Effects of LMX on employee attitudes: The role of need satisfaction and autonomous motivation

Although much attention has been given to the importance of high-quality leader-member exchanges (LMX) for employee functioning at work, evidence on the underlying psychological processes by which LMX operates is relatively limited. Integrating literature on self-determination theory and LMX, we posit that need satisfaction (i.e., satisfaction of competence, autonomy, and relatedness needs) and autonomous motivation mediate the effects of LMX on employees' job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and subjective vitality at work. Results for a sample of 283 working professionals supported this notion. Structural equation modeling indicated that LMX was positively related to satisfaction of the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Satisfaction of competence and autonomy needs was positively related to autonomous motivation, which, in turn, was associated with increases in job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and subjective vitality. There were also some direct positive relationships between satisfaction of competence, relatedness, and autonomy needs and outcomes. Tests of nested structural models generally supported the notion that the effects of LMX on employees' attitudes occur through need satisfaction and autonomous motivation.