其他摘要 | Different leader-member exchange developed by Team leaders in organizations will influence teams. Not only will the leader-member vertical dyadic exchange relationship affect employees' attitudes and behaviors, but other colleagues' leader-member exchange (LMX) within the team may also affect employees. Social comparisons with colleagues in terms of LMX can not only affect how employees perceive and treat each other, but also how they perceive and perform themselves. It has been widely supported by empirical research that employees' downward LMX comparison can enhance their work performance by enhancing their self-esteem, while the different psychological processes and outcomes that may result from employees' upward comparison are yet to be explored.
Based on relative deprivation theory, this article first proposes the concept of Leader-Member Exchange Relative Deprivation (LMXRD) (i.e., when employees feel that they have not received the level of LMX they deserve) to explain the psychological mechanism by which upward LMX social comparison affects employees' work behavior. On this basis, it explores the effect of upward LMX social comparison on employee work behavior via LMXRD and its boundary conditions. Among them, the importance of leader-member exchange and personal entitlement regulate the relationship between upward LMX social comparison and LMXRD; meritocracy (i.e., the perceived likelihood of being able to change current team status through one's own efforts) moderates the relationship between LMXRD and employee work behavior, as well as the relationship between upward LMX social comparison and employee work behavior through LMXRD.
Before testing the research model, we designed two pilot studies to explore whether employees' upward LMX social comparison would produce LMXRD and the measurement of LMXRD in work practice. Pilot study 1 aimed to test the former. Through semi-structured interviews with 15 employed staff and content analysis results, it was shown that the cognitive process mentioned most by employees in the process of upward LMX social comparison was the desire for high-quality interaction with leaders and entitlement for high-quality interaction, while the emotional experience mentioned most was dissatisfaction and a sense of loss. Both parts support this study's definition and description of LMXRD. The purpose of pilot study 2 was to develop a measurement for LMXRD. The study recruited 113 employed staff from a data collection platform to participate in an open-ended questionnaire survey, asking them to describe their psychological feelings when experiencing LMXRD. The content analysis results showed that the emotional component of LMXRD includes dissatisfaction and a sense of loss, while the cognitive component is employees' judgment that they have not received due recognition, attention and trust. Combining the results of pilot studies 1 and 2 with the measurement of relative deprivation in social situations, a general LMXRD scale consisting of five items was finally developed.
Study 1 aimed to test the reliability and validity of the LMXRD scale and explore the research model at the individual level. The study recruited 350 employed staff from a data collection platform to participate in a questionnaire survey. The results showed that the LMXRD scale developed in pilot study 2 had good reliability, structural validity, discriminant validity and criterion-related validity. In addition, regression analysis showed that when personal entitlement was high, the relationship between upward LMX social comparison and LMXRD was stronger. When meritocracy was low, the relationship between LMXRD and work withdrawal behavior was stronger and the relationship between LMXRD and self-improvement behavior was weaker; when meritocracy was high, the relationship between LMXRD and work withdrawal behavior was weaker and the relationship between LMXRD and self-improvement behavior was stronger. Personal entitlement and meritocracy can moderate the indirect effect of upward LMX social comparison on employee work withdrawal behavior and self-improvement behavior through LMXRD.
Study 2 tested the mediation effect of LMXRD on employee work behavior through upward LMX social comparison at the coworker dyadic level and its boundary conditions. The study used two-stage multi-source round-robin sampling to analyze hierarchical regression results showing that the interaction between upward LMX social comparison and personal entitlement had a significant effect on LMXRD; meritocracy can moderate the indirect effect of upward LMX social comparison through LMXRD on employee self-improvement behavior and work withdrawal behavior.
Study 3 tested the causal relationship between upward social comparison of leader-member exchange relationships through LMXRD and employee work behavior through three scenario simulation experiments. Study 3a tested whether the impact of upward social comparison of leader-member exchange relationships on (LMXRD) is moderated by LMX importance and personal entitlement. The inter-group designed experimental results showed that there was a significant main effect of upward social comparison of LMX on LMXRD, and a significant interaction effect between upward social comparison of LMX importance and LMXRD. Study 3b tested whether two moderating variables, personal entitlement and meritocracy, have a moderating effect on the main effect and indirect effect. The inter-group designed experimental results showed that personal entitlement can moderate the relationship between upward social comparison of LMX and LMXRD; personal entitlement and meritocracy can simultaneously moderate the indirect effect of upward social comparison of LMX through LMXRD on employee work withdrawal behavior. Study 3c tested whether the moderating effect of LMX importance and personal entitlement on the relationship between upward social comparison of LMX and LMXRD and the indirect effect of upward social comparison of LMX through LMXRD on employee work behavior are different at different levels of meritocracy. The inter-group designed experimental resultsshowed that personal entitlement has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between upward social comparison of LMX and LMXRD; when meritocracy is low, there is no significant impact of upward social comparison of LMX through LMXRD on employee self-improvement behavior; when meritocracy is high, there is a significant positive impact.
To conclude al the results, except for the hypothesis involving LMX importance, all three studies basically supported our research hypothesis. The concept of LMXRD proposed in this study helps us better understand the mechanism of the impact of horizontal LMX social comparison on employees involved and can more comprehensively understand the substantial impact of LMX differences in teams and organizations. It contributes to the development of LMX field and relative deprivation theory. In the context of LMX, when employees perceived that their roles in team are variable, employees' upward social comparison of LMX can also have a positive motivating effect on employees and is expected to provide theoretical guidance for team management practice. |
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