Team-member and leader-member exchange, engagement, and turnover intentions: implications for human resource development

This study investigated the underlying dynamics between team member exchange (TMX) quality, leader-member exchange (LMX) quality, engagement, and turnover intentions through the lens of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory. Data were collected from 407 employees working at United States and Israeli firms via a questionnaire. Findings indicated that work engagement mediates the relationship between TMX quality and turnover intentions and that LMX moderates this mediation. Specifically, in high and moderate LMX quality conditions, the impact of TMX quality on work engagement was stronger; and LMX moderated the impact of work engagement on turnover intentions by lowering turnover intentions further. When leader-member relations were not of high or moderate quality, TMX quality did not associate significantly with employee work engagement. Findings contribute to human resource development (HRD) literature on work engagement and turnover by addressing a) the connection between TMX and engagement, b) the mediation effect of engagement in the relationship between TMX and turnover intentions, and c) moderating effect of LMX. Implications for human resource development practices, in particular, for managerial training and leadership development and for performance appraisal, were discussed with the focus on team building to promote individual work engagement and reduce turnover.