
JA4
WO1
WO2
WO3
Note: GX ¼ Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi, EMX ¼ emotional exhaustion of the Thai subordinates, JA ¼ job autonomy of the Chinese supervisors, WO ¼ workload in the
organization.
Asia Pacific Management Review xxx (xxxx) xxx
the interaction term in both models take a negative sign, and are
also statistically significant. It can thus be interpreted that the
negative effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on the emotional
exhaustion of Thai employees tends to be stronger when the job
autonomy of the Chinese supervisors is high. Therefore, Hypothesis
2 is supported.
Hypothesis 3 states that the effect of supervisor-subordinate
guanxi on the emotional exhaustion of Thai subordinates is nega-
tively moderated by the level of workload in the organization. The
moderating effect is assessed by considering the beta coefficient of
the interaction between supervisor-subordinate guanxi and the
workload level in the organization. The results, as shown in Model
2 (b ¼ 0.272; p < .001), indicate that the beta coefficients of the
interaction terms in both models take a positive sign and are also
statistically significant. It can thus be interpreted that the negative
effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on the emotional exhaus-
tion of Thai employees tends to be weaker when workload in the
organization is high. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 is supported.
The simple slope analysis was performed for the moderating
effects of the job autonomy of Chinese supervisors and the work-
load level in the organization. The results from the simple slope
analysis are illustrated in Fig. 2. For the moderating effect of job
autonomy of Chinese supervisors, the illustration clearly shows
that the negative slope of the association between supervisor-
subordinate guanxi on emotional exhaustion is steeper for the
case of Chinese supervisors with high job autonomy than those
with low job autonomy. For the moderating effect of workload
levels in the organization, the illustration clearly shows that the
negative slope of the association between Supervisor-Subordinate
Guanxi on emotional exhaustion is steeper in the case of the Thai
subordinates who work in organizations with low workloads than
those with high workloads. Overall, the results from the illustration
are consistent with the results from hypotheses testing.
5. Discussion and conclusion
5.1. General discussion of the findings
The PLS-SEM analysis results supported the hypothesized
negative association between supervisor-subordinate guanxi and
Thai subordinates' emotional exhaustion. This result is consistent
with Hu et al. (2016) findings, which supported guanxi's benefits in
helping employees cope effectively with work stressors. According
Job autonomy of the Chinese Workload in the Eigenvalues Cumulative
supervisors organization %
4.47 26.295
3.599 21.173
(0.906) 2.559 15.054
(0.913)
(0.875)
(0.830) 1.6 9.412
(0.859)
(0.794)
6
P. Charoensukmongkol Asia Pacific Management Review xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 3
Correlation among variables and square root of AVE.

Variables Cronbach's alpha coefficient Composite reliability coefficient GX EMX JA WO GEN AGE TEN LWR

GX .854 .7 (.569) -.259** .033 .025 .071 .007 -.001 -.036

EMX .937 .952 (.893) -.165* .295** -.008 -.152* -.067 -.021
JA .88 .926 (.898) .103 -.111 .108 .009 .104
WO .777 .867 (.828) .045 .115 -.059 -.048
GEN n/a n/a (1) .073 -.131 -.097
AGE n/a n/a (1) .423** .256**
TEN n/a n/a (1) .695**
WR n/a n/a (1)

Notes: * p-value ˂ 0.05, ** p-value ˂ 0.01.

The square roots of AVE are displayed in the parentheses.
GX ¼ Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi, EMX ¼ emotional exhaustion of the Thai subordinates, JA ¼ job autonomy of the Chinese supervisor, WO ¼ workload in the organi-
zation, GEN ¼ gender of the Thai subordinates, AGE ¼ age of the Thai subordinates, TEN ¼ job tenure of the Thai subordinates, LWR ¼ Length of supervisor-subordinate work
relationship.

