Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Business and Psychology
Published in: Journal of Business and Psychology 2/2019

26-12-2017 | Original Paper

LMX and Attributions of Organizational Citizenship Behavior Motives: When is Citizenship Perceived as Brownnosing?

Authors: Wm. Matthew Bowler, Jeffrey B. Paul, Jonathon R. Halbesleben

Published in: Journal of Business and Psychology | Issue 2/2019

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

This study tests the potential negative impact of leader-member exchange (LMX) quality on perceptions of followers’ motives to perform organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Based on the OCB motives introduced and tested by Rioux and Penner (Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 1306–1314, 2001), structural equation modeling using matched-pair data from follower-leader-coworker triads was used to test a model proposed by (Bowler, Halbesleben, and Paul Human Resource Management Review, 20, 309–316 2010) of the double-bind faced by those in low- or high-quality LMX relationships. Followers have their OCB motives attributed to positive pro-social values and organizational concern motives or, alternatively to, negative impression management motives based solely on the point of view of the observer. The first double-bind occurs in that third-party observers attribute the OCB performance motives of followers in high-quality LMX relationships to impression management motives. This puts high LMX followers in a double-bind in that while performing OCB is encouraged and positive, such behavior is seen as self-serving by coworkers. This can lead to followers being labeled as brownnosers by coworkers, among other descriptors. The second double-bind occurs when employees in low-quality LMX relationships have their OCB attributed negatively by their leader. This makes it difficult for employees to develop LMX with their leader. We discuss the implications of the study and outcomes for future research on LMX and OCB motives along with recommendations for practitioners for handling the potential dark side of LMX relationships.
previous article Do Not Cross Me: Optimizing the Use of Cross-Sectional Designs
next article Relational Identification and Forgiveness: Facilitating Relationship Resilience

