Leader-member Exchange Quality Research Articles

Leader-member exchange differentiation and followers’ psychological strain: exploring relations on the individual and on the team-level

AbstractDue to social comparison in the team, leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation has been shown to play a crucial role for explaining follower outcomes. LMX differentiation may be beneficial for some followers, but also detrimental for others, when perceived as unfair. In order to understand the impact of LMX differentiation on work-related outcomes, LMX differentiation should be described by three properties (relative LMX position, LMX variability, and team-level LMX). The aim of the study is to focus on LMX differentiation and test relationships between different properties of LMX and followers’ psychological strain. In sum, 75 teams with 322 followers answered an online survey about their leaders’ LMX and their individual levels of psychological strain. Results of multilevel modeling showed that the relative LMX position was negatively related to psychological strain on the individual level. This relation was moderated by LMX variability and team-level LMX. However, we did not find significant relations between team-level LMX and team-level psychological strain. The present study extends previous research by looking at relations between LMX and psychological strain on an individual follower level as well as on the team level. Our results suggest that the relative position of LMX within a team seems to play a crucial role for individual follower psychological strain. Results imply that leaders should aim to improve LMX relationships within their team and to reduce differences between team members. Leadership trainings should impart knowledge and skills to improve LMX quality and include elements about LMX differentiation, its origins, as well as consequences.

Unmasking the Connection Between Managerial Narcissism, Machiavellianism and Leader–Member Exchange in the Singaporean Construction Industry: Managerial Corporate Psychopathic Behaviour as a Mediator

The current study aims to investigate the effect of managerial narcissism and Machiavellianism on leader–member exchange (LMX) quality and the mediating role of managerial corporate psychopathic behaviour in the aforementioned relationships. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to management professionals working in the Singaporean construction sector. A total of 300 responses were collected and analysed through SPSS version 26 and SmartPLS 4 software. The results demonstrated that managerial narcissism and Machiavellianism were negatively associated with LMX quality. The findings of this study showed that managerial narcissism and Machiavellianism facilitate managerial corporate psychopathic behaviour. The study also found that a negative relationship exists between managerial corporate psychopathic behaviour and LMX quality. Most importantly, the study provided valuable empirical evidence on the mediating effect of managerial corporate psychopathic behaviour in the relationships between narcissism and LMX quality and between Machiavellianism and LMX quality, thereby highlighting the underlying mechanism interconnecting the variables. Practically, this study draws attention to the need for construction corporations to create an organizational culture emphasizing collaboration instead of hierarchy and autocracy to minimize the indifference between managers and subordinates.

The Impact of LMX and Job Stress on Service Quality of Police Personnel Through the Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction and Moderating Role of Social Support

The Impact of LMX and Job Stress on Service Quality of Police Personnel Through the Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction and Moderating Role of Social Support

Basic psychological need satisfaction of collegiate athletes: the unique and interactive effects of team identification and LMX quality.

The present study sought to understand the relationships between team identification, leader-member exchange (LMX) quality, and the basic psychological need satisfaction of collegiate athletes, as well as the moderating role of coach-athlete LMX quality. Self-reported data from 319 collegiate athletes were analyzed using SPSS version 29. The relationships between the study variables were tested by moderation analysis using PROCESS macro model 1. Regression analyses showed team identification to be positively related to the satisfaction of the needs for competence and relatedness, while LMX quality was positively related to the satisfaction of the needs for competence and autonomy. Furthermore, moderation analyses showed that LMX quality positively moderated the relationship between team identification and the satisfaction of the needs for competence and relatedness. The results of this study highlight the important role that team identification and LMX quality play in the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of collegiate athletes. The implications of these results for the optimal functioning of collegiate athletes are discussed.

The cost of protecting resources: a cross-sectional study on the interaction between LMX and role ambiguity on work addiction and burnout among Canadian first-level healthcare managers.

