Energy Crossover from Leader to Followers: A Time-lagged Study of the Effects of Energy Discrepancy and Leader-Member Exchange

This study investigates the effects of the difference between leaders’ and followers’ level of subjective energy on the change in subordinates’ energy one year later, and on customer-oriented citizenship behaviors. Building mainly on the crossover model, our time-lagged model also examines the moderating role of leader-member exchange. Results of polynomial regression and response surface analyses performed with a sample of 277 dyads in the retail sector indicate that the effect of the energy gap is asymmetrical, such that followers paired with a more energetic leader gain energy one year later, whereas those matched with less energetic leaders experience energy depletion. As expected, a high-quality relationship buffers the de-energizing effect of leaders with lower energy and augments the gain of energy triggered by more energetic leaders.