Leader-member exchange as a linking pin in the idiosyncratic deals - Performance relationship in workgroups

• Published in: The Leadership quarterly 2018-12, Vol.29 (6), p.698-708
• Main Authors: Anand, Smriti, Hu, Jia, Vidyarthi, Prajya, Liden, Robert C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: I-deals; In-role performance; Leader-member exchange; Leader-member exchange (LMX); Leadership; Management; Managerial skills; Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB); Project management; Skill development; Value congruence
• ISSN: 1048-9843; 1873-3409
• DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.005

In the current investigation, idiosyncratic deals (i-deals; individualized work arrangements) are modeled as differentiated resources that shape leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships in workgroups. We integrate literature on leader-member exchange (LMX) with research on i-deals to argue that employee evaluations of i-deals received from the grantor –typically the leader- enhance employee perceptions of LMX, which in turn become instrumental in generating positive performance outcomes. Furthermore, because workgroup characteristics have potential implications on the relationship between a deal grantor and the deal recipient, drawing upon social identity theory of leadership, we reason that the i-deals-LMX relationship is affected by the overall value congruence among the group members. Cross-level moderated mediation analyses on multi source data obtained from 289 employees nested in 60 workgroups showed that the mediational role of LMX in the i-deals to performance outcomes relationship was weaker in high value congruence groups.