When supervisors feel supported: Relationships with subordinates' perceived supervisor support, perceived organizational support, and performance.

The authors surveyed full-time retail employees and their supervisors to investigate relationships of supervisors' perceived organizational support (POS) with subordinates' perceptions of support from their supervisors (perceived supervisor support [PSS]), POS, and in-role and extra-role performance. The authors found that supervisors' POS was positively related to their subordinates' perceptions of supervisor support. Subordinates' PSS, in turn, was positively associated with their POS, in-role performance, and extra-role performance. Beyond these bivariate relationships, subordinates' perceptions of support from the supervisor mediated positive relationships of the supervisors' POS with the subordinates' POS and performance. These findings suggest that supervisors who feel supported by the organization reciprocate with more supportive treatment for subordinates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employee retaliation: The neglected consequence of poor leader–member exchange relations.

Although the beneficial effects of high-quality leader–member exchange (LMX) relationships have been well-documented in the leadership literature, much less is known about the potentially damaging effects of poor exchange relationships. Using 150 intact leader–member dyads, the authors investigated the relationship between LMX and supervisors' reports of employee retaliation behavior, performance, and citizenship. Results indicated that performance and citizenship were positively related to LMX. More important, LMX was negatively correlated with retaliation behavior. Supervisors reported that subordinates in poor exchange relationships were more likely to engage in retaliation against the organization than subordinates in high-quality relationships. The lack of a high-quality exchange relationship was, therefore, not just associated with the absence of positive consequences but also led to reports of potentially disruptive behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Well-connected leaders: The impact of leaders' social network ties on LMX and members' work attitudes.

We examined the proposition that leaders' social network ties in the larger organization influence the quality of their leader–member exchange (LMX) with their employees, which, in turn, impacts these employees' job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Using multilevel, multisource data from a field study of 184 bank employees nested within 42 branch managers, we found that leaders who had higher quality relationships with their bosses and who were more central in their peer networks were perceived by their subordinates as having greater status in the organization and, therefore, were able to form higher quality relationships with them. Further, the effects of the leaders' perceived status on LMX were stronger when subordinates were less central in their own peer network. Finally, LMX mediated the impact of leaders' perceived status in the organization on subordinates' job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervisors' role conflict and role ambiguity differential relations with performance ratings of subordinates and the moderating effect of screening ability.

Survey data obtained from two independent samples of supervisors (Ns?=?68 and 109) supported the prediction that supervisors' experience of role conflict would correlate positively with their reported tendency to deliberately inflate subordinates' performance ratings. Contrary to expectation, in neither sample did supervisors' screening ability emerge as a moderator of the relation between role conflict and rating inflation. In a third independent sample of supervisors (N?=?25), in which rating inflation was operationalized on the basis of actual performance ratings of subordinates, strong support was obtained for both the predicted positive association between role conflict and rating inflation as well as the predicted moderating effect of screening ability on this relation. By contrast, the authors did not anticipate that supervisors' experience of role ambiguity would be directly associated with, or interact with screening ability to predict, rating inflation. The data from all three samples were, in general, in line with these expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature.

The authors reviewed more than 70 studies concerning employees' general belief that their work organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support; POS). A meta-analysis indicated that 3 major categories of beneficial treatment received by employees (i.e., fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and favorable job conditions) were associated with POS. POS, in turn, was related to outcomes favorable to employees (e.g., job satisfaction, positive mood) and the organization (e.g., affective commitment, performance, and lessened withdrawal behavior). These relationships depended on processes assumed by organizational support theory: employees' belief that the organization's actions were discretionary, feeling of obligation to aid the organization, fulfillment of socioemotional needs, and performance-reward expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meta-Analytic review of leader–member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues.

The leader–member exchange (LMX) literature is reviewed using meta-analysis. Relationships between LMX and its correlates are examined, as are issues related to the LMX construct, including measurement and leader–member agreement. Results suggest significant relationships between LMX and job performance, satisfaction with supervision, overall satisfaction, commitment, role conflict, role clarity, member competence, and turnover intentions. The relationship between LMX and actual turnover was not significant. Leader and member LMX perceptions were only moderately related. Partial support was found for measurement instrument and perspective (i.e., leader vs. member) as moderators of the relationships between LMX and its correlates. Meta-analysis showed that the LMX7 (7-item LMX) measure has the soundest psychometric properties of all instruments and that LMX is congruent with numerous empirical relationships associated with transformational leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderating effects of initial leader–member exchange status on the effects of a leadership intervention.

