Leader- and Team-Member Exchanges and Their Relationships with Organizational and Interpersonal Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Moderation by Envy and Group Size in Israel and USA

Abstract

The present research investigated the effects of social exchanges of employees with their immediate manager (i.e., Leader-Member eXchange; LMX) and with their direct working unit/team (i.e., Team-Member eXchange; TMX) on counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), both – towards the organization or towards colleagues. The research also explored the moderating effects of dispositional envy and the size of the working team on said associations. Data from 221 Israeli employees (Study 1) and 186 American workers (Study 2) were collected. The majority of our hypotheses were supported, with findings indicating interesting cultural differences. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.

Keywords

• leader-member exchange
• team-member exchange
• counterproductive work behaviors
• envy
• group size
• cultural differences