“My leader’s group is my group”. Leader-member exchange and employees’ behaviours

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to check the mediating role of work engagement (WE) between leader – member exchange and extra-role behaviours (ERBs) like organizational citizenship behaviour, knowledge sharing behaviour and innovative work behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Hypothetical deductive method was used. Longitudinal, time-lagged approach (three times) was used to collect the data using structured questionnaire. Findings It has been found that the WE plays its mediating role between leader – member exchange, organizational citizenship behaviour and innovative work behaviour but not for knowledge sharing behaviour. Research limitations/implications Data related to dependent variables, specifically and for the whole model generally, was collected through self-reported questionnaire, which leads toward self-serving bias at respondents’ end, as exaggeration/manipulation in responses is highly expected. Second mediating role of WE between leader – member exchange and knowledge sharing behaviour has not been proven, but same mediating role has been found in case of organizational citizenship behaviour and innovative work behaviour which is beyond understanding, as all dependent variables are actually different facets of ERBs. Lastly, data for the study variable has been collected from research and development and IT-related organizations only, which can question the generalization of the survey results to other sectors/organizations. Practical implications The study concluded that leader’s exchange plays a vital role for under commands’ ERBs, and WE vitally predicts ERBs; organizational leaders need to pay attention to this part, in Pakistan, being a poor/developing country fulfilling necessary psychological needs can result in better engagement at employees end. Study findings have importance with the view of training, as while conducting training, strategies through which leaders/supervisors may be trained about how they can build good exchange with their subordinates must be incorporated. This study has significance for policy makers, while making policies, as they consider deviant work behaviours as dangerous phenomena, at the same time they need to recognize the importance of ERBs. Originality/value Early mechanism of work performance did not cover full range of behaviours, so now it has been changed from fixed tasks written in employee’s job description (in-role) to broader terms (extra-role) due to uncertain and dynamic work requirements. Extra-role behaviours are more important for the organization as compared to in-role performance. So, a pathway of WE has been established through which ERBs can be expected. Current study was an attempt to explore that how leader can play his role in this situation.

Leadermember exchange, organizational citizenship behaviours and performance of Ghanaian Technical University Lecturers

“…One explanation is the Ghanaian culture, characterised by collectivism and high power distance, high-quality exchanges offer opportunities for employees to be in a leader's in-group, hence the need for reciprocity through OCBs. This study also speaks to the importance of OCBs in higher education and their significance in the growth and maturation of institutions/organizations in a globalknowledge, competitive business context (Khan and Malik, 2017). Results for H2 suggest that the interplay between work experience and LMX is compensatory in nature namely the positive effects of LMX on OCB decrease as work experience increases.…”

“…Such employees experiencing high quality LMX are thus able to access resources that they value and experience better relationships than those in a low quality LMX groups do (Sue- Chan et al, 2011). Besides employment contracts, high-quality associations are established on trust, loyalty, obligation, mutual liking, respect and loyalty, coupled with formal monetary exchanges, while low-quality relations are built solely on employment contracts and pure economic exchanges (Khan and Malik, 2017;Khorakian and Sharifirad, 2019). Consequently, employees in highquality relationships ultimately experience improved work performance (Stoffers et al, 2014) and commitment toward leaders and the organization (Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995;Martin et al, 2016;Sue-Chan et al, 2011).…”

“…Following these basic tenets of SET the Leader-Member-Exchange (LMX) shows that employees tend to increase their task engagement when they experience high rather than low quality exchanges (LMX) with their leaders. A leader's relational approach and personal attention toward a subordinate's social and work life are thus paramount to understanding such behaviours (Khan and Malik, 2017). LMX emphasizes the value of harmonious relationships between leaders and subordinates as well as argues that team and organizational performance is fostered when leaders and subordinates develop mature and rewarding relationships (Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995;Haspari et al, 2019;Lo et al, 2006).…”

“…OCBs constitute informal modes of cooperation and contributions (that is, job behaviours) in which individuals engage to achieve job satisfaction and perceived fairness at work (Organ, 2018). Empirical research to date shows that OCBs are essential to performance, and such behaviours are often triggered by the support and effort of leaders (Khan and Malik, 2017;Organ, 2018).…”

Leader–Member Exchange and Affective Commitment to Change: Mediating Role of Change Self-Efficacy

“…Commitment to change is influenced by the relationship between superior and subordinate [3]. The superior and subordinate relationship has a significant role in creating a healthy work environment that leads to the level of organizational success in achieving their goals [5]. The phenomenon of superior and subordinate relationship is often described in a dyadic relationship between superior and subordinate (leader-member exchange/LMX).…”