Table 4 autonomy might influence supervisors' power and discretion to

Results from hypotheses testing.
Variables Model 1
Main independent variable
Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi -.249***
Moderating effects
Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi n/a
 Job autonomy of Chinese supervisors
Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi n/a
 Workload in the organization
Control variables
Age of Thai employees -.151**
Gender of Thai employees .017
Job tenure of Thai employees -.018
Length of supervisor-subordinate work relationship .024
R-squares .085
D R-squares n/a
Notes: * p-value ˂ 0.05, ** p-value ˂ 0.01; *** p-value ˂ 0.001.
Standardized beta coefficients are reported.
to COR theory, this finding provides additional evidence to support
the benefit of supervisor-subordinate guanxi, which serves as a
social resource to prevent psychological strains (Guan & Frenkel,
2019). This role of guanxi is consistent with Guan and Frenkel
(2019), who proposed that high-quality guanxi subordinates
develop with supervisors provides access to other essential re-
sources, or prevents them from experiencing resource-loss. In
particular, guanxi's role provides additional support for the COR
theory about resource acquisition (Hobfoll, 2011). The guanxi that
Thai subordinates establish with their Chinese supervisors could
increase their chances of receiving special treatment and support,
preventing them from experiencing psychological stress while
working at the Chinese subsidiary. Most importantly, the quality of
the interpersonal relationships that Thai employees develop from
guanxi with their Chinese supervisors could also buffer them from
stress perceptions that generally present when individuals work
under supervisors from a different culture (Bücker et al., 2014;
Yang, 2017).
In addition to the direct effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi
on emotional exhaustion, this research provides new evidence
showing that the degree to which guanxi correlates to lower
emotional exhaustion could be influenced by the Chinese super-
visor's position and employee workload in the organization.
Supervisor-subordinate guanxi had a more substantial effect on the
Thai subordinates' emotional exhaustion when their Chinese su-
pervisors had more job autonomy. Thus, Chinese supervisors' job
grant their subordinates benefits. This role of job autonomy is also
Model 2 consistent with prior research showing that supervisors' authority
can promote subordinates' well-being (McGuire et al., 2015; Parker
et al., 2001). These findings also support McGuire et al.’s (2015)
-.221*** research, which found that supervisors with sufficient autonomy
seem to be in better positions to offer more support to their sub-
ordinates. This result supports the COR theory's perspective
-.232***
regarding the resource gain that follows an initial resource in-
.272*** vestment (Hobfoll, 2011). In particular, this evidence implies that
Thai employees who establish guanxi with Chinese supervisors
who have high job autonomy seem more likely to acquire addi-
tional resources via their supervisor's autonomy. Supervisors' job
-.174***
autonomy provides more resources for the subordinates to benefit
.007
-.021 from guanxi, helps subordinates deal better with work stressors,
-.001 and experience lower emotional exhaustion. Conversely, the em-
ployees who work for supervisors without sufficient autonomy
.188 could not gain more resources from their initial resource invest-
.103 ment in guanxi, thereby leaving them to receive the benefits of
guanxi at a lower rate than those working for supervisors' high
autonomy.
Moreover, this research found that supervisor-subordinate
guanxi had a weaker effect on Thai subordinates' emotional
exhaustion when their workload was relatively high. The role of a
high workload in reducing the negative impact of supervisor-
subordinate guanxi on subordinates' emotional exhaustion sup-
ports the foundation of COR theory, which describes the imbalance
between job demands and job resources in affecting emotional
exhaustion (Hobfoll, 2011). In particular, this finding supports the
COR theory assertion that threats to resource loss may be present in
the form of role demands (Hobfoll, 1989). It is also congruent with
the JD-R theory, positing that emotional exhaustion may not be
effectively reduced if job resources outweigh job demands (Bakker
& Demerouti, 2014). In this regard, the high workload that Thai
subordinates generally experience at the organization could add
greater role demands that deplete the resources they obtained by
establishing guanxi with their supervisors. This result implies that
the Thai subordinates’ guanxi with their Chinese supervisors may
not provide them with resources that outweigh the high quanti-
tative demands they undertake at work. Although the benefits that
the Thai subordinates gain from establishing guanxi with their
Chinese supervisors can serve as a resource that alleviates
emotional exhaustion, a high workload could attenuate the benefits
from guanxi that they cannot avoid. This result would explain why
the benefits of guanxi for Thai subordinates with a high level of
workload are lower than for Thai subordinates with a lighter
workload.

