Abstract: Guanxi-based resource allocation is a decision-making scenario often faced by Chinese organizational leaders. Existing studies mainly focus on the potential effect of leaders' guanxi-based resource allocation on subordinates, but pay little attention to the negative impact of guanxi-based resource allocation on leaders. Based on moral virtue theory, this study examines the relationship between guanxi-based resource allocation and leader status through a 2×2 between-subjects factorial design and explores a mediated moderating mechanism in this relationship. Results indicate that guanxi-based resource allocation has a significant negative impact on leader status and the guanxi beneficiary's performance moderates this relationship. The higher the performance of the guanxi beneficiary, the weaker the negative impact of the guanxi-based resource allocation on leader status. Further analysis of mediated moderation effects shows that the interaction effect of the guanxi beneficiary's performance and the guanxi-based resource allocation on leader status is fully mediated by justice perception. Our findings can provide some implications for the resource allocation decision of Chinese managers.

Key words: guanxi, guanxi-based resource allocation, leader status, perceived justice, performance