Using the conservation of resources (COR) theory, our study explores the interaction between role ambiguity and leader-member exchange (LMX) quality on burnout using work addiction as a mediator among Canadian first-level healthcare managers. Cross-sectional data was collected among 165 first-level managers working in healthcare with the support of interprofessional associations in Canada. Linear regression was used to test the presented hypotheses. Work addiction fully mediated the positive relationship between role ambiguity and burnout among first-level managers. In addition, high LMX exacerbated both the direct and indirect effects of role ambiguity. Our study contributes by identifying role ambiguity as a context under which LMX can have adverse effects for first-level managers in healthcare. Moreover, work addiction acted as a mediator, theorized as a risky resource investment which depletes managers' resources. Having a good relationship with their team further entices managers to develop a pathological relationship with their work to protect its members, which in turn is related to higher levels of burnout.

The role of psychological contract breach and leader-member exchange quality in Machiavellianism and organisational cynicism

PurposeBased on the trait activation theory and social exchange theory, this study proposed a model of the impact of Machiavellian personality on organisational cynicism (OC) through the mediating effect of psychological contract breach (PCB) and the moderating role of leader-member exchange (LMX) quality in PCB and OC.Design/methodology/approachA three-time points survey involving 264 employees from China’s hotel industry was conducted using quantitative methods. Subsequently, a structural equation model was constructed.FindingsThe results revealed that Machiavellianism positively affects OC, and PCB plays a mediating role in this process. In addition, LMX quality can buffer the effect of the PCB on OC.Practical implicationsThe study’s findings provide another insight into the relationship between Machiavellianism, PCB and OC. Managers must pay attention to the control of PCB and the establishment of LMX quality.Originality/valueThe study significantly contributes to hotel literature, as the Machiavellian personality subject has not been adequately investigated in the field to date.

Waiting for the Boss's Blue Checkmark to Appear: Supervisor's Attentiveness, Negative Emotions, and Work Engagement During Instant Messaging at Work.

In organizations, employees actively manage the immediacy with which they respond to instant messages to cope with mobile connectivity overload caused by continuous interactions. This research conducted a naturalistic observational design to examine real-life mobile connectivity behaviors in organizations and measure their occupational well-being consequences. Specifically, we focused on the use of a feature (WhatsApp's blue checkmark) that enables senders to know precisely when recipients choose to read their messages. In the study, 192 participants sent important messages to their supervisors through WhatsApp. The study used Confirmatory Factor Analysis and moderation analyses to explore the relationship between supervisors' attentiveness (indicated by WhatsApp's blue checkmark), negative emotions, work engagement, and the quality of leader-member exchange (LMX). Drawing on the perspective of 'digital well-being,' we investigated the role of relationship quality between supervisors and employees (LMX) as a moderator. We hypothesized that relationship quality would buffer against negative feelings and decreased work engagement when employees await a response after sending important messages to their supervisors. Indeed, supervisor's inattentiveness was positively correlated with negative affect and negatively correlated with employee engagement. Surprisingly, we found that employees with strong relationship quality (high LMX) with their supervisors experienced lower work engagement while waiting for an indication that their message had been read. These results suggest that timely indications of message read by supervisors play an important role in mitigating negative emotions and fostering higher work engagement among employees.

The impact of leader member exchange quality and differentiation on counterproductive and citizenship behavior in health care teams.

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) may increase service quality. In contrast, counterproductive work behavior (CWB) may undermine patient safety. Efforts to increase OCB and reduce CWB rely on a good understanding of their antecedents, yet there is a lack of research in health care to inform such endeavors. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of leadership, specifically leader-member exchange (LMX), in reducing CWB and increasing OCB in health care teams. Team survey data were collected from 75 teams in U.S. health services organizations. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis was used to investigate our hypotheses. For OCB, the response surface along the line of incongruence (a3) was positive and significant, and for CWB, a3 was negative and significant. The results of polynomial regression and response surface analysis indicate that OCB increases when LMX quality is high and that LMX differentiation is comparatively lower. In contrast, CWB increases when LMX differentiation is high, whereas LMX quality is lower. These findings provide useful suggestions to promote valuable extra-role behaviors in health care teams. Health care team leaders should aim to develop strong exchange relationships with all members if they wish to increase citizenship behavior and decrease counterproductive behavior. Building positive exchange relationships with only a few team members is likely to undermine citizenship behavior and increase counterproductive behavior.

