Relative Leader–Member Exchange Within Team Contexts: How and when Social Comparison Impacts Individual Effectiveness

A multilevel model was developed to examine how and when a focal individual's leader–member exchange (LMX) relative to the LMXs of coworkers within the team (relative LMX, or RLMX) influences individual in‐role performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and job satisfaction. Results, based on a sample of 275 leader–member dyads within 35 teams of a beverage company, largely supported the hypotheses. Specifically, using multilevel polynomial regression analyses, the results showed that self‐efficacy partially mediated the relationship between RLMX and in‐role performance and job satisfaction, and fully mediated the relationship between RLMX and OCB. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that team identification attenuated RLMX's direct effect on self‐efficacy, and indirect effects on in‐role performance and OCB and team supportive behavior attenuated RLMX's direct effect on self‐efficacy and indirect effect on in‐role performance.     

A Structural Equation Model of the Effects of Negative Affectivity,Leader-Member Exchange,and Perceived Job Mobility on In-role and Extra-role Performance: A Chinese Case

In this paper, we contrast the effects of leader-member exchange (LMX) with the effects of perceived job mobility on in-role performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). We further model negative affectivity as the antecedent of both LMX and perceived job mobility and suggest that LMX and perceived job mobility mediated the relationship between negative affectivity and performance. We obtained matching data from supervisor and subordinates in a major battery manufacturing company in southern China. Subordinates provided the negative affectivity, perceived job mobility, and LMX assessment, and their immediate supervisors provided the in-role performance and OCB assessment. Results from a structural equation analysis show that both LMX and perceived job mobility predicted OCB. Instead of being a direct antecedent of OCB, the relationship between negative affectivity and OCB is found to be mediated by LMX and perceived job mobility. Theoretical implications of the results are discussed.     

Boundaryless LMX: Examining LMX's Impact on External Career Outcomes and Alumni Goodwill

Research has convincingly shown that leader–member exchange (LMX) is associated with a range of beneficial outcomes for employees within organizations. As employees increasingly pursue boundaryless careers that straddle multiple organizations, it is important to ask: Do advantages from LMX extend beyond the current organization and persist even after employees have left it? We propose that employees in higher quality LMX relationships with their managers benefit from stronger professional development, which can pay off in the form of better career outcomes on the external job market. Further, after leaving, whether or not ex‐employees (i.e., alumni) harbor goodwill toward their former organizations is likely to depend on their LMX quality prior to leaving. Alumni goodwill matters because organizations can potentially reap important strategic benefits from their alumni. Using time separated data including alumni interviews conducted by third‐party consultants, we find that, among employees who quit, pre‐turnover LMX is positively related to higher salaries and greater responsibility in their next jobs and is also positively related to alumni goodwill. Moreover, the strength of the LMX–alumni goodwill relationship depends on whether managers made robust retention efforts after employees communicated their decisions to quit.     

Reciprocal Relationships between Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) and Job Satisfaction: A Cross‐Lagged Analysis

While previous research has mainly emphasised the importance of leader–member exchange (LMX) to job satisfaction, there is a lack of research on reciprocal relationships between job satisfaction and LMX. In this study, we not only suggest that good LMX increases job satisfaction, but that job satisfaction can also enhance high‐quality supervisor–employee relationships. A full cross‐lagged panel analysis was used to test reciprocal relationships between LMX and job satisfaction. Employees (N= 279) of a large information technology company filled out questionnaires at two times, with a time lag of 3 months. In line with our predictions, findings revealed a positive relationship between LMX and job satisfaction both at Time 1 and Time 2. Moreover, LMX at Time 1 predicted the increase of job satisfaction at Time 2, and job satisfaction at Time 1 predicted the increase of LMX at Time 2. The results demonstrate the need to consider reciprocal relationships between job satisfaction and LMX when explaining employees' workplace outcomes. Our findings are discussed in terms of positive psychology theory.     

