Investigating the role of leader-member exchange for goal commitment in system implementation

Abstract

PurposeAlthough Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) has been studied within the domain of organizational psychology, it has not received major attention from information systems literature and researchers. Drawing on LMX theory and the theory of reasoned interaction, this study investigates the roles of LMX, individual member's attitude toward system adoption, supervisor influence and goal commitment on mandatory system implementation. Specifically, our model investigates the moderating role of LMX and how it can be interpreted for an individual member's system adoption in an organization.Design/methodology/approachPartial least square (PLS) technique with the field survey of 148 participants was used for this analysis.FindingsThe empirical test results in the field setting show that attitude and supervisor influence positively affect goal commitment in the system implementation. Furthermore, LMX is a significant moderator between attitude and goal commitment within organizations, but this moderating effect is not valid in the relationship between supervisor influence and goal commitment since it is a more complex process influenced by variables other than supervisor influence.Originality/valueThe results showed that the model in this research has high explanatory and predictive power and is valuable in offering insights and guidance for implementers initiating technology-related changes within organizations.

Tales from the Dark Side of Technology Acceptance: The Dark Triad and the Technology Acceptance Model

“…Owing to the literature supporting that employees who have high turnover intention likely have lower technology acceptance (e.g., Shahreki et al, 2019 ; Thatcher et al, 2002 ; Tomer et al, 2022 ), we used O'Driscoll and Beehr’s ( 1994 ) measure for turnover intentions (TOI)(three items on a 5- point Likert-type scale unified as a single variable.) To account for the variance that could be explained by leader-member exchange (LMX) that the literature supports impacts technology acceptance (Hwang et al, 2016 , 2020 , 2021 ; Schepers et al, 2005 ), we used Graen and Ulh-Bien’s ( 1995 ) measure of LMX (seven items on a 5- point Likert-type scale unified as a single variable.) Additionally, we controlled for age, gender, and organizational tenure because these demographic elements are the most commonly used demographic control variables in the motivation and performance literature (Bernerth & Aguinis, 2016 ).…”

“…Generally, higher quality exchanges are less resistant to change (e.g., Van Dam et al, 2008 ). In the Hwang et al’s manuscripts ( 2020 , 2021 ), the authors found that LMX functioned as a moderator to positively impact technology acceptance. However, leadership also impacts technology acceptance in direct effects.…”

“…The quality of leadership for one who is determining if a technology will be accepted presents as a factor in the literature (Hwang et al, 2016 , 2020 , 2021 ; Schepers et al, 2005 ). For example, the stream of research by Hwang et al ( 2016 , 2020 , 2021 ) strongly supports that the impact of Leader-Member exchange (LMX) influences technology acceptance conceptually and empirically. The LMX construct measures and captures the quality of the employee's relationship with their direct supervisor.…”

How does ethical leadership influence work engagement in project-based organizations? A sensemaking perspective

“…Ethical leadership may be an essential antecedent of goal commitment because ethical leaders use ethical principles to affect subordinates and motivate affective commitment to organizational goals (Mubarak et al, 2022;Sharma et al, 2019). Hwang et al (2020) argued that preferable treatment shapes employees' positive perceptions and encourages them to commit to organizational goals. Ethical leadership increases their enthusiasm and commitment to organizational goals despite the changing role assignments.…”

When breaking the rule becomes necessary: The impact of leader–member exchange quality on nurses pro‐social rule‐breaking

“…Leadership researchers believe that high‐quality exchange relationships with the leader promote positive behaviours among employees. For instance, one study showed that high‐quality LMX enhances goal commitment among employees (Hwang et al., 2020 ). Another study revealed a positive relationship between leader–member exchange and employee subjective well‐being (Le et al., 2020 ).…”