scholarly journals Social identity theory and leader–member exchange: individual, dyadic and situational factors affecting the relationship between leader–member exchange and job performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-152
Author(s):  
Gregory Thrasher ◽  
Marcus Dickson ◽  
Benjamin Biermeier-Hanson ◽  
Anwar Najor-Durack

Purpose This study aims to integrate social identity and leader–member exchange (LMX) theory to investigate the processes and boundary conditions around LMX–performance relationships. Through the application of two leader–follower subsamples, the authors test three main objectives. What is the effect of multi-dimensional dyad value-congruence on LMX and how does congruence on these dimensions differentially influence leader and follower perceptions of LMX? In a subsample of followers including supervisor-rated performance, the authors develop a model that examines how individual values moderate the effect of dyad contact on supervisor-rated job performance mediated by follower LMX. Design/methodology/approach The participants for this study include graduate and undergraduate social work students who were taking part in a one-year work placement within a social work organization as well as their immediate supervisors. Across a four-month period, participants filled out measures of their supervisor contact, work values and LMX. Supervisor-rated performance was also included. Findings Findings from the dyadic subsample show that growth value congruence is a predictor of follower-rated LMX, with value congruence across all values having no effect on leader-rated LMX. Within a subsample of followers, findings suggest that follower-rated LMX mediates the relationship between dyad contact and supervisor-rated job performance, with individual work values moderating this effect. Originality/value The current study offers several contributions to the literature on LMX and job performance. First, in this study’s dyadic leader–follower sample, the authors extend propositions made by social identity theory around value congruence and LMX by offering support for a multi-dimensional and multi-target approach to questions of values and LMX. Second, within this study’s larger non-dyadic sample, the authors offer insights into previous conflicting findings around dyad contact and LMX, by offering support for the indirect effect of dyad contact on supervisor-rated performance via LMX. Third, within this second sample, the authors also extend the literature on values and LMX to show that the process through which LMX influences job performance is dependent on follower values.

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1347-1364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Yuan ◽  
Shiying Xiao ◽  
Jian Li ◽  
Chen Chen ◽  
Lutao Ning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation and team members’ job performance. The conceptual model developed in this paper also investigates the moderating role of the perception of organisational politics (POP) in affecting the association between LMX differentiation and team members’ job performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data using a survey from 32 Chinese firms. The questionnaire included scales measuring LMX, POP, job performance, and demographic variables. The final sample consisted of 122 teams with 561 employees. The hypothesised relationships among variables were assessed using hierarchical linear modelling. Findings The results show that the higher the LMX differentiation, the lower the level of team members’ contextual performance. The authors also found that POP has a significant effect in positively moderating the relationships between LMX differentiation and team members’ contextual and task performances. Research limitations/implications The conceptual model developed and verified in this paper provides essential insights for the research on LMX and job performance. Future studies are suggested to collect cross-national data to examine the conclusions of this study. Originality/value The association between LMX differentiation and team members’ job performance is moderated by the degree of POP.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome Choy ◽  
Darcy McCormack ◽  
Nikola Djurkovic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and job performance and the utility of delegation and participation as mediators of the aforementioned relationship. Methodology – A survey approach was used in this research. Regression analyses, including mediation analyses, on data from 268 employees in a large public sector organisation were conducted. Findings – The findings revealed that both delegation and participation were significant mediating variables of the relationship between LMX and job performance. Research limitation – The limitations of the study include the use of self-report and cross-sectional data. Future research could include multi-source data, and a longitudinal research design. Practical implication – The implications of the findings for theory and management are discussed, including the use of delegation and participation as effective instruments for developing and maintaining strong manager-employee relationships to improve social capital and enhance job performance. Originality value – This paper enhances understanding of LMX, and sheds some light on how LMX and participative decision making can influence employee job performance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majd Megheirkouni