Why and When Do Employees Feel Guilty About Observing Supervisor Ostracism? The Critical Roles of Observers’ Silence Behavior and Leader–Member Exchange Quality

Why and When Do Employees Feel Guilty About Observing Supervisor Ostracism? The Critical Roles of Observers’ Silence Behavior and Leader–Member Exchange Quality

Leader-member exchange and organizational citizenship behaviour: The moderator effects of subordinates’ horizontal collectivism orientation and team-member exchange

Past research has not clearly explained why the quality of leader-member exchange (LMX) is weakly related to organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in non-Western cultures. Hence, this study explores subordinates’ cultural value orientation and team member exchange (TMX) as boundary conditions of the effects of LMX on citizenship behaviour directed at individual organizational members (OCBI) and citizenship behaviour directed at the organization as a whole (OCBO). The research hypotheses were tested using a sample of 392 supervisor-subordinate dyads from organizations across different sectors in Ghana. The results support our theorizing that horizontal collectivism and TMX strengthen the relationship between LMX and OCBI such that the relationship is stronger for horizontal collectivists and under a high TMX context. However, the results did not support the hypothesized moderator effects of horizontal collectivism and TMX on the LMX-OCBO relationship. The theoretical contributions, managerial implications and avenues for further research are discussed.

Do Victims Really Help Their Abusive Supervisors? Reevaluating the Positive Consequences of Abusive Supervision.

Do victims really help their abusive supervisors? Does abusive supervision have any positive consequence? The study aims to address this concern through extending the work by Tröster and Van Quaquebeke (2021). Using subordinates' self-reports, Tröster and Van Quaquebeke (2021) found that abusive supervision in high-quality leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship motivates subordinates to blame themselves, subsequently making them feel guilty and make up for it by being more helpful. By integrating both subordinates' and supervisors' perspectives, and using multi-wave, multi-source, and multi-level data collected in China, we obtain three major findings. First, as a replication of their findings, LMX moderates the direct effect of abusive supervision on workplace self-blame, and the indirect effect of abusive supervision on workplace guilt via workplace self-blame. The positive direct and indirect effects are stronger when LMX quality is higher. Second, different from their findings, LMX moderates the indirect effect of abusive supervision on supervisor-directed helping (evaluated by supervisors) via workplace self-blame and workplace guilt such that the negative indirect effect is stronger when LMX quality is higher. Third, as an extension, supervisor-evaluated LMX (SLMX) moderates the effect of workplace guilt on supervisor-directed helping such that the negative effect is stronger when SLMX is lower-quality. Put together, LMX and SLMX moderate the indirect effect of abusive supervision on supervisor-directed helping via workplace self-blame and workplace guilt. The negative indirect effect is stronger when LMX quality is higher, but SLMX quality is lower. Our study challenges previous speculations on the positive or beneficial consequences of abusive supervision, and thus contributes to the literature on abusive supervision.

Pentingnya Peran Kepuasan Kerja sebagai Jembatan antara Kualitas Hubungan Pemimpin-Anggota dengan Komitmen Organisasional

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the quality of leader-member exchange towards organizational commitment with job satisfaction as an intervening variable on employees of The Central Statistics Office (BPS) in Bali. This study collects primary data via a self-enumerated questionnaire with 7-points Likert scale ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree." With a population of 264 employees, the sample method employed is saturated sampling or census. This study's sample had 173 respondents, with a response rate of 65.5% of the population. The SEM-PLS method was used to analyze the data with the Smart PLS 3.0 tool. The findings revealed that job satisfaction fully mediates the influence of the quality of the leader-member exchange on organizational commitment. The findings indicate that the quality of leader-member exchange may not necessarily boost employee’s organizational commitment if they are not satisfied with their jobs. As a result, in order to boost employee commitment, leader must be able to build quality relationships to increase the job satisfaction of his/her subordinates.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior Predictors: A Mediation Analysis on Savings and Loan Cooperative

