ABSTRACT
China has long been influenced by traditional Confucian values (Pun, Chin & Lau, 2000), emphasizing hierarchy, discipline, reciprocity, face (i.e. the respectability and/or deference which people can claim for themselves from others) (Ho, 1976: 883) and group orientation (Lock-ett, 1988) stressing in-group harmony and well-being (Leung & Kwong, 2003). These characteristics echo Schwartz's (2006) framework in which China is categorized as high in embeddedness (interdependence and shared collectivism), hierarchy (ascribed roles and obligations) and mastery (assertive actions to change the world), as well as Hofstede's (2001) cultural dimensions, with China high in power distance and collectivism.
