Effect of leader-member exchange on employee envy and work behavior moderated by self-esteem and neuroticism

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of leader-member exchange (LMX) on envy in the workplace and the subsequent effects of envy on work engagement and socially undermining behavior. In addition, the moderating roles of personality traits, such as self-esteem and neuroticism, are examined in this relationship. Paired questionnaires were personally collected from 245 subordinates and 82 of their immediate supervisors. Empirical analysis of the responses revealed: (a) the quality of LMX is negatively related to employee envy in the workplace, (b) employee envy mediates the relationship between LMX and work engagement, (c) self-esteem boosts the relationship between envy and work engagement, but decreases the relationship between envy and social undermining, and (d) neuroticism exacerbates the relationship between envy and social undermining.

Envy and Counterproductive Work Behavior: The Moderation Role of Leadership in Public and Private Organizations

“…Finally, the comprehensibility of the translated items was assessed by subject matter experts. Moreover, to mitigate common method variance (CMV), which had created false internal consistency in the answers on the questionnaires [ 58 ], we used a different scale format and anchor points [ 12 ].…”

“…Most studies have focused on the relationship between LMX and positive employee behaviors [ 11 ]. However, few studies have addressed negative employee behaviors [ 12 ], and little attention has been paid to the role of LMX in employees’ envy [ 13 ]. It is important to fill this gap in order to understand the dynamics underlying the relationship between envy and CWB in the work context.…”

“…The relationship between envy and LMX is complex. Organizational literature has shown that LMX can elicit envy in the workplace (e.g., [ 12 , 13 ]). In addition, some studies analyze how envy affects interpersonal processes such as LMX [ 1 ], whereas others analyze envy’s possible association with a behavioral response, and whether this relationship can be affected by the relationship with the supervisor [ 5 ].…”

Leader- and Team-Member Exchanges and Their Relationships with Organizational and Interpersonal Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Moderation by Envy and Group Size in Israel and USA

“…As stated before, low-quality exchanges (i.e., LMX and TMX) might lead to negative outcomes, such as CWBs (e.g., Chernyak-Hai & Tziner, 2014;Jian & Ting, 2014;Shu & Lazatkhan, 2017;Zhenglong et al, 2011). Moreover, we may assume that individuals with different levels of dispositional envy would react differently to perceived unfair/unequal exchanges in the work context.…”

“…Social exchanges tend to be reciprocal (e.g., Gouldner, 1960), such that good-quality exchange of an employee with his/her direct manager or the immediate work team may promote knowledge sharing, mutual trust, help, and other organizational citizenship behaviors (e.g., Ilies et al, 2007;Podsakoff, Whiting, Podsakoff, & Blume, 2009). On the contrary, low-quality exchange may lead to negative outcomes, such as counterproductive work behaviors (e.g., Chernyak-Hai & Tziner, 2014;Jian & Ting, 2014;Shu & Lazatkhan, 2017;Zhenglong, Dong, & Hongdan, 2011). Specifically, there were very few papers dealing with the relationship between LMX and TMX with CWB-O and CWB-I (respectively), and they were also exclusively conducted in China.…”