Fear and Compliance: A Study of Antecedents, Mediators and Benefits of Paternalistic Leadership in China

Paternalistic leadership has been suggested as one prevalent leadership style in China. However, empirical research is limited in investigating the predictive factors as well as its correlations with organisational outcome measures. Drawing upon a total sample of 850 leader-subordinate dyads from mainland China, this research attempts to depict a comprehensive picture of paternalistic leadership, by examining its antecedents, outcomes, mediators, and moderators. Included are three independent empirical studies. Study 1 investigates the antecedents of paternalistic leadership. By examining a cross-lagged model, it is found that followers’ trust-in-supervisor can impact their ratings of leader paternalistic leadership across time, and such impact is further moderated by individual external locus of control by powerful others. In Study 2, by testing a three-way interaction model, it is found that authoritarian leadership has a positive impact on employees’ culture-specific organisational citizenship behaviour; and benevolent leadership and employee resource dependence jointly play critical roles for authoritarian leadership in generating such positive impact. Finally, in Study 3, by investigating a moderated mediation model, authoritarian leadership has been found to negatively impact on followers’ job performance via followers’ fear of their supervisors. This mediation effect is also moderated by follower gender, which demonstrates that the mediation effect only takes place in female followers, but not in male followers. Theoretical and practical limitations and directions for follow-up research are discussed. Overall, the assessment of both antecedents and outcomes of paternalistic leadership in this thesis is essential for the emerging research on paternalistic leadership. Keywords: paternalistic leadership, trust-in-supervisor, fear, resource dependence, job performance, organisational citizenship behaviour

Newcomers’ relationship-building behavior, mentor information sharing and newcomer adjustment: The moderating effects of perceived mentor and newcomer deep similarity

Drawing on similarity-attraction theory, we propose that relationship-building behaviors from newcomers are more positively related to information-sharing behaviors from mentors when they perceive a deep similarity with the newcomers, and that mentors' information sharing is likely to be well received by newcomers when they perceive a deep similarity with their mentors. We also hypothesize that newcomers' perceived mentor information sharing is positively associated with newcomer adjustment (i.e., role clarity and job performance). A time-lagged study with a total of 99 newcomers and their mentors was conducted within three months of newcomers entering the company. The results support our hypotheses, suggesting that perceived deep similarity is a key factor that associates with the effectiveness of newcomers' proactivity and mentors' information sharing behavior in newcomer adjustment

Proteomics and SSH Analyses of ALA-Promoted Fruit Coloration and Evidence for the Involvement of a MADS-Box Gene, MdMADS1

Skin color is a key quality attribute of fruits and how to improve fruit coloration has long been a major concern. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a natural plant growth regulator, can significantly increase anthocyanin accumulation in fruit skin and therefore effectively improve coloration of many fruits, including apple. However, the molecular mechanism how ALA stimulates anthocyanin accumulation in fruit skin remains unknown. Here, we investigated the impact of ALA on apple skin at the protein and mRNA levels. A total of 85 differentially expressed proteins in apple skins between ALA and water treatment (control) were identified by complementary gel-based and gel-freeseparation techniques. Most of these differentially expressed proteins were up-regulated by ALA. Function analysis suggested that 87.06% of the ALA-responsive proteins were associated with fruit ripening. To further screen ALA-responsive regulators, we constructed a subtracted cDNA library (tester: ALA treatment; driver: control) and obtained 104 differentially expressed unigenes, of which 38 unigenes were indicators for the fruit ripening-related gene. The differentially changed proteins and transcripts did not correspond well at an individual level, but showed similar regulated direction in function at the pathway level. Among the identified fruit ripening-related genes, the expression of MdMADS1, a developmental transcription regulator of fruit ripening, was positively correlated with expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes (MdCHS, MdDFR, MdLDOX and MdUFGT) in apple skin under ALA treatment. Moreover, overexpression of MdMADS1 enhanced anthocyanin content in transformed apple calli, which was further enhanced by ALA. The anthocyanin content in MdMADS1-silenced calli was less than that in the control with ALA treatment, but higher than that without ALA treatment. These results indicated that MdMADS1 is involved in ALA-induced anthocyanin accumulation. In addition, anthocyanin-related verification in apple calli suggested that the regulation of MdMADS1 on anthocyanin biosynthesis was partially independent of fruit ripening process. Taken together, our findings provide insight into the mechanism how ALA regulates anthocyanin accumulation and add new information on transcriptase regulators of fruit coloration

