Role of Commitment to the Supervisor, Leader-Member Exchange, and Supervisor-Based Self-Esteem in Employee-Supervisor Conflicts

Using survey data from 240 employees working in a variety of organizations, the authors examined the relations among commitment to the supervisor, leader-member exchange, supervisor-based self-esteem (SBSE), and relationship and substantive supervisor-subordinate conflicts. They found affective commitment was negatively related to both types of conflicts; perceived lack of alternatives commitment was positively related to relationship conflicts; and leader-member exchange was negatively related to substantive conflicts. SBSE was negatively associated with both types of conflicts. In addition, when SBSE was low, affective commitment was more strongly related to both types of conflicts, and normative commitment more strongly and positively related to substantive conflicts. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the understanding of employee-supervisor conflicts.