Purpose: This study aims to identify the influence of LMX (Leader-Member Exchange), POS (Perceived Organizational Support), and OC (Organizational Commitment) on OCB (Organizational Citizenship Behavior) within the setting of savings and loan cooperatives in Indonesia. Method : The research method involves collecting data from 150 employees working in savings and loan cooperatives using a questionnaire. PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling) is used as the statistical method to analyze the data. Results and Conclusion: The research findings indicate that there is a direct positive relationship between LMX and OCB, but no direct positive relationship between POS and OCB. Additionally, there is a direct relationship between LMX and POS with OC. The study also found that OC acts as a mediator in the relationship between LMX and OCB, as well as the relationship between POS and OCB. Research Implications: The results of this study have significant implications for the management of savings and loan cooperatives in Indonesia. Cooperative leaders can pay more attention to the quality of leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived organizational support (POS) as both directly influence the organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of employees. Moreover, understanding the role of OC as a mediator can help enhance the effectiveness of employee behavior development programs within cooperatives. Top of Form Originatity/Values: This research represents a pioneering effort to study organizational citizenship behavior in the unique Indonesian context of savings and loan cooperatives. The new insights gleaned from this research make valuable contributions to the existing literature, open opportunities for further research, and offer workable guidance for cooperative management to optimize employee performance and organizational effectiveness.

The Quality of Leader-Member Exchange, Engagement, and Performance: a Systematic Literature Review

The past is history, the present is accurate, and the future is uncertain. The world is also getting along with many lives and organizations. Along and within the time, the organizations are apparent with leader-member exchange (LMX) that may be unavoidable, realized in the form of any relationships in the social context. The atmosphere brings forth engagement and performance within groups or communities. The essential variables driving and encouraging LMX to become an interesting research focus among scholars. This work aims to investigate the outstanding characteristics or variables of the quality of LMX following engaged employees and high performance. This study employs a systematic literature review. It explores and identifies the characteristics or variables encouraging LMX, engagement, and performance in the organizations. The conclusion says that it reveals various characteristics or variables of the concepts. However, quite a few of them accommodate the cultural context of a particular life of society, which considerably hinders the sound of the atmosphere.

Turnover intentions of non-family employees in family firms – the influence of leader mindfulness, LMX quality and affective commitment

PurposeLeveraging the mindfulness theory and the social exchange theory, this study examines the influence of perceived leader mindfulness (PLM) on turnover intentions (TOI) of non-family employees (NFEs) working in family firms. The study investigates whether the above relationship is mediated by employee perceptions of leader–member exchange quality (LMX quality) and their affective commitment (AC).Design/methodology/approachA conceptual framework is proposed that hypothesizes inverse relationship between PLM and TOI, which is posited to be mediated by both LMX quality and AC. The hypotheses are tested through survey data collected from 254 NFEs working in various family-owned businesses in Malaysia. The data analyzed through partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results indicate that PLM has a positive influence on both LMX quality and AC. Moreover, PLM has a strong negative affect on TOI. In terms of results of mediation analysis, it appears that two mediation hypotheses out of four are significant, that is mediating effect of AC between PLM and TOI and LMX quality between PLM and AC. However, the mediating role of LMX quality between PLM and TOI and the sequential mediation hypotheses were both non-significant.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the study imply is that to ensure retention of qualified and talented NFEs, mindfulness of family firm leaders plays a significant role in ensuring lower TOI. Furthermore, such a goal is better achieved by ensuring that such employees are supported through leadership that leads to their development of better LMX quality and AC towards the organization. The study however is limited, as other potential exogenous variables that may influence TOI were not considered.Practical implicationsLosing employees that join a firm and acquire valuable skills and experience is a significant concern for family firms that are known for discriminating between employees related to the owners and outsiders. This study presents evidence for owners and managers of family firms that by focusing on mindful behavior and working towards developing better LMX quality and AC of NFEs, the organization can reduce TOI of such employees.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the under-researched and fragmented literature on relationships between PLM among NFEs and TOI of such individuals working in family firms. Moreover, this appears to be the first study that investigates mediating roles of and LMX quality and AC among NFEs in the above relationship.

Team-member and leader-member exchange, engagement, and turnover intentions: implications for human resource development

ABSTRACT This study investigated the underlying dynamics between team member exchange (TMX) quality, leader-member exchange (LMX) quality, engagement, and turnover intentions through the lens of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory. Data were collected from 407 employees working at United States and Israeli firms via a questionnaire. Findings indicated that work engagement mediates the relationship between TMX quality and turnover intentions and that LMX moderates this mediation. Specifically, in high and moderate LMX quality conditions, the impact of TMX quality on work engagement was stronger; and LMX moderated the impact of work engagement on turnover intentions by lowering turnover intentions further. When leader-member relations were not of high or moderate quality, TMX quality did not associate significantly with employee work engagement. Findings contribute to human resource development (HRD) literature on work engagement and turnover by addressing a) the connection between TMX and engagement, b) the mediation effect of engagement in the relationship between TMX and turnover intentions, and c) moderating effect of LMX. Implications for human resource development practices, in particular, for managerial training and leadership development and for performance appraisal, were discussed with the focus on team building to promote individual work engagement and reduce turnover.

