Applications of Signaling Theory in Sociological Scholarship

To explore the relationships between climate for well-being, economic and social exchange, affective ward commitment and job strain among nurses in the Netherlands. This study focuses on the immediate work environment of nurses by exploring the way nurse perceptions about the extent to which the ward values and cares for their welfare influence their levels of affective ward commitment and job strain. Second, this study extends previous research on exchange relationships by examining the potential differential impact of social and economic exchange relationships on commitment and job strain. A cross-sectional survey among nurses. The study was conducted in the Netherlands in 2011. Validated measures of climate for well-being, social exchange, economic exchange, ward commitment and job strain were used. Hypotheses were tested using regression analyses. MacKinnon etal.'s (2007) guidelines to assess mediation were used. The response rate was 41% (271 questionnaires). The results show that climate for well-being positively influences social exchange relationships, which are in turn associated with enhanced ward commitment and reduced strain. Climate for well-being negatively influences evaluations of economic exchange, which are in turn negatively related to ward commitment. This study shows that nurses use the information available in their immediate work environment to evaluate their exchange relationship with the organization. Second, the findings point towards the importance of economic and social exchange relationships as a mechanism between climate for well-being on the one hand and affective ward commitment and job strain on the other hand.

In this study, we tested hypotheses derived from social exchange theory by investigating the relationships between employees’ base and variable pay and their social and economic exchange relationships with their employer. In a cross-lagged study of approximately 30 months duration including 488 respondents, the amount of accumulated base pay was positively related to a social exchange relationship, whereas the accumulated amount of variable pay was positively related to an economic exchange relationship. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and propose future research on the relationship between pay and social and economic exchange relationships.

Organizations form different degrees of social and economic exchange relationships with their employees. In this study, we unpack employee responses to organizational-level mechanisms of executive leadership style, organizational culture, and employment approaches by examining the mediating role of employees' perceptions of social and economic exchange relationships. The results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses show that social exchanges partially mediate the influence of the CEO's transformational leadership, an integrative organizational culture, and the mutual investment employment approach on affective commitment and task performance but not on organizational citizenship behavior. Economic exchanges partially mediate the influence of a hierarchical culture on all three employee outcomes and mediate the influence of the quasi-spot contract employment approach on commitment and organizational citizenship behavior but not on task performance. These results suggest the need for further understanding of the role of social and economic exchanges in organizational research.

Previous studies explain situational antecedents of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) using social exchange theory. However, the effects of factors such as perceptions of job characteristics on OCB seem to require a different explanatory mechanism. This article proposes that these effects can be explained through a new exchange relationship called work exchange. A theory for the situational antecedents of OCB that includes economic, work, and social exchange relationships is developed. The theory is tested using structural equations.

Previous studies explain situational antecedents of OCB using social exchange theory. However, the effects of factors such as perceptions of job characteristics on OCB seem to require a different explanatory mechanism. We propose that these effects can be explained through a new exchange relationship that we call work exchange. We develop a theory for the situational antecedents of OCB that includes economic, work, and social exchange relationships. The theory is tested using structural equations.

During the pandemic, government policies such as social distancing and telework have impacted trust and working or social exchange relationships in the workplace. The behavior of leaders is critical for good leadership, employees’ trust, and social exchange relationships. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the associations among authentic leadership, trust, and social exchange relationships under the influence of leader behavior. A regression-based approach was used to test the moderating and mediating effects. The results show that authentic leadership positively impacts trust and social exchange relationships, whereas trust directly affects social exchange relationships. During COVID-19, leader behaviors with ability, ethics, and positive relationships have had a positive impact on the association between authentic leadership, trust, and social exchange relationships. Additionally, trust positively mediates authentic leadership and social exchange relationships. The findings of this paper suggest that authentic leadership promotes trust and high-quality social exchange relationships. Moreover, based on leader behaviors during COVID-19, the ability to manage change effectively, boost employees’ work motivation, provide support, and take appropriate action is essential for authentic leadership to increase trust and foster a positive working relationship based on social exchange. Finally, regarding social exchange theory, high-quality leader behaviors and the leader–follower relationships drive positive associations among variables. These results will help organizational management teams to find methods to improve their organizational working relationships. The implication is that the abilities, ethics, and supportive and positive relationship behaviors of leaders are essential for effective management to improve leadership, trust, and social exchange relationships. Leaders should have the ability to manage work and people, even with teleworkers. Therefore, leader behaviors are important to maintain organizational sustainability. Further discussion on theoretical and practical implications is provided in the section.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of social and economic exchange relationships on organizational commitment in line with the mediation effect of organizational trust.Design/methodology/approachIn order to test the hypotheses of the study, a survey was conducted on a sample of 213 employees who were working at manufacturing companies in Turkey.FindingsThe findings of the study reveal that both dimensions of the exchange relationship positively affect organizational commitment and these links are mediated by organizational trust.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides reliable scales to measure the social and economic exchange relationship between employees and employing organizations. Although the sample of the study was relatively small and drawn from a single country, the Cronbach’sαvalues of scales were obtained above the recommended threshold value.Practical implicationsOrganizational leaders might adopt an exchange perspective to build a trustworthy relationship with their employees. Developing such a mindset is very important at an employment structure, which has become highly flexible and contingent during the last decades.Originality/valueThe study attempts to distinguish the twofold nature of the exchange relationship in organizations based on a theoretical model to reveal the impact of each dimension on organizational level outcomes in conjunction with the mediating role of trust. In doing so, the study contributes to the literature by incorporating social and economic exchange in a holistic view as well as defining each dimension in a broader sense by including some employee-related challenges of business organizations such as diversity, social responsibility, leadership, ethical culture and so on.

