The bright and dark sides of high leader–member exchange social comparison: A psychological power perspective

Abstract

Existing research has predominantly highlighted the positive aspects of high leader–member exchange social comparison (LMXSC)—an individual's perception of having a comparatively better exchange relationship with their leader. Drawing on the literature on psychological power, we develop and test an integrated conceptual framework that captures both the beneficial and detrimental effects of high LMXSC on employee work behaviors. Through a multi-source, time-lagged field study of 231 employees in a high-tech manufacturing company, we find that LMXSC positively predicts psychological power. Moreover, via the mediation of psychological power, LMXSC exhibits an indirect negative association with creativity among employees with high relational orientation, while demonstrating indirect positive associations with creativity and rudeness among employees with low relational orientation. Our research findings carry significant implications for both theory and practice.