Upward influence tactics and leader member exchange

We investigated whether leader-member exchange (LMX) mediates relationships between subordinate’s use of upward influence tactics and supervisor’s ratings of their job performance. We investigate the effects of seven upward influence tactics and how these are mediated by the four dimensions of LMX (affect, loyalty, contribution and professional respect), in order to enhance our theoretical understanding of these effects. We also test gender moderation effects on the relationships between influence tactics and LMX. Based on data we obtained from 389 matched supervisor-subordinate dyads in Saudi Arabia, we found that the effects of subordinate upward influence tactics on supervisor job performance ratings, can be explained through their effects on the LMX dimensions of loyalty and affect. Gender similarity was found to moderate relationships between a number of upward influence tactics and LMX loyalty, but not those with LMX affect.