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Literature
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of self-control. New York: Freeman.
Banki, S. (2010). Is a good deed constructive regardless of intent? Organization citizenship behavior, motive, and group outcomes. Small Group Research, 41(3), 354–375.CrossRef
Barry, B., & Crant, J. M. (2000). Dyadic communication relationships in organizations: An attribution/expectancy approach. Organization Science, 11, 648–664.CrossRef
Becker, J. A. H., & O’Hair, H. D. (2007). Machiavellians’ motives in organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 35, 246–267.CrossRef
Bergeron, D. M. (2007). The potential paradox of organizational citizenship behavior: Good citizen at what cost? Academy of Management Review, 32, 1078–1095.CrossRef
Bergeron, D., Ostroff, C., Schroeder, T., & Block, C. (2014). The dual effects of organizational citizenship behavior: Relationships to research productivity and career outcomes in academe. Human Performance, 27, 99–128.CrossRef
Bergeron, D. M., Shipp, A. J., Rosen, B., & Furst, S. A. (2013). Organizational citizenship behavior and career outcomes: The cost of being a good citizen. Journal of Management, 39, 958–984.CrossRef
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Bolino, M. C. (1999). Citizenship and impression management: Good soldiers or good actors? Academy of Management Review, 24, 82–98.CrossRef
Bolino, M. C., Varela, J. A., Bande, B., & Turnley, W. H. (2006). The impact of impression-management tactics on supervisor ratings of organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 281–297.CrossRef
Bolino, M. C., Turnley, W. H., Gilstrap, J. B., & Suazo, M. M. (2010). Citizenship under pressure: What’s a “good soldier” to do? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(6), 835–855.CrossRef
Bowler, W. M., & Brass, D. J. (2006). Relational correlates of interpersonal citizenship behavior: A social network perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 70–82.CrossRefPubMed
Bowler, W. M., Halbesleben, J. R. B., & Paul, J. B. (2010). If you’re close with the leader, you must be a brownnose: The role leader-member relationships in follower, leader, and coworker attributions of organizational citizenship behavior motives. Human Resource Management Review, 20, 309–316.CrossRef
Brewer, M. B. (1979). In-group bias in the minimal intergroup situation: A cognitive-motivational analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 307–324.CrossRef
Christie, R., & Geis, F. L. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York: Academic.
Conway, J. M., & Lance, C. E. (2010). What reviewers should expect from authors regarding common method bias in organizational research. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 325–334.CrossRef
Davis, J. L., & Rusbult, C. E. (2001). Attitude alignment in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 65.CrossRefPubMed
Deluga, R. J. (1994). Supervisor trust building, leader-member exchange, and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 67, 316–326.CrossRef
Deluga, R. J., & Perry, J. T. (1994). The role of subordinate performance and ingratiation in leader-member exchanges. Group and Organization Management, 19, 67–86.CrossRef
Dockery, T. M., & Steiner, D. D. (1990). The role of the initial interaction in leader-member exchange. Group and Organization Studies, 15, 395–413.CrossRef
Donia, M. B., Johns, G., & Raja, U. (2016). Good soldier or good actor? Supervisor accuracy in distinguishing between selfless and self-serving OCB motives. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1–10.
Eastman, K. K. (1994). In the eyes of the beholder: An attributional approach to ingratiation and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 37(5), 1379–1391.
Eissa, G.M. (2012). The dysfunctional citizen: an organizational citizenship behavior: the effects of application of the conservation of resources theory, ethical values, justice, and organizational to investigate the dark side of organizational commitment. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, USA.
Feldman, J. M. (1986). A note on the statistical correction of halo error. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500–507.CrossRef
Ferris, G. R., Bhawuk, D. P. S., Fedor, D. B., & Judge, T. A. (1995). Organizational politics and citizenship: Attributions of intentionality and construct definition. In M. J. Martinko (Ed.), Advances in attribution theory: An organizational perspective (pp. 231–252). DelRay Beach, FL: St. Lucie Press.
Ferris, G. R., Adams, G., Kolodinsky, R. W., Hochwarter, W. A., & Ammeter, A. P. (2002). Perceptions of organizational politics: Theory and research directions. In F. Dansereau & F. J. Yammarino (Eds.), Research in multi-level issues (pp. 179–254). Oxford, U.K.: Elsevier Science/JAI Press.CrossRef
Gerbing, D. W., & Anderson, J. C. (1984). On the meaning of within-factor correlated measurement errors. Journal of Consumer Research, 11, 572–580.CrossRef
Gerstner, C. R., & Day, D. V. (1997). Meta-analytic review of leader-member exchange theory: Correlates and consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 827–844.CrossRef
Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. The Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219–247.CrossRef
Grant, A. M. (2008). Does intrinsic motivation fuel the pro-social fire? Motivational synergy in predicting persistence, performance, and productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 48–48.CrossRefPubMed
Greenberg, J., Ashton-James, C., & Ashkanasy, N. M. (2007). Social comparison processes in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 102, 22–41.CrossRef
Hackett, R., Farh, J. L., Song, L., & Lapierre, L. (2003). LMX and organizational citizenship behavior: Examining the links within and across Western and Chinese samples. Dealing with diversity. Volume in LMX Leadership: The Series: 219–263. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
Hackett, R. D., & Lapierre, L. M. (2004). A meta-analytical explanation of the relationship between LMX and OCB. Academy of Management Proceedings (Meeting Abstract Supplement), T1-T6.
Halbesleben, J. R. B., & Bowler, W. M. (2007). Emotional exhaustion and job performance: The mediating role of motivation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 93–106.CrossRefPubMed
Halbesleben, J. R. B., Bowler, W. M., Bolino, M. C., & Turnley, W. H. (2010). Organizational concern, prosocial values, or impression management? How supervisors attribute motives to organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40, 1450–1489.CrossRef
Heath, C., Larrick, R. P., & Klayman, J. (1998). Cognitive repairs: How organizations compensate for the shortcoming of individual learners. Research in Organizational Behavior, 20, 1–37.
Howell, J. M., & Hall-Merenda, K. (1999). The ties that bind: The impact of leader-member exchange, transformational and transactional leadership, and distance on predicting follower performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 680–694.CrossRef
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.CrossRef
Ilies, R., Nahrgang, J. D., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Leader-member exchange and citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 269–277.CrossRefPubMed
