Nanyang Technology University

Academic Profile
Asst Prof Olwen Anna Bedford 

Assistant Professor 
Division of Psychology 
School of Humanities and Social Sciences 
College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences 



Email: OLWENBEDFORD@ntu.edu.sg
Phone: (+65)63168943 
Office: HSS-04-03 
Education
  • MBA Thunderbird, American Grad Sch Intl Mgmt 2000
  • MA, PhD University of Colorado at Boulder 1994
  • BA Rhodes College 1988
Biography
Olwen Bedford joined the NTU HSS Psychology division in the Fall of 2008. She draws on a diverse background of professional and academic experience working with international organizations, NGOs, and governments to conduct I/O psychology research using a Chinese indigenous approach. Her early research used an ethnographic method to map out the roles and functions of emotions that support moral functioning: guilt and shame. Dr. Bedford built on these findings to formulate a cross-cultural framework of guilt and shame in relation to identity and morality in Western and Confucian cultures. Two subsequent interrelated lines of research build on this framework. The first focuses on morality, identity, and interpersonal relations in the workplace with an emphasis on face, guanxi, and conflict resolution. The second examines organizational justice and the relation between an organization’s operating environment and its culture and ethics. She is the co-winner of the 2003-2004 Misumi Award for the most prominent contribution to the development of social psychology in Asia.
Research Interests
Research Interests
+Moral emotions, Chinese face, guanxi, filial obligation
+Conflict resolution
+Organizational culture and ethics


Selected Publications

Bedford, O. (2012). Guanxi-building in the workplace: A dynamic process model of working and backdoor guanxi. Journal of Business Ethics, 104, 149-158.

Chan, K. Y., Ho, M-H. R., Chernyshenko, O., Bedford, O. A., Uy, M. A., Gomulya, D. A., Sam, E. Y., & Phan, J. W. (2012). Entrepreneurship, professionalism, leadership: A framework and measure for understanding boundaryless careers. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81, 73-88.

Bedford, O. & Hwang, S. (2011). Flower drinking and masculinity in Taiwan. Journal of Sex Research, 48, 83-93.

Huang, Y.H. & Bedford, O. (2009). The role of cross-cultural factors in integrative conflict resolution and crisis communication: The Hainan incident as a case. American Behavioral Scientist, 53, 565-78.

Yeh, Y.K., Bedford, O., & Yang, Y. J. (2009). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Coexistence and Domain-Superiority of Individuating and Relating Autonomy. International Journal of Psychology, 44(3), 213-221.

Bedford, O. & Hwang, K. K. (2006). Taiwanese Identity and Democracy: The Social Psychology of Taiwan's 2004 Elections. Palgrave-MacMillan, New York: New York.

Bedford, O. (2004). The individual experience of guilt and shame in Chinese culture. Culture and Psychology, 10(1), 123-146.

Bedford, O. & Hwang, K.K. (2003). Guilt and shame in Chinese culture: A Cross-cultural framework from the perspective of morality and identity. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 33(2), 127-144.

Hwang, Shu-Ling & Bedford, O. (2004). Juveniles' motivations for remaining in prostitution. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28(2), 136-146.

Yeh, Kuang-hui & Bedford, O. (2003). Filial piety: A test of the dual model. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 6(3), 215-228.

Hwang, S. & Bedford, O. (2003). Precursors and pathways to juvenile prostitution in Taiwan. Journal of Sex Research, 40(2), 201-210.
Research Grant
  • CoHASS Incentive Scheme (2011-)
Current Projects
  • Socialising for business in Taiwan: Ying-chou and Guanxi
Selected Publications
  • Bedford, O. (2012, August ). How Women in Taiwan Create Guanxi. Paper presented at American Psychological Association, Orlando, Florida.
  • Bedford, O. (2012, July ). A Dynamic Process Model of Building Guanxi in the Workplace.. Paper presented at International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
  • Kim-Yin Chan, Ringo M. H. Ho, Olexander Chernyshenko, Marilyn A. Uy, and Olwen Bedford. (2012, June ). Understanding entrepreneurial, professional and leadership career aspirations in the 21st century. Paper presented at 2012 Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC), Fort Worth, Texas, USA, June 6-8, 2012.
  • Bedford, O. (2012, March ). Trust-building Strategies in the Workplace in Taiwan.. Paper presented at the Asian Conference on Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences, Osaka, Japan.
  • Bedford, O. (2011, June ). Building relationships for the workplace: Women's strategies for building guanxi in Taiwan. Paper presented at the Canadian Psychological Association's 72nd Annual Convention, Toronto, Canada.
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