How Does Supervisory Family Support Influence Employees' Attitudes and Behaviors? A Social Exchange Perspective. (May 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bagger, Jessica; Li, Andrew
• Is Part Of: Journal of management. Volume 40:Number 4(2014)
• Page Start: 1123
• Page End: 1150
• Publication Date: 2014-05
• Subjects: leader–member exchange (LMX) -- work–family -- supervisory family support -- family-friendly benefits -- social exchange theory; Management -- Periodicals; 658.005
• DOI: 10.1177/0149206311413922
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-2063

Abstract

In this two-study article, the authors investigate the mechanism through which supervisory family support is linked to outcome variables and examine the moderating effect of family-friendly benefits on this relationship. Drawing on social exchange theory, they propose and find that the quality of leader–member exchange, a form of social exchange relationships, mediated the relationship between supervisory family support and work-related outcomes in Study 1 ( N = 82). Furthermore, in Study 2 ( N = 225), the model linking supervisory family support to outcome variables through social exchange relationships was moderated by the level of family-friendly benefits offered by the organization. Implications for research and practice are discussed.