Capturing the dynamics of leader–follower interactions: Stalemates and future theoretical progress

Despite being based on the premise of a dynamic interpersonal process, studies on leader–member exchange theory often fail to acknowledge its dyadic and dynamic nature. We discuss how the interpersonal affect dynamics literature—and particularly its focus on the emergence of relationship patterns—may advance research on leader–follower interactions.     

A multilevel study of group‐focused and individual‐focused transformational leadership,social exchange relationships,and performance in teams

Using matched reports from 73 team leaders and 359 of their members across 23 companies in Korea, we examined a multilevel model where group‐ and individual‐focused transformational leadership and their influence processes operate at the team and dyadic levels independently and interactively to be associated with team and member performance. Results indicated that group‐focused transformational leadership was positively associated with team performance through team member exchange (TMX), whereas individual‐focused transformational leadership positively related to team members' in‐role and extra‐role performance through leader–member exchange (LMX). TMX not only positively mediated the relationships between group‐focused transformational leadership and member performance after controlling for LMX but also positively moderated LMX–performance relationships. Moreover, the indirect effect of individual‐focused transformational leadership through LMX on member performance was contingent upon the level of TMX. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of authentic leadership on performance: Role of followers' positive psychological capital and relational processes

Authentic leadership has received considerable attention and research support over the past decade. Now the time has come to refine and better understand how it impacts performance. This study investigates the moderating role followers' positive psychological capital (PsyCap) and the mediating role that leader–member exchange (LMX) may play in influencing the relationship between authentic leadership and followers' performance. Specifically, we tested this mediated moderation model with matched data from 794 followers and their immediate leaders. We found that authentic leadership is positively related to LMX and consequently followers' performance, and to a larger degree, among followers who have low rather than high levels of PsyCap. Our discussion highlights the benefits of understanding the roles of relational processes and followers' positive psychological resources involved in the effectiveness of authentic leadership and how they can be practically implemented. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Abusive supervision and work behaviors: The mediating role of LMX

We investigated the mediating role of the leader–member exchange (LMX) in the association of abusive supervision and employee work behaviors (task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors toward the organization and individuals). Using data collected from 366 supervisor–subordinate dyads, we found that LMX fully mediated the negative effects of abusive supervision on all three work behaviors. In addition, we conducted a supplementary study on the basis of the data collected from 54 supervisor–subordinate dyads from a garment company, and we found that LMX mediated the relationship between abusive supervision and employee objective future performance with interactional justice controlled. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leader–member exchange and job performance: The effects of taking charge and organizational tenure

We theorized and tested the mechanisms by which leader–member exchange (LMX) quality is associated with job performance. The results obtained using 212 employee–supervisor pairs from eight Chinese companies indicated that LMX quality had an indirect and positive relationship with taking charge via psychological empowerment and had an indirect and positive relationship with job performance via taking charge. In addition, organizational tenure significantly moderated the relationship between taking charge and job performance, such that the positive effect of taking charge on job performance became weaker as organizational tenure increased. Furthermore, organizational tenure significantly moderated the indirect positive relationship between LMX quality and job performance via taking charge; the indirect effect became weaker as organizational tenure increased. These results suggest that organizations should encourage managers to develop high‐quality LMX with their subordinates, which may make them feel more empowered and engage in more taking charge, and result in better job performance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differential treatment within sports teams,leader–member (coach–player) exchange quality,team atmosphere,and team performance

Using the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory as a theoretical framework, the present study focused on the occurrence of differential treatment by leaders on social and task‐related issues within teams. It was investigated whether team members' perceptions of the frequency and degree of social and task‐related differential treatment by the leader were associated with their evaluation of team atmosphere and team performance, in addition to the effects of the quality of their own working relationship with the leader (LMX quality). The context of this study consisted of interdependent sports teams. The participants were 605 players belonging to 69 amateur sports teams playing various team sports such as soccer, hockey, and basketball. Social differential treatment was negatively associated with team atmosphere and unrelated to team performance. In addition, it was found that the two forms of task‐related differential treatment included in this study were unrelated to team atmosphere and were differently associated with team performance. The results are discussed with reference to the existing leadership literature. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding employee innovative behavior: Integrating the social network and leader–member exchange perspectives

By integrating social network theory and leader–member exchange (LMX) theory, we explore the effects of three types of social relationships on employee innovative behavior: weak ties outside the group, LMX, and strong ties within the group. The results from a sample in a high‐tech firm showed that LMX fully mediated the positive relationship between out‐group weak ties and innovative behavior. Furthermore, within‐group strong ties negatively moderated the second stage of this indirect relationship, such that LMX was positively and significantly related to innovative behavior only when the number of within‐group strong ties was low. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The supervisor POS–LMX–subordinate POS chain: Moderation by reciprocation wariness and supervisor's organizational embodiment

We present three studies providing an increased understanding of the interdependence between perceived organizational support (POS) and leader–member exchange (LMX). Using employees from a social service agency and new hires from a variety of organizations, we report evidence for a relational chain leading from supervisors' perceptions of support by the organization (supervisor POS) to the formation of high‐quality LMX relationships with their subordinates (first link), who interpret high‐quality LMX as support from the organization (subordinate POS, second link) and, ultimately, repay the organization with increased dedication and effort (examined here in terms of reduced withdrawal behavior). The relationship between supervisor POS and LMX with subordinates was strongly moderated by supervisor fear of exploitation in exchange relationships (reciprocation wariness), holding only for supervisors with low reciprocation wariness. Consistent with the view that employees perceive the organization as partly responsible for treatment received from supervisors, LMX was found to be more strongly related to POS when employees highly identified their supervisors with the organization (supervisor's organizational embodiment), and this interaction extended to reduced withdrawal behavior. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new look at the psychological contract during organizational socialization: The role of newcomers' obligations at entry