In a field experiment involving 83 computer-processing employees of a large service organization, a leadership intervention based on the leader–member exchange (LMX) model was tested against a control condition. It was hypothesized that Ss having initially low LMX would respond more positively (after adjusting for regression effects) to the leadership intervention than those having higher quality relationships. Dependent measures included scores on the Job Diagnostic Survey and Role Orientation Index and work productivity. Analysis of interaction effects indicated that comparing the leadership intervention condition to the control condition, the initially low-LMX group showed significant gains in productivity, job satisfaction, and supervisor satisfaction compared to the initially high-LMX group. The initially low-LMX group also perceived significantly higher gains in member availability and support from their supervisors than the initially high-LMX group. The initial quality of LMX appears to moderate the leadership intervention effect in the hypothesized direction. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The work-family interface and job performance: Moderating effects of conscientiousness and perceived organizational support.

Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the authors hypothesized that two aspects of the work-family interface--family-to-work conflict (FWC) and family-to-work enrichment (FWE)--are related to job performance. The authors also hypothesized that two variables moderate those relationships--individual differences in conscientiousness and aspects of the work environment in terms of perceived organizational support (POS). Data collected from a matched set of 136 private sector workers and their respective supervisors revealed that high FWC was more strongly related to lower job performance: (1) among high- than low-conscientiousness workers and (2) among workers reporting low rather than high levels of organizational support. However, FWE was unrelated to job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence tactics, affect, and exchange quality in supervisor-subordinate interactions: A laboratory experiment and field study.

The hypothesis was tested that subordinates' impression-management tactics and performance affect supervisor–subordinate exchange quality by influencing supervisors' liking for and performance ratings of their subordinates. In Study 1, 96 undergraduates completed measures of liking, performance, and exchange quality after interacting with a subordinate who engaged in a high or low level of impression management and performed at a high, average, or low level of competence. LISREL results were consistent with the proposed model. In Study 2, 84 bank employees rated how frequently they engaged in each of 24 impression-management behaviors. Factor analysis revealed three types of tactics: job-focused, self-focused, and supervisor-focused. The employees' direct supervisors completed measures of liking, performance, and exchange quality. LISREL results indicated that supervisor-focused tactics affected supervisors' liking for subordinates, which in turn influenced exchange quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal investigation of newcomer expectations, early socialization outcomes, and the moderating effects of role development factors.

This longitudinal study examined hypothesized moderating effects of role development on the link between unmet expectations and socialization outcomes. Data were collected from 248 new hires before organizational entry and at an average of 4 weeks after entry. Three role expectations, conflict, clarity, and acceptance, were measured at both data collections. Two role development constructs, leader-member exchange (LMX) and team-member exchange (TMX), and three socialization outcomes, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and job satisfaction, were measured after entry. Results showed that met expectations, LMX, and TMX were significant predictors of all outcomes. In addition, LMX and TMX significantly moderated several relationships, such that favorable role development relationships with supervisors or work groups ameliorated the negative effects of unmet expectations. Research and applied implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of fair treatment and rewards in perceptions of organizational support and leader-member exchange.

This study examined a model of the antecedents and consequences of perceived organizational support (POS) and leader-member exchange (LMX). It was predicted that organizational justice (procedural and distributive justice) and organizational practices that provide recognition to the employee (feelings of inclusion and recognition from upper management) would influence POS. For LMX, it was predicted that leader reward (distributive justice and contingent rewards) and punishment behavior would be important antecedents. Results based on a sample of 211 employee-supervisor dyads indicated that organizational justice, inclusion, and recognition were related to POS and contingent rewards were related to LMX. In terms of consequences, POS was related to employee commitment and organizational citizenship behavior, whereas LMX predicted performance ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived supervisor support: Contributions to perceived organizational support and employee retention.

Three studies investigated the relationships among employees' perception of supervisor support (PSS), perceived organizational support (POS), and employee turnover. Study 1 found, with 314 employees drawn from a variety of organizations, that PSS was positively related to temporal change in POS, suggesting that PSS leads to POS. Study 2 established, with 300 retail sales employees, that the PSS-POS relationship increased with perceived supervisor status in the organization. Study 3 found, with 493 retail sales employees, evidence consistent with the view that POS completely mediated a negative relationship between PSS and employee turnover. These studies suggest that supervisors, to the extent that they are identified with the organization, contribute to POS and, ultimately, to job retention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual reactions to high involvement work processes: Investigating the role of empowerment and perceived organizational support.

