LMX and a perceived supportive environment for corporate entrepreneurship: the mediating role of psychological empowerment

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the potential explanatory mechanisms linking leader–member exchange (LMX) and a perceived supportive environment for corporate entrepreneurship. Specifically, this paper develops and tests a hypothesized moderated mediation model of the relationship between LMX and a perceived supportive environment for corporate entrepreneurship through psychological empowerment as conditional upon the level of control orientation. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a sample of 682 full-time working adults in the USA and were examined in a moderated mediation model in PROCESS. Findings – The findings suggest that higher LMX augments perceptions of a supportive environment for corporate entrepreneurship with a mediating role for psychological empowerment and a moderating role for control orientation on that conditional relationship. Research limitations/implications – This research suggests that high quality LMX relationships may enrich the human capital of firms, helping them to innovate and outperform competitors in the context of modern competitive dynamics. The study findings are limited by several factors including a cross-sectional design and a student-recruited sampling approach. Originality/value – The study offers unique contributions to the leadership and entrepreneurship literature by being among the first to empirically investigate the relationship between LMX and a perceived supportive environment for corporate entrepreneurship as mediated by psychological empowerment and moderated by control orientation, yielding important insights regarding effective leadership practices for facilitating innovative behaviors and corporate entrepreneurship.

Keywords

• Leader–member exchange (LMX)
• Corporate entrepreneurship
• Control orientation
• Empowerment
• Moderated mediation model