Leader-member exchange, perceived organizational support, affective commitment

What is it about?

The major objective of this paper is to examine whether LMX and POS have interactive effects on affective commitment to the organization. The utility of Social Exchange Theory for explaining workplace attitudes and behaviors in non-Western settings has been questioned. Another objective is to test our hypotheses, which are based on Social Exchange Theory, within a Chinese context. A cross-sectional design was used. Self-report data on LMX, POS, and affective commitment were obtained from 428 full-time employees in China whilst in-role performance ratings were provided by immediate supervisors. The major findings are LMX and POS have synergistic effects on affective commitment and affective commitment mediates both the relationship between LMX and in-role performance and the relationship between POS and in-role performance. The findings support an explanation of workplace attitudes and behaviors in a non-Western setting based on social exchange. The effects of a proximate source of social exchange (i.e., LMX) on affective commitment depend on the level of a remote source of social exchange (i.e., POS), and vice versa.

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