Organizational citizenship behavior of information system personnel: The influence of leader-member exchange

Leader-member exchange (LMX) represents the quality of interaction between leaders and members of a work unit, such as the information system function within an organization. LMX is expected to improve organizational citizenship behavior, beneficial behaviors not explicitly rewarded, but prior research has failed to establish this link satisfactorily. To determine the influence of LMX in the IS environment, a model is developed based on the background in the IS and management literature that considers LMX an important contributor to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In turn, organizational commitment influences both work quality and organizational citizenship behaviors in a beneficial way. The model is confirmed with a sample of IS professionals in Taiwan. The results show that effective communication and coordination is crucial between leaders and subordinates at levels within the organization not previously considered.