Confucian leadership and millennial employee loyalty: The mediating role of supervisor–subordinate guanxi

Extensive research has been conducted to scrutinize employee loyalty, but scant attention has been directed toward understanding this phenomenon within the context of the millennial workforce in China. To address this research gap, in this study we investigated the association between Confucian leadership and employee loyalty among millennials in China, incorporating the mediating role of supervisor–subordinate guanxi in this relationship. Participants were 250 employees of 15 firms, who completed a self-administered survey. We found a positive relationship between Confucian leadership and millennial employee loyalty. Moreover, supervisor–subordinate guanxi was a significant and partial mediator of this relationship. These findings suggest that it is important to adopt Confucian leadership as well as building quality supervisor–subordinate guanxi when enhancing millennial employee loyalty.