Previous studies have demonstrated that the psychological contract is largely shaped during socialization. This study adopts a complementary perspective and analyzes how the psychological contract at the start of employment shapes the subsequent socialization process. Drawing upon social exchange theory, we propose that newcomers with a higher sense of their personal obligations at entry will perceive orientation training as more useful and develop better relationships with their supervisors and peers, which in turn will facilitate their work adjustment. Results of a longitudinal survey on a sample of 144 recruits from a European Army show that newcomers with a higher initial sense of their employee obligations toward their employer report higher perceived training utility, higher leader–member exchange (LMX) with their instructors, and higher team–member exchange (TMX) with their platoon peers. Moreover, perceived training utility and LMX predict the fulfillment of employers' obligations; and training utility predicts the level of newcomers' employee obligations. Finally, training utility, LMX, and TMX predict some of three indicators of newcomers' adjustment, namely, role clarity (training utility and LMX), group integration (TMX), and organizational values understanding (training utility). These results highlight how newcomers' obligations at the start of employment contribute to the social exchange dynamic underlying organizational socialization. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When creativity enhances sales effectiveness: The moderating role of leader–member exchange

This study extends research on creativity by exploring the boundary conditions of the creativity–job effectiveness relationship. Building on social exchange theory, we argue that the extent to which employee creativity is related to sales—an objective work effectiveness measure—depends on the quality of leader–member exchange (LMX). We hypothesize that the relationship between creativity and sales is significant and positive when LMX is high, but not when LMX is low. Hierarchical linear modelling analysis provided support for the interaction hypothesis in a sample of 151 sales agents and 26 supervisors drawn from both pharmaceutical and insurance companies. Results showed that sales agents who were more creative generated higher sales only when they had high‐quality LMX. An ad hoc qualitative study provided a more detailed understanding of the moderator role played by LMX. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining the interpersonal process and consequence of leader–member exchange comparison: The role of procedural justice climate

Individuals are always sensitive to their relative standing in interpersonal comparison processes of leader–member exchanges (LMXs) in teams. Little research, however, has investigated whether coworkers with a higher LMX influence the emotional and behavioral reactions of individuals with a lower LMX in different dyads. Drawing on social comparison theory and the symbolic model of procedural justice (PJ) climate, we conducted 2 independent studies—an experimental study focusing on the self‐perceived upward LMX comparison (i.e., an individual perceives that a coworker's LMX is higher than the LMX that he or she has with the supervisor; N = 203; Study 1: American working adults) and a field survey study focusing on the other‐perceived downward LMX comparison (i.e., a coworker perceives that his or her own LMX is higher than the LMX that the individual has with the supervisor; N = 177; Study 2: Chinese software engineers). Results from these studies consistently revealed that a coworker's higher LMX elicits an individual's hostile emotions when the PJ climate is low but that this relationship is buffered when the PJ climate is high. Results of both studies also showed that the coworker's higher LMX arouses the individual to direct harmful behavior toward that coworker (via the individual's feelings of hostility) when the PJ climate is low but not when it is high.     

The role of other orientation in reactions to social and economic leader–member exchange relationships

In this study, we investigate, through two study samples, whether relationships between social leader–member exchange (SLMX) and economic leader–member exchange (ELMX) relationships and outcomes differ depending on the followers' level of other orientation or the extent to which they are concerned for the welfare of others. We propose that followers with higher other orientation would respond less negatively to higher levels of ELMX and more positively to higher levels of SLMX because they are less likely to engage in behaviors based on rational and self‐interested calculations. In Study 1 (N = 200), we found that higher other orientation mitigated ELMX's negative relations with affective commitment and turnover intention. In Study 2 (N = 4,518), we both replicated the findings from Study 1 and also found that higher other orientation mitigated ELMX's negative relations with work effort. We also uncovered a weaker positive relationship between SLMX and organizational citizenship behavior for followers with higher other orientation.     

A process model of employee engagement: The learning climate and its relationship with extra‐role performance behaviors

Employee engagement has recently been introduced as a concept advantageous to organizations. However, little is known about the value of employee engagement in explaining work performance behaviors compared with similar concepts. The learning climate, defined as the organization's beneficial activities in helping employees create, acquire, and transfer knowledge, has also been proposed as an antecedent of employee engagement. Using data from a sample of 625 employees and their supervisors in various occupations and organizations throughout Israel, we investigated employee engagement as a key mechanism for explaining the relationship between perceptions of the organization's learning climate and employees' proactivity, knowledge sharing, creativity, and adaptivity. We also tested whether employee engagement explained the relationship more thoroughly than similar concepts such as job satisfaction and job involvement. Multilevel regression analyses supported our hypotheses that employee engagement mediates the relationship between the perceived learning climate and these extra‐role behaviors. Moreover, engagement provides a more thorough explanation than job satisfaction or job involvement for these relationships. The implications for organizational theory, research, and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Family–work conflict and job performance: A diary study of boundary conditions and mechanisms

In this study, we used a within‐person daily research paradigm to examine the relationship between daily family–work conflict (FWC) and daily job performance. On the basis of theory on dynamic behavior, we hypothesized that concentration serves as a mechanism through which daily FWC impairs daily job performance. We further predicted that psychological detachment from work during time‐off (i.e., mentally switching off) buffers the negative relationship between daily FWC and daily job performance. Ninety‐five employees completed daily surveys over one workweek. Multilevel modeling results showed that daily FWC was negatively associated with daily job performance and that concentration mediated this relationship. Furthermore, general psychological detachment, but not daily psychological detachment, buffered the negative relationship between daily FWC and daily job performance. The current findings suggest that daily FWC has negative performance implications and that the general level rather than the daily level of psychological detachment from work helps alleviate the negative implications. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.