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating impacts of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory on the relationship between job satisfaction, organisational commitment and performance of staff operating in stadia and arenas hosting sport events. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative methods approach was used to gather the data. In total, 146 surveys were completed from stadia hosting sport events in London, Dubai and Doha. Data were analysed using SPSS. Findings LMX fully mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and organisational commitment. LMX fully mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. In addition, job satisfaction was positively and directly related to job performance as well as organisational commitment. Research limitations/implications In-depth interviews approach is also needed to understand how employees perceive their supervisors, managers, or leaders in stadia hosting sport events. Originality/value The paper advances leadership research in stadia hosting sport events that links the impacts of LMX theory on job satisfaction, organisational commitment and performance.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 1115-1123 ◽  
Author(s):  
KeXin Guan ◽  
ZhengXue Luo ◽  
JiaXi Peng ◽  
Zhen Wang ◽  
HaiTing Sun ◽  
...  

We examined the relationship among team networks, leader-member exchange (LMX), and team identification in the workplace. Social network theory, social exchange theory, and social identity theory served as references for our theoretical propositions and analyses. We collected data from a sample of 223 teams of military personnel, serving in the artillery in West China. We found that the team networks had a significant effect on team identification. Further, the variance and the mean for LMX in teams interacted in influencing team identification (β =-.893, p < .01). Our findings indicated that creating productive networks in teams would be useful to enhance team identification, the effect of which may be carried on through to building exchange relationships between leader and follower.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Maria Kanzola ◽  
Konstantina Papaioannou ◽  
Panagiotis E. Petrakis

PurposeThis study examines the relationship between rationality and creativity by means of social identity theory for the Greek society (2019–2020).Design/methodology/approachThe outline of the social identity was given through self-categorization via a distributed questionnaire. The types of behavior (rational, nonrational and loss-averse) were determined by using questions based on the Allais paradox. Principal components analysis (PCA) is used to extract the causal relationships.FindingsThe study findings demonstrate that rational individuals are more prompt to creative personality than nonrational individuals. Rational individuals are motivated to pursue creativity through life-improvement goals. Loss-averse individuals are driven through the contradictive incentive of adventure-seeking behavior without, however, being willing to easily give up their established assets.Originality/valueThis article contributes by explaining creativity among rational, nonrational and loss-averse individuals as a product of social identity theory. This contributes to the literature, by proposing that the application of social theories in economics could constitute a different foundation for economics. This refers to the notion of the social microfoundations of the political economy and macroeconomics.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raheel Yasin ◽  
Sarah I. Obsequio Namoco

Purpose There is scarcity in the literature, both empirically and theoretically, regarding the relationship between transgender discrimination and prostitution. This study aims to offer a new framework for conceptualizing workplace discrimination and prostitution by examining the mediating role of poverty in the relationship between discrimination and prostitution. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual framework of this study is based on the social identity theory and the theory of prostitution. Findings Transgender is a neglected group in society, and more often, they are the ones who are unable to find jobs and when employed, find it challenging to sustain their employment because of their gender identity. This leads them to be discriminated at their workplaces. Subsequently, they are forced to leave their workplace and settle to work as prostitutes for their economic survival. Research limitations/implications Further research should empirically test the design model. Practical implications Managers play an essential role in eliminating discrimination in the organization. Managers need to take measures in crafting gender-free and anti-discrimination policies. They take steps to design recruitment policies in which there is no need to disclose applicant identity. Social implications Discrimination, on the basis of gender identity, promotes a culture of hate, intolerance and economic inequality in society. Prostitution has devastating effects on society. Originality/value In the field of organizational behavior, discrimination as a factor of prostitution was not explored. This study provides a significant contribution to the transgender and discrimination literature along with the prostitution theory and the social identity theory by proposing a model that highlights discrimination as one of the factors that compel the transgender community to be involved in prostitution.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngkeun Choi

Purpose Based on the conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to develop and test the relationship between workplace ostracism and psychological distress of male employees. And depending on the leader member exchange (LMX) theory, it assumes that the relationship between workplace ostracism and psychological distress of male employees is moderated by the LMX. Design/methodology/approach For this, this study used a survey method and multiple regression analyses with multi-source data from 226 male Korean employees and their supervisors. Findings The results suggest the following. First, workplace ostracism was positively associated with job tension, emotional exhaustion and depressed moods at work for male employees. Second, there was a stronger positive relationship between workplace ostracism and job tension, or emotional exhaustion for male employees with low, as opposed to those with high, levels of LMX. Originality/value This study is the first one to examine the moderating effect of LMX on the relationship between workplace ostracism and psychological distress of male employees.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Pichler ◽  
Beth Livingston ◽  
Andrew Yu ◽  
Arup Varma ◽  
Pawan Budhwar ◽  
...  