Dynamic strategic marketing planning: the paradox of concurrently reconfiguring and implementing strategic marketing planning

Traditional marketing planning may not be as effective in today’s challenging environments for achieving the dual imperative of meeting objectives and continuously improving market fit. Therefore, we introduce the concept of dynamic strategic marketing planning (DSMP) as a higher-order capability that requires the concurrent orchestration of marketing planning, senior management-led strategic implementation, and change as operationalized through the reconfiguration of processes and resources. With responses from 313 CEOs, we demonstrate that DSMP does overcome the innovativeness rigidities found in ordinary marketing planning capabilities. While DSMP is associated with higher levels of innovativeness, it also achieves higher levels of financial performance over ordinary marketing planning capabilities. Our findings seek to transform marketing planning practice by requiring that its implementation receives the attention of senior managers and combines reconfiguration processes that promote the renewal of plans and capabilities

Effects of Different Heat Treatment Temperatures on Eating Quality of Sweet-Scented Osmanthus Flowers

The chemical components of edible sweet-scented osmanthus flowers (Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Lour.) vary at different heat treatment temperatures, so it is extremely necessary to explore the effect of different heating temperatures on the eating quality of sweet-scented osmanthus. In this work, changes in the bioactive ingredients, antioxidant property, color and flavor substances of unheated (control) and heated (at 80, 100 or 120 °C for 20 min) flowers of Osmanthus fragrans ‘Boyejingui’, ‘Echengdangui’ and ‘Wanyingui’ were determined. The results showed that with an increase in heating temperature, the content of bioactive ingredients decreased significantly (P < 0.05), and the loss rates of flavonoids, polyphenols and anthocyanins were up to 37.44%, 28.74% and 49.10%, respectively. The antioxidant capacity decreased initially and then increased, and the radical scavenging capacity of the sample heated at 120 ℃ increased by 6.52% compared with that of the sample heated at 100 ℃. The color difference significantly increased (P < 0.05), the bitterness increased, and the astringency decreased first and then increased. Compared with the control group, furans, nitrogen-containing heterocycles and phenols were exclusively found in the sample heated at 120 ℃ at a level of 6.21%. The number of species of characteristic aroma components progressively decreased but a caramel-like aroma was formed. Therefore, medium and low temperature processing is suitable for the production of sweet-scented osmanthus products with health benefits, and high-temperature processing is suitable for the production of sweet-scented osmanthus-based snacks. ‘Boyejingui’ is suitable for low temperature processing, ‘Echengdangui’ is suitable for high temperature processing, and the quality of ‘Wanyingui’ is poor after heat treatment. Processing temperature and varieties should be reasonably selected according to practical demands. This study can provide a theoretical basis for the development of thermally processed products of sweet-scented osmanthus

Orexin A Affects INS-1 Rat Insulinoma Cell Proliferation via Orexin Receptor 1 and the AKT Signaling Pathway

Our aim is to investigate the role of the AKT/PKB (protein kinase B) signaling pathway acting via orexin receptor 1 (OX1R) and the effects of orexin A (OXA) on cell proliferation in the insulin-secreting beta-cell line (INS-1 cells). Rat INS-1 cells were exposed to different concentrations of OXA in vitro and treated with OX1R antagonist (SB334867), PI3K antagonist (wortmannin), AKT antagonist (PF-04691502), or negative control. INS-1 amount of cell proliferation, viability and apoptosis, insulin secretion, OX1R protein expression, caspase-3 activity, and AKT protein levels were determined. We report that OXA (10-10 to 10-6 M) stimulates INS-1 cell proliferation and viability, reduces the proapoptotic activity of caspase-3 to protect against apoptotic cell death, and increases insulin secretion. Additionally, AKT phosphorylation was stimulated by OXA (10-10 to 10-6 M). However, the OX1R antagonist SB334867 (10-6 M), the PI3K antagonist wortmannin (10-8 M), the AKT antagonist PF-04691502 (10-6 M), or the combination of both abolished the effects of OXA to a certain extent. These results suggest that the upregulation of OXA-OX1R mediated by AKT activation may inhibit cell apoptosis and promote cell proliferation in INS-1 cells. This finding provides functional evidence of the biological actions of OXA in rat insulinoma cells