The impact of leader‒member exchange on follower performance in light of the larger social network

Abstract

Relationships with leaders do not happen in isolation from the relationships one has with one’s peers. Therefore, we examine the influence of leader‒member exchange on follower job performance in light of the larger social networks in which followers are embedded. Testing multilevel models with data that were gathered using questionnaires from a sample of 240 nurses and 20 supervisors working at four Dutch hospitals revealed that a positive relationship exists between leader‒member exchange and follower job performance when follower workflow network centrality and/or follower friendship network centrality are high but not when they are both low. The results of this study show how the different follower relationships with the supervisor and colleagues intertwine in explaining follower job performance and suggest that the larger network in which followers are embedded within their work teams is important for explaining variations in the results regarding the relationship between leader‒member exchange and follower job performance. Our study indicates that leaders should have an eye for the network position of their followers when developing high quality leader‒member exchange relationships. For followers, a good relationship with their leader is important, but its value depends on their relationships with colleagues.

Does employee humility Foster performance and promotability? Exploring the mechanisms of LMX and peer network centrality in China

“…Third, recognizing humble employees’ improved job success, we extend the social capital theory of career success by bridging personal traits to instrumental social networks. In addition to the relational connecting roles of workflow and friendship networks in previous literature (Regts et al, 2019), the findings of our study show the essential function of instrumental social networks, that is, employee advice network, in linking employee humility to job success.…”

“…Compared with other constructs that depicted a vertical dyadic linkage between a leader and an employee, such as Guanxi, leader identification, and relational trust, LMX reflects more of a work‐related social exchange and can better predict one's work outcomes (Martin, Guillaume, Thomas, Lee, & Epitropaki, 2016). In addition, the centrality of one's advice network position, compared to other constructs depicting coworker relationships such as team‐member exchange, interpersonal liking, and coworker friendship network centrality, provides more comprehensive structural information on social resource access processes and is a better predictor for work outcomes (Regts et al, 2019). Hofmann, Lei, and Grant (2009) found that, although one's perceived competence is influential in advice‐seeking behavior, people still tend to seek advice from those who are more trustworthy and accessible, which describes a humble employee.…”

“…Third, this research extends the social capital theory of career success by bridging personal traits to instrumental social networks. Although this theory has demonstrated the value of relational connections, existing literature has mostly focused on the influence of workflow and friendship networks (Regts, Molleman, & van de Brake, 2019). The current research explores the effects of instrumental social networks and argues that employee advice network centrality plays a crucial role in helping humble employees achieve job success.…”

Spanning leader–subordinate relationships through negative interactions: An examination of leader–member exchange breaches

“…Furthermore, the respondents written responses made it clear that especially in work-related events, the influence of a social network within the organization and the effect of other actors on the experience of the LMX breaches were fundamental. The results showed that the LMX dyads were a part of a broader social network, with multiple actors influencing the experience of an LMX breach; a finding in line with recent studies of LMX relationships in organizations (Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995; Regts et al, 2018; Sparrowe and Emery, 2015). Trust is important to a working relationship (e.g., Grover et al, 2014), as is perceived justice and equity (Henderson et al, 2008; Hooper and Martin, 2008), and the results of this study indicate that subordinates assess the trustworthiness and perceived commitment to justice of the leader by reflecting events taking place within other dyads.…”

The Effect of Empowering Leadership on Intrinsic Motivation: The Role of Psychological Empowerment as a Mediation

“…LMX is a closeness that is built between leaders and their subordinates both in and outside formal work. Subordinates with high LMX will have higher performance and innovation compared to those with low LMX since subordinates with high LMX get more support and information on the work (Regts et al, 2019;Buch et al, 2019;Kim & Koo, 2017). High LMX can also increase OCB and minimize employee negative behaviors (Gooty et al, 2019;Anand et al, 2018;Zhao et al, 2019).…”