PurposeThe diversity literature has yet to investigate relationships between diversity and leader–member exchanges (LMX) at multiple levels of analysis. The purpose of this paper is to test a multilevel model of nationality diversity and LMX. In doing so, the authors investigate the role of surface- and deep-level diversity as related to leader–member exchange differentiation (LMXD) and relative LMX (RLMX), and hence to subordinate job performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test a multilevel model of diversity and LMX using multisource survey data from subordinates nesting within supervisors. The authors do so in a context where diversity in nationality is pervasive and plays a key role in LMXs, i.e., a multinational organization in Dubai. The authors tested the cross-level moderated model using MPlus.FindingsThe results suggest surface-level similarity is more important to RLMX than deep-level similarity. The relationship between surface-level similarity and RLMX is moderated by workgroup nationality diversity. When workgroups are more diverse, there is a positive relationship between dyadic nationality similarity and RLMX; when workgroups are less diverse, similarity in nationality matters less. Moreover, LMXD at the workgroup level moderates the relationship between RLMX and performance at the individual level.Originality/valueThis study is one of very few to examine both diversity and LMX at multiple levels of analysis. This is the first study to test the workgroup diversity as a cross-level moderator of the relationship between deep-level similarity and LMX. The results challenge the prevailing notion that that deep-level similarity is more strongly related to LMX than surface-level diversity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 845-859
Author(s):  
Sevgi Emirza ◽  
Alev Katrinli

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of leader’s construal level, which is the tendency of the leader to construe things abstractly or concretely, on leader-member exchange (LMX) quality and the moderating role of relational demography, which is the comparative similarity between supervisor and subordinate in demographic characteristics. The authors hypothesize a positive relationship between leader construal level and the quality of relationship, such that, as the leader’s construal level increases and becomes more abstract, the quality of relationship improves. Furthermore, demographic similarity is expected to moderate the relationship between leader construal level and LMX quality. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 159 employees with an online questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis was used for hypothesis testing. Findings Results show that the leader’s construal level is positively associated with LMX quality. Moreover, demographic similarity moderates this relationship such that when subordinate and supervisor have similar demographic characteristics, the effect of leader construal level on LMX is higher. Originality/value This study addresses the call for further research on leader-related antecedents of LMX by showing that leader construal level predicts relationship quality. This study also enhances our understanding of how to leverage the construal level in leadership research. Moreover, this study provides a deeper and more integrated understanding regarding the development of LMX relationships by delineating the interactive effect of leader-related features and relational demography.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson Betti Frare ◽  
Ilse Maria Beuren

PurposeThis study analyzes the indirect effects of corporate reputation and social identity on innovative job performance, through organization engagement.Design/methodology/approachA single entity survey was conducted with the employees of a unicorn startup, which is the largest financial services startup (fintech) in Brazil, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).FindingsThe results present empirical evidence that corporate reputation and social identity (employee-company identification) are able to stimulate innovative job performance, mediated by organization engagement. In addition to these symmetrical relationships, asymmetrically, combinations of these constructs with different education levels, age and tenure promote high innovative job performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has theoretical implications to the extent that the precepts of the social identity theory are observed, by verifying the direct influence of corporate reputation and employee-company identification on organization engagement. It also has implications for presenting an indirect positive effect of corporate reputation and employee-company identity on innovative job performance.Practical implicationsIt contributes by providing subsidies for the company to find to keep employees engaged and prone to innovation, which represents an important managerial parameter and competitive advantage.Originality/valueThe literature points to the need to identify antecedents of innovative job performance. It is postulated that corporate reputation and social identity can indirectly reflect on innovative job performance, mediated by organizational engagement.


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