Jiao, C., & Hackett, R.D. (2007). The effects of LMX on employee conceptualizations and display of OCB In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2007, No. 1, pp. 1-6). Academy of Management.
Jones, E. E. (1964). Ingratiation. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Jones, E. E., & Wortman, C. B. (1973). Ingratiation: An attributional approach. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
Kim, S., O’Neill, J. W., & Cho, H. M. (2010). When does an employee not help coworkers? The effect of leader–member exchange on employee envy and organizational citizenship behavior. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(3), 530–537.CrossRef
Lapierre, L. M., & Hackett, R. D. (2007). Trait conscientiousness, leader-member exchange, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviour: A test of an integrative model. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80(3), 539–554.CrossRef
Liden, R. C., & Graen, G. (1980). Generalizability of the vertical dyad linkage model of leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 23, 451–465.
Liden, R. C., & Maslyn, J. M. (1998). Multidimensionality of leader-member exchange: An empirical assessment through scale development. Journal of Management, 24, 43–72.
Lo, M. C., Ramayah, T., & Hui, J. K. S. (2006). An investigation of leader-member-exchange effects on organizational citizenship behavior in Malaysia. Journal of Business and Management, 12, 5–24.
Martin, R., Guillaume, Y., Thomas, G., Lee, A., & Epitropaki, O. (2016). Leader–member exchange (LMX) and performance: A meta-analytic review. Personnel Psychology, 69(1), 67–121.CrossRef
Organ, D. W. (1988). Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Organ, D. W., Podsakoff, P. M., & MacKenzie, S. B. (2006). Organizational citizenship behavior: Its true nature, antecedents, and consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Parrott, W. G., & Smith, R. H. (1993). Distinguishing the experiences of envy and jealousy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(6), 906.CrossRefPubMed
Piccolo, R. F., & Colquitt, J. A. (2006). Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of core job characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 327–340.CrossRef
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879.CrossRefPubMed
Rioux, S. M., & Penner, L. A. (2001). The causes of organizational citizenship behavior: A motivational analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 1306–1314.CrossRefPubMed
Ryan, J. J. (2001). Moral reasoning as a determinant of organizational citizenship behaviors: A study in the public accounting profession. Journal of Business Ethics, 33, 233–244.CrossRef
Settoon, R. P., Bennett, N., & Liden, R. C. (1996). Social exchange in organizations: Perceived organizational support, leader-member exchange, and employee reciprocity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 219–277.CrossRef
Spitzmuller, M., Van Dyne, L., & Ilies, R. (2008). Organizational citizenship behavior: A review and extension of its nomological network. In J. Barling (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of organizational behavior, Micro approaches (Vol. 1, pp. 106–123). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Tajfel, H. (1972). Some developments in European social psychology. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2(3), 307–321.CrossRef
Tajfel, H. E. (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. London: Academic Press.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (2nd ed., pp. 7–24). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
Tepper, B. J., Duffy, M. K., Hoobler, J., & Ensley, M. D. (2004). Moderators of the relationships between coworkers’ organizational citizenship behavior and fellow employees’ attitudes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(3), 455.CrossRefPubMed
Thorndike, E. L. (1920). A constant error on psychological rating (pp. 25–29). IV: Journal of Applied Psychology.
Van Dyne, L. I. N. N., & Ellis, J. B. (2004). Job creep: A reactance theory perspective on organizational citizenship behavior as over-fulfillment of obligations. The employment relationship: Examining psychological and contextual perspectives, 181–205.
Vecchio, R. (2005). Explorations in employee envy: Feeling envious and feeling envied. Cognition & Emotion, 19, 69–81.CrossRef
Vonk, R. (2002). Self-serving interpretations of flattery: Why ingratiation works. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(4), 515.CrossRefPubMed
Wagner, S. L., & Rush, M. C. (2000). Altruistic organizational citizenship behavior: Context, disposition, and age. Journal of Social Psychology, 140, 379–391.CrossRefPubMed
Wang, H., Law, K. S., Hackett, R. D., Wang, D., & Chen, Z. X. (2005). Leader-member exchange as a mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 420–432.CrossRef
Wayne, S. J., & Green, S. A. (1993). The effects of leader-member exchange on employee citizenship and impression management behavior. Human Relations, 46, 1431–1440.CrossRef
Wayne, S. J., Shore, L. M., & Liden, R. C. (1997). Perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange: A social exchange perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 82–111.
Weiner, B. (1995). Judgments of responsibility: A foundation for a theory of social conduct. New York: Guilford.
Wheeler, A. R., Shanine, K. K., Leon, M. R., & Whitman, M. V. (2014). Student-recruited samples in organizational research: A review, analysis, and guidelines for future research. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87, 1–26.CrossRef
Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management, 17, 601–617.CrossRef
Wong, P. T. P., & Weiner, B. (1981). When people ask “why” questions, and the heuristics of attributional search. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 650–663.CrossRef
Wrightsman, L. S. (1991). Interpersonal trust and attitudes towards human nature. In J. P. Robinson, P. R. Shaver, & L. S. Wrightsman (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes (pp. 373–412). New York: Academic.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
LMX and Attributions of Organizational Citizenship Behavior Motives: When is Citizenship Perceived as Brownnosing?
Authors
Wm. Matthew Bowler
Jeffrey B. Paul
Jonathon R. Halbesleben
Publication date
26-12-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Business and Psychology / Issue 2/2019
Print ISSN: 0889-3268
Electronic ISSN: 1573-353X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-017-9526-5

Other articles of this Issue 2/2019

Journal of Business and Psychology 2/2019 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Relational Identification and Forgiveness: Facilitating Relationship Resilience

Original Paper

Does Entrepreneurial Leadership Foster Creativity Among Employees and Teams? The Mediating Role of Creative Efficacy Beliefs

Original Paper

Challenge-Hindrance Stressors and Job Outcomes: the Moderating Role of Conscientiousness

Original Paper

Examining Attitudes, Norms, and Control Toward Safety Behaviors as Mediators in the Leadership-Safety Motivation Relationship

Original Paper

Do Values and Value Congruence Both Predict Commitment? A Refined Multi-Target, Multi-Value Investigation into a Challenged Belief

Original Paper

Uncertainty Reducer, Exchange Deepener, or Self-Determination Enhancer? Feeling Trust Versus Feeling Trusted in Supervisor-Subordinate Relationships