The relationship between employees and their organizations has often been described as an exchange relationship. Based on the individual perception and “S-O-R” mode, this paper constructed a model that manifests the relationship between social exchange relationship, economic exchange relationship, and in-role behaviors, and then tested the mediating effects of job satisfaction. From the empirical results, the mediating effect of job satisfaction was very robust.

Social Exchange Theory (SET) is one of the fundamental theories that has presented theoretical viewpoint in the several disciplines such as anthropology, social psychology, and sociology. It is known that the theory roots which early conceptualized by Thibault & Kelley (1959), Homans (1961), Blau (1964) and Emerson (1962, 1972) base on back to the 1920s (Malinowski, 1922). The main idea of exchange theory is to a series of interactions that generate obligations (Emerson, 1976). At this point, the findings from social exchange studies have many contributions and benefits in order to understand workplace behaviors (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). SET has been one of the main theories that provide a wide comprehension upon exchange dynamics both at an interpersonal and organizational level. Divided into two categories, namely social (SE) and economic (EE), exchange relationships have seen to be related to many organizational outcomes, including organizational commitment (OC), which can be defined as employees’ attitude towards their organization. The present study purposes to determine the correlation between SET and sub-dimensions of OC (affective commitment and continuance commitment). Data of the study has been obtained from 186 employees who work in private sector in Turkey and analyzed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results indicated that Social Exchange is positively related with affective commitment and continuance commitment, Economic Exchange was found to be negatively related with affective commitment and positively correlated with continuance commitment.

In the leader-follower role context, a follower’s leader-associated relational identification exists at two levels of specificity. One is the particularized level often represented by leader identification. The other is the generalized level reflecting one’s identification with the self-authority role-relationships in general. Past research almost exclusively focused on the particularized level, with little research facilitating an understanding of this broader concept that includes both levels. Using a dual-specificity leader-associated relational identification model, operationalized as the interplay of leader identification and the individual value of traditionality, we examine how different types of leader-associated relational identifications predict supervisory social and economic exchange relationships, which in turn affect organizational citizenship behavior benefiting the supervisor (OCBS). Data were collected at three time points from 664 working adults across the United States. Polynomial regression and response surface analyses showed that followers of four different types of relational identification enacted supervisory social and economic exchange in distinct patterns that were consistent with their respective relational identification. Supervisory social and economic exchange mediated the effects of dual-specificity relational identification on OCBS in opposing directions.

Purpose: Trust is essential for organizations' cooperative relationships during COVID-19. Authentic leadership and social exchange relationships are required to increase trust during a crisis. However, leader behaviors during COVID-19 have effects on the relationships among authentic leadership, social exchange relationships, and trust in organizations to understand their effects. The moderating effects of leader behaviors during COVID-19 on the relationships among authentic leadership, social exchange relationships, and trust in organizations are investigated. Design/ Methodology/Approach: Hierarchical multiple regression with interaction terms is used to examine interactions of leader behaviors during COVID-19 on the relationships between variables. Moreover, bootstrapping is performed to explore the mediating role of social exchange relationships between authentic leadership and trust in organizations. Findings: The findings indicate that authentic leadership positively affects social exchange relationships and trust, whereas social exchange relationships positively affect trust. Moreover, a social exchange relationship has a mediating effect between authentic leadership and trust. Both leader behaviors are regrading (a) managerial ability with ethics and (b) a positive working relationship based on work from home as moderators, positively influencing authentic leadership, social exchange relationships, and trust. Practical implications: This paper suggests that authentic leadership increases the quality of social exchange relationships and trust. Leader behavior qualities and leader-follower relationships based on social exchange theory are essential for improving trust even after post-COVID-19. Finally, based on the social exchange theory, leader behavior qualities and leader-follower relationships can motivate positive relationships in organizations. The chief executive officers (CEOs) and the organizational management teams benefit from the outcomes of this paper to comprehend which factors affect relationships and trust changes in organizations. Keywords: authentic leadership (AL); trust; social exchange relationships (SERs); Leader behaviors during COVID-19 JEL: D23, D91, M14

The ideal I-deal: Organizational citizenship behavior and the impact of the exchange relationship The ideal I-deal: Organizational citizenship behavior and the impact of the exchange relationship Idiosyncratic deals (I-deals) are personal and voluntary agreements which individual employees negotiate with their employer. The current study investigated the relations of different types of I-deals with organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) of employees. Moreover, we investigated the moderating role of social exchange relationship. Hypotheses were tested on data of 210 employees working in different organizations. Results showed that the associations of I-deals with OCB depended upon the type of I-deal, with task and responsibility I-deals and schedule flexibility I-deals being directly related. A strong social exchange relationship with the organization enhanced the associations of schedule flexibility I-deals and location flexibility I-deals with OCB. Financial I-deals contributed to higher OCB only for employees with an economic exchange relationship.

Economic and social leader–member exchange relationships and follower performance

The interaction of social and economic exchange relationships

Theorizing the relationship between discretionary employee benefits and individual performance