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Building on similarity‐attraction theory and extending research on person–organization value congruence and organizational identification, this study examines the relationship between perceived leader–employee value congruence and leader identification. Using a two‐wave design, data were collected twice with a 6 months’ time lag from a sample of 282 employees. Utilizing cross‐lagged analyses, we examined bidirectional effects between perceived leader–employee value congruence and leader identification. The results provided support for the positive relationship of perceived leader–employee value congruence (Time 1) to leader identification (Time 2) but could not exclude the possibility of a bidirectional relationship. Overall, the study highlights the importance of value congruence for identification processes. Practitioner points HR professionals should put emphasis on values when matching leaders and employees as the employees’ overall assessment of value fit between the leader's and the employees’ values plays an important role in the employees’ identification with the leader. As more support was found for perceived leader–employee value congruence affecting leader identification than vice versa, there should be a greater focus on the employee's overall assessment of value fit with the leader than whether the employee identifies with the leader.

People may identify with multiple entities at work, but how are different foci of identification related and how do they influence extra-role work behaviors? Drawing from social identity theory, our article examines: (a) the potential bidirectional relationship between leader and organizational identification; (b) the mediating role of organizational identification on the relationship between leader identification and organizational citizenship behavior (organization-targeted, OCBO); and (c) the moderating role of collective identity orientation on the indirect relationship between leader identification and OCBO via organizational identification. Cross-lagged analyses of two-time data in two independent studies provided support for identification generalization from leader identification to organizational identification and confirmed the hypothesized mediating role of organizational identification. Our results also confirmed the moderating role of collective identity orientation and showed that the relationship between leader identification and organizational identification was stronger for employees with low collective identity orientation. Support was also provided for moderated mediation. Overall, our findings showcase the importance of examining multiple identifications foci when studying social identification at work, and provide support for spillover effects of lower-order to higher-order identifications.

In this paper, we introduce a novel construct, leader–member exchange (LMX) importance, which we position as a meta‐perception indicating whether followers view their LMX relationship as personally important or valuable to them. Based on social exchange theory, we examine the extent to which the obligation followers feel towards their leader depends jointly on the quality and the importance of the LMX relationship. We examine how LMX importance influences the process through which LMX quality affects employees’ level of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by focusing on felt obligation (a measure of followers’ reciprocity obligation in the social exchange process) as a mediating variable. Across two studies, we found that high levels of both LMX quality and LMX importance interacted to engender a greater feeling of obligation in followers to repay the perceived favourable exchanges with their leader. Felt obligation predicted leader‐rated OCB, demonstrating support for our hypothesized moderated mediation model. However, psychological empowerment, when included alongside felt obligation (in Study 2), did not mediate the LMX‐OCB relationship. Overall, our findings extend the focus of LMX theory beyond the confines of LMX quality to incorporate the importance of the LMX relationship. Practitioner points Leaders should be aware that followers vary in the extent to which they perceive the leader–follower relationship to be personally important. As such, they may decide to invest heavily in helping followers understand that the relationship is instrumental for their success at work. Leaders should invest not only in trying to build positive relationships, but also in establishing the importance of these relationships. Doing so will maximize the benefits of developing a high‐quality relationship. Followers appear to be more willing to reciprocate when they perceive a high‐quality relationship with the leader and one when they perceive the relationship to be important. Thus, managers should be aware that the norm of reciprocity may vary depending on how important followers perceive the relationship to be and leaders may need to find other ways to motivate employees who do not see the relationship as important. When followers do not see the leader–follower relationship as important, managers should avoid trying to engage in reciprocity contingent influence tactics and/or try to change followers’ perceptions of the importance of the relationship.

Are there career benefits to leaders and followers agreeing about the quality of their leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship? Is LMX disagreement always detrimental for a follower's career? Can the examination of LMX agreementThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.