Uncovering the impact of triadic relationships within a team on job performance: an application of balance theory in predicting feedback‐seeking behaviour
Affiliation
Sun Yat‐sen University, ChinaUniversity of Surrey
Shanghai University, China
University of Technology Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
University of Derby
University of Manchester
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Issue Date
2020-04-14
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Although a great deal of knowledge has accumulated about dyadic relationships (i.e., leader–member exchange (LMX) or team–member exchange (TMX)) within a team, employee behaviours that involve triadic relationships among focal employees, leaders, and teammates have seldom been investigated. Using balance theory, which describes triadic relationships from a power dependence perspective, in the current study, we explore how the interplay of LMX, TMX, and peers’ LMX jointly impacts employees’ feedback‐seeking behaviour (FSB) and subsequent job performance. By conducting a multilevel moderated polynomial regression on three‐wave, multi‐source data from 147 team members and their leaders (from 45 work teams), we found that the incongruence between LMX and TMX facilitates FSB when peers’ LMX or task interdependence is high. We also found an asymmetrical incongruence effect concerning the way in which individuals are more likely to seek feedback when LMX is worse than TMX, compared with when LMX is better than TMX. This differential effect is stronger when peers’ LMX or task interdependence is high. The interplay of LMX, TMX, peers’ LMX, and task interdependence eventually has an indirect effect on job performance through FSB. The results from a follow‐up study of 270 employees from 77 teams further confirm our predictions about the mechanism of balance theory. Specifically, the results indicate that when peers’ LMX is high, the incongruence between LMX and TMX decreases employees’ psychological safety.Citation
Lan, J., Huo, Y., Cai, Z., Wong, C.S., Chen, Z. and Lam, W., (2020). 'Uncovering the impact of triadic relationships within a team on job performance: an application of balance theory in predicting feedback‐seeking behaviour'. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 93(3), pp. 654-686.Publisher
WileyJournal
Journal of Occupational and Organizational PsychologyDOI
10.1111/joop.12310Additional Links
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/joop.12310http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/853939
Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0963-1798EISSN
2044-8325ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1111/joop.12310