LMXSC Elicits Hubristic Pride and Social Undermining in Individuals with High Trait Dominance

Abstract

Abstract A consensus in the literature has converged on the idea that one's perceptions of being treated better by a leader (compared with one's coworkers' treatment by the same leader) motivate prosocial behaviour. Drawing on current theory of hubristic pride and its evolutionary role in status maintenance, we challenge this consensus by proposing that favourable, downward social comparisons of leader‐member exchange (i.e., leader‐member exchange social comparisons; LMXSC) can also lead to social undermining. Specifically, we argue that, in individuals with high trait dominance, LMXSC triggers hubristic pride, which, in turn, motivates social undermining. Results from two experiments and a longitudinal field study support this idea. In sum, our work shifts the consensus in LMXSC theory by showing when and why high LMXSC can motivate negative coworker‐directed behaviour, and it also offers practical help to organizational leaders dealing with the ethical decision of if, and when, to preferentially treat individual team members.