Fostering Change-Oriented Behaviors: A Broaden-and-Build Model

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a broaden-and-build model relating LMX to employees’ change-oriented behaviors (creative performance and taking charge) through the mediators of positive affect and psychological capital.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Time-lagged, two-source data were collected from 248 participants and 40 direct leaders, which composed a heterogeneous sample of professional jobs from a three-wave data collection strategy. Mplus was employed to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

We found that LMX predicts employees’ change-oriented behaviors through two sequential paths: (a) the positive affect mediates the relationship between LMX and employee psychological capital, and (b) psychological capital mediates the relationship between positive affect and employees’ creative performance and taking charge. Our results provide a logical explanation of the ‘broadening’ and ‘building’ mechanisms through which LMX enhances employees’ change-oriented behaviors.

Implications

This study specifically suggests affective and psychological mechanisms by promoting the broadening and building phases that facilitate the transformation of individual perceptions of LMX, positive affect, and psychological capital in explaining employees’ creative performance and taking charge.

Originality/Value

This study develops a broaden-and-build model of change-oriented behaviors and contributes to research on proactive behaviors in the context of leader-member relationships.