1. The impact of leader-member exchange on follower performance in light of the larger social network
- Author
-
Hendrik Johan van de Brake, Eric Molleman, Gerdien Regts, Research programme OPERA, and Research programme OB
- Subjects
social networks ,TASK INTERDEPENDENCE ,Strategy and Management ,050109 social psychology ,Psychological empowerment ,EMPLOYEE ,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) ,PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT ,Management of Technology and Innovation ,COWORKER EXCHANGE ,0502 economics and business ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,RELATIONSHIP QUALITY ,TEAM ,WORK ,Social network ,business.industry ,05 social sciences ,General Social Sciences ,LMX ,PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT ,job performance ,leader-member exchange ,Work (electrical) ,social exchange ,Job performance ,Social exchange theory ,Isolation (psychology) ,business ,Psychology ,Social psychology ,Perceived organizational support ,SUBORDINATE PERFORMANCE ,050203 business & management - 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.
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF