Cultural influences on relationship cultivation: A cross-cultural study in Hong Kong and Singapore

1. Cultural influences on relationship cultivation: A cross-cultural study in Hong Kong and Singapore K. Sriramesh, Massey University, New Zealand Flora Hung, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

2. Purpose of Study • To examine the influence of Chinese cultural value orientations on the perceived relationship cultivation strategies used by Police Forces in Hong Kong and Singapore toward their publics

3. J. Grunig & Huang (2000), Hon & J. Grunig (1999), Hung (2002, 2006), Hung & Chen (2007), Rhee (2004) & H. Kim & Rhee (2006) Openness or disclosure Positivity Access Assurance of legitimacy Networking Sharing of task Cooperating Being unconditionally constructive Saying win-win or no deal Keeping promises Being attentive Education Personal relationships Organizational credibility Adherence to cultural & relational rules Visible leadership Listening Responsiveness Continued dialogue Respect Face to face communication Relationship cultivation strategies

4. Cultural influences on organization-public relationships • Huang (2000, 2001a, 2001b) on guanxi, face, and favour. • Hung (2004): • Yang (1992) • Role Formalization: Five cardinal relationships (Wu Lun, 五倫) are emphasized • Relational Interdependence • Relational Harmony • Relational Fatalism • Relational Determination

5. Conceptualization • Chinese cultural values (Bond, 1987): values constituting the Chinese culture

6. Previous Research Findings Regression models were established by stepwise method, which probabilities of F to enter and remove are .05 and .01 respectively.

7. Cultural influences on organization-public relationships • Hung & Chen (2008): • 8-factor model • Self discipline • Temperament • Hierarchical responsibility • Moral virtue • Social stability • Professional ethics • Relational reciprocation • Affective neutrality

8. Research Questions: • How do publics in Singapore and Hong Kong perceive the cultivation strategies from Police Forces in these 2 regions? • What are the relationship qualities between the Police Forces and their publics in these 2 regions? • How do relationship cultivation affect the relationship outcomes? • How do cultural values affect the perception of relationship cultivation?

9. Quantitative surveys A sample of publics in Hong Kong (n= 133) and Singapore (n= 191) Gender: Singapore: Male (80; 42.1%); Female (110; 57.9%) Hong Kong: Male (55; 43.3%); Female (71; 55.9%) Methods

10. Age (Singapore):

11. Age (Hong Kong):

12. Contacts with Police Force (Singapore)

13. Contacts with Police Force (Hong Kong)

14. Being Unconditionally Constructive: .738 Openness: .674 Networking: .666 Assurance: .732 Positivity: .666 Trust: .866 Commitment: .770 Satisfaction: .879 Communal Relationships: .707 Exchange Relationships: .872 Control Mutuality: .711 Measurement: Cultivation Strategies

15. Cultural Value Scale • 30 values • Rank the importance of each item using a 7 Likert-type scale

17. Findings: Perception of cultivation strategies Singapore: Hong Kong:

18. Relationship Quality Singapore: Hong Kong:

19. Results: Correlation between the cultivation strategies and relationship outcomes (Hong Kong) ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level

20. Results: Correlation between the cultivation strategies and relationship outcomes (Singapore) ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level

21. Cultural values on cultivation strategies (Hong Kong)

23. Cultural values on cultivation strategies (Singapore)

25. Conclusion: • All strategies in Singapore and Hong Kong were perceived to be used and participants did not have a strong perception of any particular strategy • Exchange relationships are more emphasized in Hong Kong; whereas most of the cultivation strategies show negative significance on exchange relationships in Singapore. • Similar to Hung and Chen (2008; in press), loyal to superiority has the effect on the perception of assurance of legitimacy in Hong Kong and Singapore, due to the social expectation of obedience to authority

26. Comparing Singapore and HK Findings • Being unconditionally constructive: Loyal to superiority and reciprocating good wills • Openness: Loyal to superiority and patriotism • Assurance: Loyal to superiority

27. CV & Cultivation Strategies • Overall, culture does not have a large effect on cultivation strategy perception. • Patriotism in Hierarchical responsibility is a predictor of most cultivation strategies from the Singapore data, which is consistent with the previous research. • Previous data showed the benevolent authority was an important predictor for access and positivity. This did not show in this study.

28. Implications • Contributing to the cultivation stage of relationship management. • Operationalizing the Chinese culture by its value orientations (substance) rather than Hofstede’s dimensions. • Not all cultural values affect public relations practices • Cultural value orientations serve as a useful tool for training multinational PR professionals with their strategic Chinese publics.