Social Comparisons, Self-Conceptions, and Attributions: Assessing the Self-Related Contingencies in Leader-Member Exchange Relationships

Émilie Lapointe,Gary Schwarz,Denis Chenevert,Ahmed K Ben Ayed,Christian Vandenberghe,Michel Tremblay

doi:10.1007/s10869-019-09628-9

Abstract

Research on leader-member exchange (LMX) has demonstrated that, in addition to the value of LMX as an indicator of quality relationships with leaders, employees also evaluate how their relationship with the leader compares to other employees’ relationship with the leader. This finding led to the emergence of LMX social comparison (LMXSC). This study examines how LMX vs. LMXSC relates to work outcomes and considers the employee and perceived supervisor self-concept levels as moderators. We posit that LMX predicts work performance through increased organizational commitment. We further suggest that the relational and collective levels of the self-concept act as contingencies of the relationships among LMX, LMXSC, commitment, and performance. A sample of 250 employee-supervisor dyads was used to test the hypotheses. LMX predicted commitment and, indirectly, performance. The employee and perceived supervisor relational self-concepts acted as moderators of LMXSC, and the perceived supervisor collective self-concept acted as a moderator of LMX and LMXSC. However, not all moderation hypotheses were supported. Unexpected moderating effects involving the employee and perceived supervisor individual self-concepts, as well as main effects, were also uncovered. This study helps differentiate LMX from LMXSC and understand the role of self-conceptions, including self-conceptions attributed by employees to the leader, in leader-member relationships.

Highlights

Research on leader-member exchange (LMX) has demonstrated that, in addition to the value of LMX as an indicator of quality relationships with leaders, employees evaluate how their relationship with the leader compares to other employees’ relationship with the leader
We primarily build on the research on attributions (Martinko, Harvey, & Douglas, 2007) to discuss the effect of perceived supervisor selfconcept levels, an area that has not been fully explored in LMX research, and we argue that self-concept variables are involved in distinct interactions with LMX and LMX social comparison (LMXSC)
Simple slopes analyses revealed that LMX was positively related to organizational commitment at high levels (+ 1 SD) of the perceived supervisor individual self-concept (γ = .53, t = 4.01, p < .0001) but unrelated to organizational commitment at low levels (− 1 SD) of the perceived supervisor individual self-concept (γ = .14, t = 1.41, ns)

Summary

Introduction

Research on leader-member exchange (LMX) has demonstrated that, in addition to the value of LMX as an indicator of quality relationships with leaders, employees evaluate how their relationship with the leader compares to other employees’ relationship with the leader. (2010) demonstrated that one’s relative LMX standing in the workgroup, a construct termed BLMX social comparison^ (LMXSC), influences job performance and citizenship behavior beyond LMX and objective LMX standing This finding suggests that in addition to the value of LMX as an indicator of social exchange relationships with leaders, employees are sensitive to how the quality of their relationship with the leader compares to the quality of other employees’ relationship with the leader (i.e., LMXSC) (Vidyarthi et al, 2010; Wood, 1996). Favorable contingencies, as we argue below, would make LMXSC a relevant predictor of organizational commitment and, indirectly, of performance

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Conclusion