Effects of work stressors on desire for organizational construction: The moderating role of leader–member exchange

Abstract

AbstractThis study constructs the relationship between work stressors and the desire for organizational construction and the moderating role of leader–member exchange. The study is conducted by integrating social exchange and uncertainty management theory. Through investigating 204 employees and performing a scenario study in China, this research confirms that challenge stressors are positively related to desire for organizational construction. The relationship between hindrance stressors and desire for organizational construction tends to be U-shaped in the condition of high leader–member exchange, and the relationship tends to have an inverted U-shape in the condition of low leader–member exchange. This study has important implications for discerning the scope of application for both social exchange and uncertainty management theory, as managers seek to explain the relationship between negative treatment of employees and their desire for organizational construction.