Relative Leader-Member Exchange Within Work Groups: The Mediating Effect of Leader-Member Conversation Quality on Group-Focused Citizenship Behavior:

We introduce a multilevel model that examines how and when relative leader-member exchange (RLMX) within the work group associates with group members' commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. Results of the study are based on data gathered from a sample of 155 leader-member dyads within 25 work groups in a Malaysian organization and provide support for the hypotheses. Specifically, the results obtained from the analysis of a hierarchical linear modeling showed that leader-member conversation quality mediates the relationship between RLMX and group-focused citizenship behavior. The findings suggest that the relative group members' ratings of leader-member exchange have the ability to influence the quality of leader-member conversation and that this positive relationship of RLMX on group-focused citizenship behavior is contingent on the direct and indirect effect of leader-member conversation quality.