The Interaction Between Job Embeddedness and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) in Predicting Employee Altruism and Deviance.

Drawing upon conservation of resources and social bonding theories, the present study examined the associations between job embeddedness and employee work behaviors (altruism and organizational deviance) by exploring the moderating role of leader-member exchange (LMX) in these associations. Using a cross-sectional research design, data were collected from a sample of 637 employees in Turkey. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping. The findings indicated that job embeddedness was positively related to employee altruism while negatively related to organizational deviance. This study also provided support for the moderating role of LMX in job embeddedness-altruism and job embeddedness-organizational deviance relationships. More specifically, job embeddedness had a stronger positive relationship with altruism and a stronger negative relationship with organizational deviance when LMX quality was high. These findings substantiate the pivotal role of focusing on both job embeddedness and the treatment by supervisors in the organization to inculcate desirable workplace behaviors and employee performance motivation. The implications are discussed as well as limitations, and directions for future research are provided.

The Impact of Leader Member Exchange (LMX) Theory on Employee Turnover Intention: An empirical study of employees at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the impact of LMX on the turnover intention of employees. Research from both Western and Arabic contexts has shown that the quality of LMX relationships has a positive impact on turnover intentions i.e., the quality of LMX in an organization may encourage employees to stay longer with the current organization and reduce turnover intention. This research study used a quantitative methodology, distributing questionnaire surveys as the research tool to a sample of 297 participants. The participants were all employees at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia, or who worked for associated companies at the Hajj and Umrah information center. The quantitative survey data was then analyzed to find the relationship between levels of LMX and employee turnover intention in this context. The findings show that high quality LMX relationships were positively correlated with employee decisions to stay with the organization, and indicate that well-functioning LMX may play a part in reducing employee turnover intention at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and its connected organizations.

Linking LMX and happiness at work through symbolic interaction theory – The role of self-esteem and organizational embeddedness

PurposeDrawing on the symbolic interaction theory, this research examines leader–member exchange (LMX) and employee’s happiness at work (HAW) with mediation of self-esteem (SE) and moderation of organizational embeddedness (OE).Design/methodology/approachThe study uses data collected from a sample of 246 employees working in fast moving consumer goods companies (FMCGs) and applied SmartPLS to analyze the proposed model.FindingsFindings reveal that LMX predicts HAW. Whereas, the follower’s SE fully transmitted the effect of LMX on employee’s HAW. Moreover, OE moderated the relationship between LMX and HAW.Practical implicationsLeaders should consider quality LMX interactions with their employees in prevailing global crises. LMX can improve the relationship with team members and boost their SE resulting in HAW. Furthermore, organizations should promote such practices which may enhance their employees' OE for enhanced workplace happiness.Originality/valueThe study is among the very few works which apply symbolic interaction as an overarching framework to explain the employees' HAW.

Leader–member exchange (LMX) quality and follower well-being: A daily diary study.

Guided by self-determination and social exchange theories, we examine how leader-member exchange (LMX) quality impacts follower well-being. Despite LMX relationships being dynamic in nature, the way relationship quality varies over time and its impact on well-being has not been examined in detail. To address this important issue, a daily diary study is reported of employees from a variety of organizations. One hundred and fifty-eight participants completed a daily diary in the morning and evening for five consecutive workdays (k = 603 observations). Measures included hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, and social and economic LMX exchanges. There was a significant variation of LMX quality over the diary days. Daily LMX quality predicted daily follower well-being (while controlling for morning well-being). Further, for those that interacted with their manager, social LMX exchanges but not economic LMX exchanges predicted daily well-being. Interaction characteristics (frequency, time, content) had a relatively small impact on daily well-being. As predicted, work engagement mediated the relation between daily LMX quality and social LMX exchanges (but not daily economic LMX exchanges) with well-being. The results show how LMX quality affects followers' well-being that varies daily, that is affected by leaders' behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).