This study sought to understand how high involvement work processes (HIWP) are processed at the employee level. Using structural equation modeling techniques, the authors tested and supported a model in which psychological empowerment mediated the effects of HIWP on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance, and job stress. Furthermore, perceived organizational support (POS) was hypothesized to moderate the relationships between empowerment and these outcomes. With exception for the empowerment-job satisfaction association, support was found for our predictions. Future directions for research and the practical implications of our findings for both employees and organizations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress at work: Linear and curvilinear effects of psychological-, job-, and organization-related factors: An exploratory study of trinidad and tobago.

In this study, the authors operationalized job stress as a two-dimensional construct consisting of time pressure and anxiety. The authors hypothesized that the relationship between job stress and job-related attitudes such as job involvement and job satisfaction would be curvilinear but would be linear with psychosomatic problems. In addition, the authors proposed that attitudinal factors would mediate the relationship between job stress and organizational commitment. Data were obtained from 241 respondents in Trinidad and Tobago. Our findings revealed that curvilinear relationships were supported for anxiety and the outcome variables but not for time pressure. The results also provided full support for our mediation hypotheses in the case of anxiety. However, partial support for mediation was obtained for time pressure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal and task-related moderators of leader-member exchange among software developers.

Although earlier studies have shown significant positive relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX) and its outcomes, they have also noted that the effect sizes of these relationships have been modest and heterogeneous. Addressing numerous calls for future studies that examine potential moderators of the LMX-job performance and LMX-job satisfaction relationships and utilizing a multidomain perspective, this study tests the moderating roles of personal (i.e., locus of control) and task-related (i.e., task autonomy) factors on these relationships. The results of an empirical study with a sample of 287 software developers and 164 supervisors participating at a large international information technology exhibition indicated that the LMX-job performance relationship was stronger when employees' locus of control was internal as opposed to when it was external. In addition, it was stronger when task autonomy was high as opposed to when it was low. Moreover, the results suggested that the LMX-job satisfaction relationship was stronger when task autonomy was high as opposed to when it was low. Finally, contrary to theoretical expectations, employees' locus of control did not moderate the LMX-job satisfaction relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents and outcomes of organizational support for development: The critical role of career opportunities.

This study examines antecedents and behavioral outcomes of employees' perceptions of organizational support for development. We first propose that employees' past participation in formal developmental activities and experience with developmental relationships positively relate to their perceptions of organizational support for development. We then propose that perceived career opportunity within the organization moderates the relationship between organizational support for development and employee performance and turnover. Using a sample of 264 exempt-level employees and their supervisors, we found that participation in training classes, leader–member exchange, and career mentoring were each positively related to employees' perceptions of organizational support for development. We also found support for the moderator hypotheses. Specifically, development support positively related to job performance, but only when perceived career opportunity within the organization was high. Further, development support was associated with reduced voluntary turnover when perceived career opportunity was high, but it was associated with increased turnover when perceived career opportunity was low. Our study demonstrates that social exchange and career motivation theory work together to explain when and how employees' perceptions of organizational support for development relate to turnover and job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes.

A field investigation of 337 employees and their immediate superiors tested the mediating role of empowerment in relations between job characteristics, leader–member exchange (LMX), team–member exchange (TMX), and work outcomes. The meaning and competence dimensions of empowerment mediated the relation between job characteristics and work satisfaction. The meaning dimension also mediated the relation between job characteristics and organizational commitment. Contrary to prediction, empowerment did not mediate relations between LMX, TMX, and the outcome variables. Rather, LMX and TMX were directly related to organizational commitment. In addition, TMX was directly related to job performance. These findings suggest that work satisfaction is explained largely by job characteristics (through empowerment) but that LMX and TMX combine with job characteristics and empowerment to explain variation in organizational commitment and job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safety-related behavior as a social exchange: The role of perceived organizational support and leader–member exchange.

Researchers have been giving increased attention to the role larger organizational variables play in safety and accidents. Although generally neglected by this research, the nature of the exchange relationships between individuals, leaders. and the organization appears to have safety-related implications. The present research linked leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived organizational support (POS) to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Data were collected from 49 supervisor–group-leader dyads in a manufacturing facility. The results indicated that POS was significantly related to safety communication and that LMX was significantly related to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Support was also found for a structural model linking POS and LMX to safety communication, safety commitment, and accidents. Implications of these findings for safety and social exchange research are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)