Person–organization and person–supervisor fits: Employee commitments in a Chinese context

The present study simultaneously examined people's perceptions of person–organization (PO) and person–supervisor (PS) fit and related these perceptions to employees' commitments. Three‐hundred‐and‐sixty employee–supervisor dyads from Taiwanese organizations reported about their PO fit and PS fit perceptions. In addition, supervisors reported about their perceptions of fit and guanxi with each of their employees. Results indicated that PO and PS fit perceptions both had an independent and additive relationship with organizational commitment. The link between employee PS fit perceptions and organizational commitment was mediated by commitment to the supervisor. Both employee and supervisor fit perceptions contributed to commitment to the supervisor through their influence on the quality of the leader‐member exchange (LMX). Guanxi could not explain additional variance in LMX and supervisor commitment. Implications for theory and practices regarding person–environment fit, commitment, and LMX are discussed. The study findings offered suggestions for a new Theory of Multiple Fits. Copyright © 2010 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.     

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.     

Bridging the gap between green behavioral intentions and employee green behavior: The role of green psychological climate

How do employees' perceptions and interpretations of organizational policies, practices, and procedures affect the enactment of their behavioral intentions? In a daily diary study, we examined the between‐persons relationship of corporate environmental strategy and pro‐environmental or “green” psychological climate; and whether green psychological climate moderates the within‐person relationship of employees' daily green behavioral intentions and their green behavior on the following day. To test our hypotheses, we collected survey data from 74 employees across 10 workdays. Results showed that corporate environmental strategy is positively related to green psychological climate that, in turn, moderates the relationship between green behavioral intentions and next‐day employee green behavior. Specifically, we found the relationship to be positive only when employees perceive a positive green psychological climate. We discuss implications of our findings for future research on employee green behavior and for organizations interested in encouraging employee green behavior. Copyright © 2017 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.     

Interactional justice,leader–member exchange,and employee performance: Examining the moderating role of justice differentiation

Past research suggests that interactional justice plays a pivotal role in facilitating high‐quality leader–member exchange (LMX), with downstream implications for employee performance. However, the broader context in which these effects unfold has received scarce attention. Drawing from deontic justice and social exchange theories, we suggest that interactional justice differentiation is an important contextual moderator of the link between interactional justice and LMX. Specifically, we argue that high interactional justice differentiation attenuates the link between interactional justice and LMX, in turn influencing the effects of interactional justice on employee task and creative performance. Results from two studies employing both experimental and multisource, multilevel survey designs provide convergent support for the hypothesized model. We conclude by highlighting several key theoretical and practical implications of our findings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transformational leadership and employee voice behavior: A Pygmalion mechanism

We theorized and examined a Pygmalion perspective beyond those proposed in past studies in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee voice behavior. Specifically, we proposed that transformational leadership influences employee voice through leaders' voice expectation and employees' voice role perception (i.e., Pygmalion mechanism). We also theorized that personal identification with transformational leaders influences the extent to which employees internalize leaders' external voice expectation as their own voice role perception. In a time‐lagged field study, we found that leaders' voice expectation and employees' voice role perception (i.e., the Pygmalion process) mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and voice behavior. In addition, we found transformational leadership strengthens employees' personal identification with the leader, which in turn, as a moderator, amplifies the proposed Pygmalion process. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

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 effects of managerial and employee attributions for corporate social responsibility initiatives

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) can affect employees, we know little about how it affects them. Employees' interpretation of CSR is important because of the paradoxical nature of CSR. When firms operate in ways that seem counter to their nature (i.e., pursuit of social good rather than profit), the causal attributions of affected employees are crucial to understanding their work‐related behavior, as is the role of contextual factors such as leadership processes in shaping these attributions. Drawing from attribution and social learning theories, we develop a multilevel social influence theory of how CSR affects employees. We integrate managers as second observers in the baseline actor (i.e., firm)—observer (i.e., employee) dyad, whereas most attribution theory research has focused on single actor–observer dyads. Multisource field data collected from 427 employees and 45 managers were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Managers' genuine (self‐serving) CSR attributions are positively related to employees' genuine (self‐serving) CSR attributions; and the strength of the relationship between managers' and employees' genuine CSR attributions depends on managers' organizational tenure. Employees' genuine CSR attributions also are positively related to employee advocacy, whereas—interestingly—employees' self‐serving CSR attributions do not appear to harm employee advocacy. Copyright © 2017 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.     

Perceived mastery climate,felt trust,and knowledge sharing

Interpersonal trust is associated with a range of adaptive outcomes, including knowledge sharing. However, to date, our knowledge of antecedents and consequences of employees feeling trusted by supervisors in organizations remains limited. On the basis of a multisource, multiwave field study among 956 employees from 5 Norwegian organizations, we examined the predictive roles of perceived mastery climate and employee felt trust for employees' knowledge sharing. Drawing on the achievement goal theory, we develop and test a model to demonstrate that when employees perceive a mastery climate, they are more likely to feel trusted by their supervisors at both the individual and group levels. Moreover, the relationship between employees' perceptions of a mastery climate and supervisor‐rated knowledge sharing is mediated by perceptions of being trusted by the supervisor. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of our findings are discussed.     

