Examining the Effects of Leader-Member Exchange Comparison on Employee Work Attitudes

Abstract

Guided by a more complex integration between leader-member exchange (LMX) and comparison theories, the main aim of this thesis is to enhance the understanding of employees’ LMX comparisons and their impact on work attitudes. Despite the increased recognition that employees innately and constantly engage in LMX social comparisons, employees’ LMX social comparisons beyond the immediate workgroup have been unexplored. This thesis expands the scope of LMX comparisons by introducing two novel constructs, LMX comparisons with significant others (LMXSOC) and LMX temporal comparisons (LMXTPC). Across two time-lagged studies, two distinct conceptual models were examined, one relating to LMXSOC and one relating to LMXTPC. In both studies, evidence was found for the indirect effects of both LMXSOC and LMXTPC on employee attitudinal outcomes via felt obligation and relative deprivation. Overall, the findings of the thesis suggest that understanding LMX comparisons within this broad perspective represents an important step in the advancement of LMX theory by offering a more nuanced view of the LMX comparison process and furthering the understanding of employee outcomes.