Applicants' and Employees' Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Moderating Effects of First‐Party Justice Perceptions and Moral Identity

This research explored individuals’ reactions to perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) using a multimotive framework. In 2 studies, the authors explored the boundary conditions of CSR effects among job applicants and internal employees. A scenario‐based experiment (N = 81) showed that the effect of CSR perceptions on job applicants’ job pursuit intentions was mitigated by applicants’ first‐party justice experiences, whereas it was amplified by their moral identity (Study 1). Survey data from 245 full‐time employees (Study 2) further supported the interactive effects revealed in Study 1. Specifically, first‐party justice perceptions attenuated the positive relationship between employees’ CSR perceptions and their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB); and the relationship between CSR perceptions and OCB was more pronounced among employees high (versus low) in moral identity. Our findings bridge the CSR and organizational justice literatures, and reveal that the effects of individuals’ CSR perceptions are more complicated than previously thought. The findings shed light on micro (employee)‐level CSR phenomena and offer implications for both research and practice.     

Moderators of the relationships between coworkers' organizational citizenship behavior and fellow employees' attitudes

The authors developed and tested the prediction that the relationship hetween coworkers' organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and fellow employees' attitudes depends on the supervisors' abusiveness. Results of a longitudinal study using data collected from 173 supervised employees at 2 points in time (separated by 7 months) suggested that coworkers' OCB was positively related to fellow employees' job satisfaction and affective commitment when abusive supervision was low. However, when abusive supervision was high, coworkers' OCB was negatively related to job satisfaction and was unrelated to organizational commitment. The results of a 2nd study were consistent with the idea that the attributions employees make for their coworkers' OCB explains the moderating effect of abusive supervision on the relationship between coworkers' OCB and job satisfaction.     

An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes

A field investigation of 337 employees and their immediate superiors tested the mediating role of empowerment in relations between job characteristics, leader-member exchange (LMX), team-member exchange (TMX), and work outcomes. The meaning and competence dimensions of empowerment mediated the relation between job characteristics and work satisfaction. The meaning dimension also mediated the relation between job characteristics and organizational commitment. Contrary to prediction, empowerment did not mediate relations between LMX, TMX, and the outcome variables. Rather, LMX and TMX were directly related to organizational commitment. In addition, TMX was directly related to job performance. These findings suggest that work satisfaction is explained largely by job characteristics (through empowerment) but that LMX and TMX combine with job characteristics and empowerment to explain variation in organizational commitment and job performance.     

The interaction between leader–member exchange and perceived job security in predicting employee altruism and work performance

This study investigated the relationships among leader–member exchange (LMX), perceived job security, and employee performance. Drawing on the job demands–resources model and conservation of resources theory, we expected both LMX and perceived job security would affect employee altruism and work performance in a positive manner. In addition, LMX and perceived job security were expected to interact to predict the two outcome variables. The hypotheses were tested with a sample of 184 employees in a state‐owned enterprise in China. Our results showed that LMX, but not perceived job security, was positively related to employee altruism and work performance. Additionally, the effect of LMX on altruism was stronger for employees perceiving less job security. The findings indicated that LMX as a job resource becomes more impactful to altruistic performance when employees feel less secure at work.     

From ideal to real: a longitudinal study of the role of implicit leadership theories on leader-member exchanges and employee outcomes

The results of the present longitudinal study demonstrate the importance of implicit leadership theories (ILTs) for the quality of leader-member exchanges (LMX) and employees' organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and well-being. Results based on a sample of 439 employees who completed the study questionnaires at 2 time points showed that the closer employees perceived their actual manager's profile to be to the ILTs they endorsed, the better the quality of LMX. Results also indicated that the implicit-explicit leadership traits difference had indirect effects on employee attitudes and well-being. These findings were consistent across employee groups that differed in terms of job demand and the duration of manager-employee relation, but not in terms of motivation. Furthermore, crossed-lagged modeling analyses of the longitudinal data explored the possibility of reciprocal effects between implicit-explicit leadership traits difference and LMX and provided support for the initially hypothesized direction of causal effects.     

Characteristics of Successful Direct Support Professionals: An examination of personality and cognitive ability requirements

Service jobs in the health care industry continue to face difficulties in recruiting, selecting, and retaining quality employees. We conducted two studies to examine potential cognitive and personality predictors of job performance, satisfaction, and turnover among direct support professionals (i.e., individuals providing long‐term residential care and support to persons with disabilities). Data from a concurrent validation study was used to create a unit‐weighted combination of agreeableness, conscientiousness, optimism, and numerical ability. This composite predictor was significantly correlated with job performance and job satisfaction. The composite was further supported in a follow‐up predictive validation study of turnover.     

