The joint effects of leader-member exchange and team-member exchange in predicting job crafting

Abstract

In order to better understand the social aspects of job crafting, this study explores the direct and interactive effects of leader-member exchange (LMX) and team-member exchange (TMX) on three types of job crafting (i.e., task, relational, and cognitive crafting). Drawing on both social exchange theory and the job demands-resources model, this study examines the social antecedents of job crafting in a sample of 336 members of three shipbuilding companies. The results indicate that individuals who have high-quality relationships with their leaders engage in more job crafting and that TMX is positively related to job crafting, after controlling for LMX. In addition, the results show that TMX moderates the positive relationship between LMX and job crafting, such that a higher TMX strengthens the LMX-job crafting link. The implications of these findings for job crafting and social antecedents are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented.