The impact of relative leader-member exchange on employees' work behaviors as mediated by psychological contract fulfillment

Abstract

Relative leader-member exchange (RLMX) is a reflection of the social comparison process, and employees go through a process of social exchange when they display specific behaviors and attitudes in their workplace role, with psychological contract (PC) fulfillment playing a mediating role between these 2 social processes. We conducted a survey to analyze paired leader-staff samples in 39 bank branches in order to examine the influence of RLMX on employees' work behaviors and the mechanism that operates between these 2 factors. The results showed that RLMX affected employee task performance and innovative behavior, and that PC fulfillment played a full mediating role in this relationship.