When My Supervisor Dislikes You More Than Me: The Effect of Dissimilarity in Leader–Member Exchange on Coworkers’ Interpersonal Emotion and Perceived Help

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
File version
Author(s)
Tse, Herman HM
Lam, Catherine K
Lawrence, Sandra A
Huang, Xu
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
2013
Size

267779 bytes

File type(s)

application/pdf

Location
License
Abstract

According to balance theory (Heider, 1958), when 2 coworkers develop different levels of leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships with their supervisor, a triadic relational imbalance will arise among the 3 parties that may result in hostile sentiments and poor social interactions between them. This study examines the consequences and psychological processes of (dis)similar levels of LMX on the interpersonal interactions between coworkers. Using data from 2 independent studies, the results of social relations analyses show that (a) actual (dis)similarity in LMX between Coworkers A and B increases Coworker A's feelings of contempt for Coworker B and decreases Coworker A's perception of help received from Coworker B (Study 1); (b) Coworker A is more likely to experience contempt for Coworker B when Coworker A perceives that he/she has a higher or lower level of LMX compared to Coworker B than when Coworker A perceives that his/her level of LMX is similar to Coworker B's (Study 2); and (c) these relationships only hold true for employees with a high social comparison orientation (SCO) in both Studies 1 and 2. Particularly, in Study 1, we also show that contempt is a crucial mediator that transmits the interactive effect of LMX (dis)similarity and SCO on perceptions of help received from coworkers. Furthermore, an average level of perceived help from coworkers is positively related to the sales performance of individual employees.

Journal Title

Journal of Applied Psychology

Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume

98

Issue

6

Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement

© 2013 American Psycological Association. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. Reproduced here in accordance with publisher policy. Please refer to the journal link for access to the definitive, published version.

Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject

Organisational behaviour

Marketing

Persistent link to this record
Citation
Collections