Attitudes toward peers, supervisors, and citizens: a comparison of Chinese and Taiwanese police officers

Abstract

PurposeThis paper comparatively assesses the connections between individual demographic traits, occupational characteristics, and organizational factors and officers' attitudes toward important groups in China and Taiwan.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data used in this study were collected from 722 police officers from mainland China and 531 officers from Taiwan. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to assess the correlates of police attitudes toward peers, supervisors, and citizens.FindingsThe Chinese and Taiwanese officers do not differ in their trust in peers, but the Chinese officers hold significantly more positive views on the trustworthiness of supervisors and citizens compared to the Taiwanese officers. Supervisor justice and organizational identification are significant predictors of officers' attitudes toward all three groups in both countries.Research limitations/implicationsA major limitation revolves around the inability to test and explain exactly why findings from the two groups vary in their ways. Future research should include specific social, political, and cultural predictors.Originality/valueThis study represents one of the few studies that compare police attitudes toward important groups of peers, supervisors, and citizens across nations/cultures.