Examining degree of balance and level of obligation in the employment relationship: A social exchange approach

Abstract

A typology of four exchange relationships defined by two dimensions (degree of balance in employee and employer obligations; level of obligation) was evaluated. Three hundred and twenty seven working MBA students participated in the study. Results generally supported the existence of our proposed four-group typology since: (1) four distinct patterns of obligations emerged in the cluster analysis, and (2) mean differences were shown for the four exchange types on the criterion variables. Of particular note was the finding that the mutual high obligations relationship (both employee and employer obligations were consistently perceived to be high) showed much higher levels of perceived organizational support, career future, and affective commitment, and lower levels of turnover intention than all other types of exchange relationships. This suggests the importance of differences in the type of exchange relationship, as perceived by the employee, for both employees and organizations. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.