When and How Does LMX Differentiation Influence Followers’ Work Outcomes? The Interactive Roles of One's own LMX Status and Organizational Context

The fundamental premise of the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory is that leaders’ relationships with their followers vary in quality. Although LMX differentiation (i.e., within‐group variation in the quality of LMX) is generally considered a sound leadership practice, its effects on group members’ work outcomes remain poorly understood. Drawing on LMX and upper echelons theories, this study suggests that employees’ reactions to LMX differentiation depend on the personal LMX status of employees and the characteristics of the organizational context. Analyses of multilevel data collected from 502 employees organized into 135 work groups in 34 firms show that the impact of LMX differentiation on work outcomes is more positive (or less negative) for employees with lower rather than higher LMX. The findings highlight the importance of organizational boundary conditions for these interactions: The negative moderation by one's own LMX status is stronger when top managers decentralize responsibilities to lower hierarchical levels and weaker when top managers impose a shared vision to guide the organization.     

THE ROLE OF JOB EMBEDDEDNESS ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS WITH LEADER–MEMBER EXCHANGE AND ORGANIZATION‐BASED SELF‐ESTEEM

Although job embeddedness was originally conceptualized to explain job stability or “why people stay” in their organizations, this investigation examines the role of job embeddedness as a hypothesized moderator of relationships among leader–member exchange (LMX), organization‐based self‐esteem (OBSE), organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and task performance. Findings from 2 studies involving 367 employees and 41 supervisors, 1 in a telecommunications company and another in a manufacturing setting, support hypotheses concerning job embeddedness as a moderator of the relationship between (a) LMX and task performance within a telecommunication sample and LMX and OCBs in a sample of manufacturing employees, and (b) OBSE and OCBs in a manufacturing sample. Further, a hypothesized 3‐way interaction involving job embeddedness, LMX, and OBSE on task performance was found in a sample of manufacturing employees. The implications of these findings for studying and managing job embeddedness in relation to employee performance are discussed.     

An Integrative Model Linking Supervisor Support and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

This study extends previous research by proposing an integrative model that examines the mediating processes underlying the relationship between leader support and employee OCB. Data were collected from 323 employees and their immediate supervisors in seven Taiwanese companies. Results showed that supervisor support influenced the employees’ OCB indirectly through two cognitive processes (job satisfaction and person–organization fit) and one affective process(job tension).     

Trans employees,transitioning, and job satisfaction

While trans employees have become more widely recognized in society, our understanding of their work experiences remains underdeveloped. In the current study, we investigate whether transitioning is associated with job satisfaction in England, Wales and Scotland. Using longitudinal data collected before and after sex reassignment surgery associations between job satisfaction and mental health/life satisfaction are examined for trans men and women. The estimations suggest that employees experience higher job satisfaction, mental health and life satisfaction after sex reassignment surgery than before. In addition, the estimations suggest that after sex reassignment surgery, the associations between job satisfaction and mental health/life satisfaction are stronger than before. Moreover, the estimations suggest that employees not only experience higher job satisfaction after sex reassignment surgery, but also during transitioning. The results suggest that, firms should not treat transitioning employees in a biased way, since their transition might entail positive personal and workplace advancements.     

Expectancy-Based Job Cognitions and Job Affect as Predictors of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors1

This study investigated the importance of expectancy-based job cognitions and job affect (the affective component of job satisfaction) in helping to account for “organizational citizenship behaviors” (OCBs; Organ, 1988). Data pertaining to the expectancy-based job cognitions (i.e., expectancies, instrumentalities, valences), job affect, and OCB performance of 65 state finance agency employees were examined. We anticipated that the effect of expectancy-based job cognitions on OCB would be partially mediated by affect-based job satisfaction. This expectation was confirmed in that, after controlling for negative and positive affectivity, generalized instrumentality beliefs were found to affect OCB-altruism directly, as well as indirectly through the influence of affect-based job satisfaction.     

