Guanxi HRM and employee well-being in China

Drawing on basic psychological needs theory, this paper aims to delineate how an indigenous Chinese concept guanxi HRM would undermine employee well-being in China.

The authors tested this moderated mediation model based on a survey of 321 Chinese employees.

The results are consistent with the hypotheses except for the moderating effect when employee well-being is operationalised as emotional exhaustion.

This study contributes to the literature by investigating the dark side of guanxi via basic psychological needs theory and acknowledging the multidimensionality of employee well-being in the Chinese workplace.