Leader–Member Exchange: Investigation of its Impact on Job Demands, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions and its Moderating Effect on the Relationship Between Job Demands and the Satisfaction of IT Employees

As the global business environment becomes increasingly dynamic and complex, information technology (IT) employees are playing a critical role in today’s business activities. Therefore, knowledge about how leader–member exchange (LMX) influences IT employees’ behaviors is of great interest to managers and researchers. Additionally, this issue is under-addressed in the literature, particularly in connection with professional service firms. More studies are needed that examine IT employees’ behavior in the professional service field. This study investigated the effects of LMX on job demands, job satisfaction, and turnover intention by applying the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and LMX theory. Cross-sectional survey data from 251 self-report questionnaires were collected from IT employees. The research results revealed that LMX is negatively associated with job demands and negatively moderates the relationship between job demands and job satisfaction. High job demands may increase turnover intention among IT employees. Our findings have critical implications for job demand-resource issues related to IT professionals, how supervisors handle and offer support and adequate resources to employees in IT service projects, and how supervisors support their subordinates in coping with project requirements and ensuring project success. The comprehensive implications of the findings of this study can help future stakeholders enhance their understanding of IT service projects.