Effect of leader-member exchange social comparison on co-worker’s envy and work behavior moderated by perceived deservingness of star workers

• Main Author: NG, Ronnie
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
• Subjects: leader-member exchange social comparison (LMXSC); benign envy; malicious envy; perceived deservingness; help-seeking; knowledge hiding; star employees; Leadership Studies; Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/528; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/etd_coll/article/1526/viewcontent/GPBA_AY2018_DBA_Ronnie_Ng.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The extant leader-member exchange (LMX) literature suggests that leaders establish and develop different quality dyadic relationships with members in the same workgroup. High-quality LMX is argued as beneficial to employees. However, studies have overlooked the emotions and behaviors of low-quality LMX employees to determine how they differ from high-quality LMX employees. This study integrates LMX differentiation literature, social comparison theory and attributional theory to examine the role of LMX social comparison (LMXSC) perceptions in triggering help-seeking and knowledge hiding from star co-workers in the workplace. This study also explores the mediating role of dual envy, that is, benign and malicious envy and the moderating role of perceived deservingness of star co-workers within the proposed relationship. Using time-lagged data from 293 employees in China, the results show that lower LMXSC is associated with malicious envy, which in turn, evokes knowledge hiding from higher LMXSC star co-workers. The indirect effect of LMXSC on knowledge hiding via malicious envy is stronger when perceived deservingness of star co-workers is lower. This study concludes with theoretical and practical implications.