Social Learning in Empowering Leadership: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

This study suggests a comprehensive social learning model of empowering leadership by focusing on the antecedents and processes of empowering leadership. Data were obtained from subordinate–supervisor dyads from the South Korean Army. The results support the social learning of empowering leadership. Specifically, the empowering leadership of high-level leaders facilitates that of low-level leaders, and this relationship is mediated by leader-leader exchange (LLX). Additionally, the results confirm the existence of a moderated mediation relationship among the constructs of interest; that is, the exchange ideology of low-level leaders moderates the relationship between LLX and their empowering leadership, such that the relationship is stronger when the exchange ideology is weak rather than strong. Thus, a weak exchange ideology strengthens the indirect effects of the empowering leadership of high-level leaders on that of low-level leaders through LLX. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Is Ethicality Itself a Boundary Condition for Ethicality: The Complementary Role of Employees’ Exchange Ideology and Moral Awareness in Restricting the Effect of Ethical Leadership in Reducing Workplace Deviance

Ethical leadership (EL) seems to be effective in reducing workplace deviance, questions remain as to whether its benefits are consistent across all situations. Specifically, whether its effectiveness remained in an already ethical environment. In this investigation, we explore two important boundary conditions of ethical leadership that are themselves related to ethicality. We first explore how employees’ moral awareness (MA) may lessen the need for ethical leadership. Drawing on substitutes for leadership theory, we suggest that when individuals already possess a heightened level of moral awareness, ethical leadership’s role in reducing deviant actions may be reduced. We also contended that Employees’ Exchange Ideology - the strength of an employee’s belief that the work effort should depend on treatment by the organization- also reduces EL effectiveness. This norm of reciprocity may not be ethical, as the leader’s positive or negative efforts towards employees may divert them from doing what is morally right to reciprocate. However, not all individuals value reciprocity to the same degree, hence higher Employees’ Exchange Ideology (EEI) may be another boundary condition of EL effectiveness. We conceptualize this framework by modifying Gok et. al. (2017) model to add Employees’ Exchange Ideology as a moderating factor along with Moral Awareness. Workplace Deviance was measured by organizational directed deviance (OD) and supervisor directed deviance (SD). Empirical validity was established by conducting a survey using a close-ended questionnaire. Data was collected from 310 employees working in different organizations in Pakistan and was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structured equation modeling. Results indicated a significant negative complementarity of EEI, in the effect of EL on both dimensions of workplace deviance. This suggested, higher EEI seems to limit the effect of EL on organizational and supervisor-directed deviance. However, the moderating effect of MA was not substantiated for Pakistan. EEI also seems to have a positive effect on both OD and SD, while, SD seems to have a positive effect on OD. Interestingly, EL seems to be causing rather than reducing both OD and SD in the Pakistani environment.

Sustaining Collaborative Effort in Work Teams: Exchange Ideology and Employee Social Loafing

To sustain the effort of work team members as a collaborative resource over time, organizations need to avoid the social loafing of employees. Recognizing the importance of this relationship, we investigated both individual (i.e., exchange ideology) and situational factors (i.e., task visibility and professional respect) that influence employees’ attitudes toward social exchange and team collaboration and thus their social loafing. Using survey responses of 223 employee–supervisor dyads in South Korean firms, hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that employees with a low exchange ideology were unlikely to engage in social loafing. In addition, exchange ideology interacted with both task visibility and professional respect to influence social loafing. Specifically, task visibility was negatively associated with social loafing, and this effect was stronger when employees were low, rather than high, in exchange ideology. Moreover, professional respect was negatively associated with social loafing, and this effect was stronger among those low in exchange ideology. Thus, a low level of exchange ideology can reduce social loafing and can also enhance the potential for task visibility and professional respect to strengthen effort levels. Accordingly, this study suggested that individual characteristics, especially exchange ideology, are important in reducing social loafing and clearly stated what managerial guidelines can be implemented to practically reduce social loafing.

Understanding online community participation behavior and perceived benefits: a social exchange theory perspective

Purpose Online communities (OCs) are the popular social environments in which people interact by sharing resources such as information, advice and thoughts on their mutual interests. Existing research lacks an explanation of the reasons of participation behavior in OCs and how such participation behavior provides members with perceived benefits. This study aims to observe how social exchange theory constructs (perceived members’ support and exchange ideology) affect online community participation behavior (OCPB), and moderated by exchange ideology (EI) and perceived ties, which in turn brings perceived benefits to its participants. Design/methodology/approach A survey method was followed to collect data, and structural equation modeling is used with 305 valid samples. Findings The results highlight the significant effects of perceived members’ support on OCPB. Participation behavior in OCs has critical effect on perceived benefits. The results also identify the moderating effects of EI and perceived tie, where perceived tie was insignificant. Originality/value The findings from this study bridge the literature gaps in the context of OCPB by demonstrating how practitioners and OC managers can enhance perceived members’ support, which result in OCPB, and thus provide the OC users with several perceived benefits.

Exchange ideology and employee creativity: a moderated mediation analysis

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the relationship between exchange ideology and employee creativity based on the social exchange perspective. It also attempts to examine the mediating role of perceived shared leadership and the moderating role of vertical moral leadership.Design/methodology/approachMultilevel and multisource data were collected from 56 research and development (R&D) teams with 306 employees. Hypotheses were tested with multilevel path analysis.FindingsThe authors found that exchange ideology was negatively related to both perceived shared leadership and employee creativity, and perceived shared leadership mediated the relationship between exchange ideology and employee creativity. Moreover, we revealed that vertical moral leadership buffered the negative relationship between employee exchange ideology and perceived shared leadership and also the indirect effect of exchange ideology on employee creativity via perceived shared leadership.Research limitations/implicationsOrganizations should select employees with a relatively weak exchange ideology when forming teams to conduct creative tasks. Moreover, team leaders should make great efforts to facilitate the development of shared leadership among team members while to be a moral leader.Originality/valueThis study extends creativity literature by investigating the effect of exchange ideology on employee creativity. It also sheds lights on leadership research by examining the mediating role of perceived shared leadership and the moderating role of vertical moral leadership.