Predicting job satisfaction with cultural self identity and organizational culture among Chinese employees in Hong Kong

Abstract

The present study examines cultural self identity and organizational culture as potential factors affecting job satisfaction. Hong Kong is an ideal place for this study given its confluence of Chinese and Western cultures and business practices. Using a sample of 95 Chinese in Hong Kong, we found that Biculturals (defined as high on both Chinese and Western selves) had significantly higher level of intrinsic and general job satisfaction than non-Biculturals (i.e., those with low Chinese and/or Western self). But, no significant correlation relationship could be observed between job satisfaction and bicultural integration factors (i.e., cultural conflict and distance). Consistent with Holland’s (1996) person-environment congruence model, results indicated that certain combinations of cultural self identity and organizational culture (such as Chinese self and clan oriented organizational culture) resulted in significantly higher job satisfaction level than others as a second group. This is encouraging and more studies are warranted to explore this further for improving the overall productivity of corporations and general job and life satisfaction of employees. Finally, issues related to the use of self-report questionnaire in cross-cultural research are covered and areas of further studies are recommended.