Leader‐member exchange as a significant correlate of organizational and occupational sportsmanship behaviors in a health services setting

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to test for the distinctiveness of organizational versus occupational sportsmanship behavior, and then to investigate the relationship of leader-member exchange (LMX) to each. Design/methodology/approach -A sample of 223 matched nurse-supervisor dyads working for a hospital in Oman was surveyed. Analytic methods included factor analysis and regression. Findings -Organizational sportsmanship behavior was distinguishable from occupational sportsmanship behavior. LMX or the quality of relationship with the supervisor was a significant positive correlate to both types of sportsmanship. Hierarchical regression results showed that LMX significantly contributed to explaining both types of sportsmanship behavior beyond the controlled-for correlates. Research limitations/implications -Sportsmanship, or the willingness to tolerate the minor inconveniences of organizational and occupational life without complaint, is important for the effective functioning of any healthcare institution. Only one dimension of citizenship behavior, i.e. sportsmanship, was distinguished, so it remains to be seen whether other citizenship behavior dimensions can show distinct organization versus occupation referents. How well will LMX correlate to these additional citizenship referents? The sample of nurses from an Omani hospital is also unique, so the generalizability of these results to other samples awaits testing. Originality/value -To the authors' knowledge, the study is the first to explore different work foci, organization versus occupation, for citizenship behavior, and test for the impact of LMX on both.

Nurses' participation in personal knowledge transfer: the role of leader-member exchange (LMX) and structural empowerment

“…(2008) found that high‐quality LMX was positively associated with their perceptions of supervisor support and organizational citizenship behaviour in nurses. Blau et al. (2010) reported similar finding in a sample of nurses in Oman however, LMX quality was related to nurses’ sportsmanship behaviour or willingness to tolerate minor inconveniences.…”

“…2008, Laschinger et al. 2009, Blau et al. 2010, Han & Jekel 2011) although only the Laschinger et al.…”

“…Performance evaluations of managers need to balance recognition for manager relationship‐building skills as well as technical skills. In addition, organizations can offer leadership development opportunities to enhance manager skills in establishing high exchange relationships with staff that include trust‐building, listening, caring about employees and empowering approaches (Blau et al. 2010, Squires et al.…”

Relationship between organizational trust and organizational citizenship behaviors: Staff nurses’ perspective

“…emphasized that lack of sportsmanship may result from the following factors: lack of specific job descriptions, absence of teamwork, frequent conflicts among team members during their communication, employment staff with insufficient skills and training , obligation to work with insufficient materials, hard working conditions, excessive working hours, inability to enjoy legal rights, insufficient wages, and lack of safety measures. [30][31][32][33] Moreover, this study showed a strong positive high significant correlation between overall organizational trust and overall OCBs as perceived by staff nurses. This result can be justified that there had been a high significant difference between all dimensions of organizational trust and organizational citizenship behaviors.…”

Job crafting and Work Involvement as a Mediator to Promote Head Nurses' Organizational Citizenship Behavior at Mansoura University Hospitals

“…However Altuntas & Baykal's (41) study performed in Turkey on nurses and found the mean OCB scores of sportsmanship have a higher than average level for conscientiousness. And Blau et al, (42) study regarding sportsmanship behaviors in hospital nurses in Oman and indicated the mean of grades for nurses in respected questionnaires in both job and organizational factors was higher than the overall mean. Therefore Tabarsa et al, (43) pointed to high level of OCB among nurses in a hospital as a result the hospital could maintain a better performance in providing care and health services by employing more efficient work forces.…”