A Social Comparison Perspective on Idiosyncratic Deals and Coworkers’ Acceptance

Abstract

Idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) refer to customized work arrangements and employment conditions employees negotiate with employers. Significant scholarly attention has been paid to understand the responses of i-deals’ recipients. However, little attention has been paid to coworkers’ reactions to i-deals. This study examines how coworkers react to focal employees’ i-deals. We tested our hypotheses with a sample of 255 employee-coworker pairs and found that coworkers are more likely to accept focal employees’ flexibility i-deals than development i-deals. Specifically, we found that coworkers’ felt status threat mediates the relationship between development i-deals and their acceptance of i-deals. Coworkers’ perception of obtaining future i-deals mediates the relationship between flexibility i-deals and coworkers’ acceptance. Furthermore, the empirical results show that coworkers’ leader-member exchange (coworkers’ LMX) can weaken the effect of development i-deals on coworkers’ felt status threat, but strengthen the effect of flexibility i-deals on coworkers’ perception of obtaining future i-deals. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.