Leader-Member Exchange and Employee Creativity: Test of a Multilevel Moderated Mediation Model

Using multisource data, this article examined the relationship of two types of employee perceptions of overall fairness (i.e., fairness of the organization and fairness of the department), with supervisor ratings of in-role task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). We also examined whether high-quality leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships compensate for negative effects of fairness on job performance and citizenship behaviors. Focusing on a sample of 154 health care workers, we found that only employee perceptions of overall fairness regarding the department were related to supervisory ratings of OCB and in-role task performance. Moreover, LMX moderated the relationships between fairness perceptions and (a) task performance, (b) organization-focused OCB, but not (c) individual-focused OCB. We discuss implications for research and the potential for reducing negative effects of low fairness perceptions on job performance through positive LMX.     

Nourishing or suppressing? The contradictory influences of perception of organizational politics on organizational citizenship behaviour

Drawing on both social exchange theory and impression management theory, this study sought to explain how perception of organizational politics (POP) influences organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) through two contrary psychological processes. We proposed that through the mediation of job satisfaction, POP has an inhibiting effect on OCB; through the mediation of careerism, POP has a nourishing effect on OCB. Data were obtained from 393 police officers and their colleagues from a city police department in northern Taiwan. Results from structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that the relationship between POP and OCB was negatively mediated by job satisfaction and positively mediated by careerism. Such antithetical psychological processes imply that employees may experience psychological dilemmas over the performance of OCB when they perceive their organization as political. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.     

Transformational Leadership and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour: A Moderated Mediation Model of Leader‐Member‐Exchange and Subordinates' Gender

Transformational leadership (TL) enhances follower Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) as mediated by leader‐member exchange (LMX). However, the strength of the positive associations among TL, LMX and OCB is subject to significant variability. Accordingly, we draw on several theories (self‐identity, role congruency, self‐concept, and social exchange) to propose that followers' gender moderates the relationships between all three of these variables. We argue differences in societal expectations and/or underlying motivation combine to make leadership of lesser importance to OCB among females than males. Using 202 supervisor‐subordinate dyads from Taiwan, a moderated mediation model of TL‐LMX‐OCB, with subordinate gender as a moderator, was tested. As hypothesised, each of the positive associations among TL, LMX and OCB were weaker for females than for males, thus accounting for some of the variability in the strength of the associations typically observed. Relatedly, although LMX fully mediated the TL‐OCB relationship in the entire sample, this effect was not observed among female subordinates. Further research is required to assess the degree to which these findings apply beyond the Confucian Asian societal cluster.     

Self-determination at work: Understanding the role of leader-member exchange

Integrating self-determination theory (SDT) and leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, we explore the role of the leader in facilitating employee self-determination. We test a model of the linkages between employees’ leader-member exchanges, psychological need satisfaction (i.e., satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs), autonomous motivation, and attitudinal outcomes. We posit that high-quality leader-member exchanges facilitate satisfaction of employees’ fundamental psychological needs, which, in turn, enhance autonomous motivation and outcomes. Results for 283 working professionals supported this notion. Structural equation modeling indicated that the employee’s perception of the quality of the LMX was positively related to satisfaction of the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Satisfaction of competence and autonomy needs was positively related to autonomous motivation, which, in turn, was associated with higher levels of job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and subjective vitality. Our findings accentuate the role of leader-employee relationships in creating self-determination at work, and reinforce the importance of self-determination for employee attitudes and well-being. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Antecedents and consequences of work-family enrichment among Indian managers

The present study identifies core self-evaluations, family support, supervisor support and job characteristics as the antecedents of work-to-family enrichment and family satisfaction, job satisfaction, affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as its outcomes. The participants (n= 245) were employees from four organizations in India from manufacturing and information technology sectors. The results show that job characteristics and supervisor support were the predictors of work-to-family enrichment and core self-evaluations, family support and supervisor support emerged as the predictors of family-to-work enrichment. On outcomes, work-to-family enrichment are the predicator of job satisfaction, affective commitment and OCB and family-to-work enrichment as the predictor of family satisfaction, job satisfaction, affective commitment and OCB. The implications of the findings are discussed.