7
P. Charoensukmongkol
Fig. 2. Moderating effects.
5.2. Theoretical contributions
This research provides additional insight to broaden the body of
knowledge about the role of supervisor-subordinate guanxi in
helping employees lower their work-related stress. In particular,
there are two main theoretical contributions derived from this
research. First, this research extends prior research on supervisor-
subordinate guanxi that has mainly been conducted among Chi-
nese employees in mainland China. By considering the case of Thai
subordinates working for Chinese supervisors at Chinese sub-
sidiaries in Thailand, this research asserts that establishing guanxi is
also essential for non-Chinese employees wishing to benefit from
their Chinese supervisors in countries outside of China. The concept
of guanxi could also be applied in the area of cross-cultural human
resource management beyond supervisors and subordinates in a
Chinese context.
Second, this research integrated COR theory to advance prior
guanxi research by clarifying two conditional factors that can
significantly moderate guanxi's effect on employees' emotional
exhaustion. By integrating COR theory knowledge, this research
explained the benefits of guanxi and the conditional factors that
influence guanxi's benefits not previously applied in a theoretical
8
Asia Pacific Management Review xxx (xxxx) xxx
context. This approach offers new insight regarding how COR
theory can explain the role of guanxi. The moderating effect of
supervisor job autonomy and workload levels within organizations
adds an extra contribution to existing knowledge by helping
scholars understand more about the conditions that can enhance or
attenuate the benefits that employees cultivate from establishing
guanxi with their supervisor. This research implies that not every
group of employees will benefit from guanxi equally; whether an
employee benefits from guanxi depends on the supervisor's au-
thority and the level of workload. Overall, these results fill the gaps
in prior guanxi research that have been unclear regarding the
conditional factors that limit the benefits of supervisor-subordinate
guanxi.
5.3. Directions for future research
This study's results also suggest additional areas for future
research to explore. First, given the limited number of studies that
examine the moderating factors that influence the benefits of
supervisor-subordinate guanxi, future research should explore
what other conditional factors might limit or enhance employees'
chance to benefit from guanxi. Future research should also compare
P. Charoensukmongkol
the benefits of guanxi by using a sample of people from various
cultures working under Chinese supervisors to examine whether
the degree of cultural difference affects how employees benefit
from guanxi. In addition to guanxi's effect on subordinates'
emotional exhaustion, as confirmed in this research, future
research might examine whether guanxi might also affect super-
visors' well-being.
5.4. Managerial implications
This research offers recommendations for the human resource
departments and management of Chinese MNEs regarding policies
that might promote local employees' well-being at foreign sub-
sidiaries. Given the effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on
alleviating local subordinates' emotional exhaustion, MNEs must
encourage supervisors to develop interpersonal relationships with
local subordinates. For example, the MNEs could arrange recrea-
tional activities that encourage Chinese supervisors and local em-
ployees to socialize on holidays or special occasions to facilitate
interpersonal relationships outside of work. Promoting guanxi be-
tween Chinese supervisors and local subordinates could also help
local subordinates feel more comfortable working with their Chi-
nese supervisors. Additionally, it could help the Chinese supervi-
sors build trust with their local subordinates, contribute to healthy
working relationships between the two parties, and promote the
local subordinates' well-being. More importantly, to enhance the
benefits of establishing guanxi, the MNEs should provide the Chi-
nese supervisors with sufficient authority that would allow them to
support their local subordinates more efficiently. Policies to pro-
mote Chinese supervisors' job autonomy at these subsidiaries are
indispensable in increasing the effectiveness of managing local
subordinates. This effort might enhance Chinese supervisors’ po-
tential to support the local subordinates in coping effectively with
work stressors and preventing the emotional exhaustion that could
follow. Finally, given the moderating role of workload that could
lessen the benefit of supervisor-subordinate guanxi, the MNEs must
manage employee workloads. For example, companies could
develop and implement work-life balance policies, ensuring that
employees have more personal time to socialize and develop
interpersonal relationships with supervisors. Such efforts could
also strengthen the quality of supervisor-subordinate guanxi to
alleviate emotional exhaustion.
5.5. Limitations
This research has some limitations worthy of note. First, the
results are based on a relatively small sample of supervisors and
subordinates at the Chinese subsidiaries located in one city in
Thailand, limiting the findings' generalizability. Second, supervi-
sors' and subordinates' dyadic data were collected from
subordinate-supervisor pairs, limiting the data's scope and
completeness. Third, because the data were obtained from self-
report questionnaire surveys, the responses may contain subjec-
tive bias. Finally, given that data were cross-sectional, the results
are more likely to be interpreted as correlational rather than causal.
Acknowledgements
This research received financial support from the National
Institute of Development Administration.
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