Navigating uneven terrain: The roles of political skill and LMX differentiation in prediction of work relationship quality and work outcomes

Drawing from social/political influence, leader–member exchange (LMX), and social comparison theories, the present two‐study investigation examines three levels of LMX differentiation (i.e., individual‐level, meso‐level, and group‐level LMX differentiation) and further tests a model of the joint effects of political skill and LMX differentiation on LMX, relative LMX, and employee work outcomes. In Study 1, we used data from 231 employees and found support for the interactive effect of political skill and individual perceptions of LMX differentiation on LMX quality. We also found partial support for the moderating role of individual‐level LMX differentiation on the indirect effects of political skill on self‐rated task performance and job satisfaction via LMX. In Study 2, we used data from 185 supervisor–subordinate dyads and examined both meso‐level and group‐level LMX differentiation via a multilevel moderated mediation model. Results supported the moderating role of group‐level LMX differentiation and group mean LMX on the indirect effects of political skill on supervisor‐rated task performance and contextual performance/citizenship behavior as well as job satisfaction via relative LMX. Overall, the results suggest that politically skilled employees reap the benefits of LMX differentiation, as they enjoy higher absolute LMX and relative (i.e., to their peers) LMX quality. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Employees' self‐efficacy and perception of individual learning in teams: The cross‐level moderating role of team‐learning behavior

Despite the importance of employee learning for organizational effectiveness, scholars have yet to identify the factors that influence employees' perception of individual learning. This paper identified employees' self‐efficacy as a potential antecedent to their perception of individual learning in the context of teamwork. We also hypothesized that team‐learning behavior had a moderating effect on the relationship between employees' self‐efficacy and their perception of individual learning. We conducted a study of 236 teams working in a retail firm, comprising 236 team supervisors and 1397 employees, and analyzed the data using hierarchical linear modeling. This study revealed that employees' individual‐level self‐efficacy was positively associated with their perception of individual learning in teams. Additionally, team‐learning behaviors moderated the positive relationship between employees' self‐efficacy and the perception of individual learning. This study has theoretical and practical implications for a more nuanced understanding of the perception of individual learning in the context of teamwork. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Picture this: A field experiment of the influence of subtle affective stimuli on employee well‐being and performance

Prior literature examining the antecedents of employee affect has largely ignored subtle affective influences in the workplace and their impact on employees' affective experiences and behaviors. A substantial body of evidence from basic psychology research suggests that individuals' affect can be influenced by minimal stimulus input. The primary objective of this research is to take an initial step towards understanding the “real‐world” impact of subtle affective stimuli in the workplace. Specifically, in a field experiment with a within‐subjects design, we collected data from 68 sales representatives and examined the effect of a subtle affective stimulus (i.e., a black‐and‐white picture of a woman smiling printed on the backdrop of paper–pencil surveys) on employees' affect, well‐being, and performance. Results showed that the smiling picture significantly enhanced participants' positive affect, which in turn influenced employees' extra‐role performance and emotional exhaustion. The smiling picture also indirectly influenced employees' in‐role performance and emotional exhaustion via negative affect. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed at the end of the paper. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

South Korean managerial reactions to voicing discontent: The effects of employee attitude and employee communication styles

Using a scenario‐based experiment, this study examined how employee attitude and employee communication styles affected managers' reactions to employees' objections to a company policy. In the experiment, employee attitude (cynical versus trusting) and employee communication styles (aggressive versus diplomatic) were manipulated, and managers' reactions to voicing discontent were assessed through a questionnaire. Based on a sample of 185 middle managers working in various organizations in South Korea, the results showed that managers were more likely to engage in social undermining and were less likely to provide social support when cynical (rather than trusting) employees objected to a company policy. Also, attributed motives (i.e., personal attack and health concern) fully mediated the relationship between employee attitude and social support and social undermining. In addition, managers more likely attributed the objection to moral concerns when trusting (rather than cynical) employees communicated in an aggressive manner. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reactions to psychological contract breach: a dual perspective

This study examined reactions to psychological contract breach from two separate perspectives, that is, employee's reactions to perceptions of employer breach and supervisor's reactions to perceptions of employee breach of the psychological contract. In addition to the main effects, we also hypothesized that the benevolence (or kindness) of the supervisor and the traditional values (or respect for authority) of the employee would attenuate the negative effects of psychological contract breach. We tested these hypotheses with a sample of 273 supervisor‐subordinate dyads from the People's Republic of China. The results showed that employer breach correlated negatively with employee outcomes of organizational commitment (OC), organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and work performance, but this negative relationship was weaker for employees with traditional values. The results also demonstrated that employee breach correlated negatively with responses from the supervisor, in terms of the mentoring provided to the employee and the leader‐member exchange (LMX) quality. However, more benevolent supervisors reacted less negatively in terms of the mentoring than did the less benevolent supervisors. Implications for future research are offered. Copyright © 2007 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.     

Good marriage at home,creativity at work: Family–work enrichment effect on workplace creativity

To advance the understanding of socio‐relational sources of employee creativity, we investigate the effect of a good marriage on workplace creativity. Drawing on family–work enrichment theory, we propose and test the idea that a satisfying marriage boosts a spillover of psychological resources from family to work that enhances employees' workplace creativity. Using survey data collected from 548 spouse–employee–supervisor triads, we find an indirect positive relationship between employees' marital satisfaction and workplace creativity through a spillover of psychological resources from family to work. We also find that this spillover is most pronounced when both employees and their spouses are satisfied with their marriage. The results further demonstrate that the indirect effect of marital satisfaction on workplace creativity through the spillover of psychological resources is significant for employees with a low creative personality, but not for those with a high creative personality. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotion as mediators of the relations between perceived supervisor support and psychological hardiness on employee cynicism

In this study we explore whether emotion experienced at work mediates the relationships between perceived supervisor support, psychological hardiness, and employee cynicism. Data were collected from employees working at a medical technology company located in Switzerland. Mediational analyses showed that employees' positive and negative emotions experienced amidst an organizational crisis fully accounted for the relations between perceived supervisor support and cynicism and psychological hardiness and cynicism. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.