ABSTRACT
This research established a structure for influence tactics used in Chinese organizations. A combined influence tactics inventory which included 25 items originating from the Chinese culture and 33 items originating from the American culture (Kipnis & Schmidt, 1982) was completed by 218 Chinese managers. Subjects were asked to indicate the frequency with which they used each tactic to deal with superiors or subordinates. After refining the inventory, researchers obtained an Influence Tactics Profile (ITP) of 34 items with 23 items from Kipnis and Schmidt and 11 from Chinese informants. The ITP was found to have two factors, labeled Contingent Control (CC) and Gentle Persuasion (GP), with high congruence across influence directions. Cluster analyses yielded 4-6 clusters within each factor, with most applicable across both upward and downward influence attempts. A few clusters were found to be distinctive depending on the influence direction. The rational basis and empirical evidence for the two-dimensional structure were discussed with respect to relevant findings from other research.
