Risk or Return? The Effect of Face Consciousness Influences on the Career Construction of Chinese Rural Dwellers in Urban Areas

Mingfeng Tang; Fenglian Li; Paul Miesing; Mei Mei; Peng Xu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.870655

Risk or Return? The Effect of Face Consciousness Influences on the Career Construction of Chinese Rural Dwellers in Urban Areas

Front Psychol. 2022 May 11:13:870655. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.870655. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Mingfeng Tang¹, Fenglian Li¹, Paul Miesing², Mei Mei³, Peng Xu¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Business Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China.
² Management Department, School of Business, University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, NY, United States.
³ School of Management, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing, China.

Abstract

This research improves our understanding of entrepreneurial intention in the Chinese cultural context. Drawing on career construction theory, we received 408 valid surveys from rural Chinese dwellers and examined the relationships rural Chinese have among "face consciousness," indecisiveness, career adaptability, and entrepreneurial intention. We found that those who are fearful of losing face are less likely to have entrepreneurial intentions, but one's desire to gain face has no significant direct impact on entrepreneurial intention. In addition, face consciousness and an indecisive personality interact to influence career adaptability and, in turn, entrepreneurial intention. In sum, this study supports the career construction perspective on understanding the formation of entrepreneurial intention and offers theoretical, practical, and policy implications for entrepreneurial career counseling and training.

Keywords: Chinese rural dwelllers; career adaptability; career construction; entrepreneurial intention; face consciousness; indecisiveness.