International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 1059–1066

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International Journal of Hospitality Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

How leader–member exchange, work engagement and HRM consistency explain

Chinese luxury hotel employees’ job performance夽
Xiaobei Li a,∗ , Karin Sanders b,c , Stephen Frenkel c
a
Guanghua Leadership Institute, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, China
b
Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Development, Faculty of Behavioral Sciences, Twente University, Enschede, The Netherlands
c
School of Organisation and Management, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: This paper provides insights into the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and
Leader–member exchange (LMX) employee job performance. An integrative model that includes work engagement and human resource
HRM process management (HRM) consistency, defined as the extent to which various HR practices are viewed as
High performance work systems
consistent with one other, was developed to explain this relationship. Results from a hierarchical linear
Job performance
model based on 298 employees (survey data) and 54 supervisors in a large luxury hotel in southern China
Hotels
China indicated that LMX was positively related to employee job performance. Moreover, as expected, work
engagement mediated this relationship and HRM consistency strengthened the influence of LMX on work
engagement. Important research and practical implications are discussed.
© 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction perceived by employees, encourages employee engagement which

Globalization has encouraged more intense competition among
service organizations and according to Schneider and Bowen (2010)
organizations need to go beyond customer expectations in order to
‘win the service game’. Fulfilling customers’ variable and idiosyn-
cratic needs is difficult and relies on the co-ordination of highly
motivated employees. Sub-optimal performance of any part of the
value chain is likely to reduce customer evaluations of service qual-
ity (Fantazy et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2012). Front-line employees
who frequently interact with customers need to be sensitive and
proactive regarding customer requirements. Back-stage employees
– those with limited or no interaction with customers are expected
to provide effective support to front-line employees. Engaged and
well performing employees therefore become a key element in
maintaining service excellence.
Research shows that immediate managers (team leaders or
supervisors) can significantly influence employees’ work motiva-
tion and job performance (Gerstner and Day, 1997; Ilies et al., 2007;
Liden et al., 1993). In this study we use LMX theory to explore the
influence of the supervisor, arguing that supportive supervision, as
夽 The authors thank Min Li for facilitating data collection and Zhixue Zhang, Li Ma
and Xin Wei for comments on an earlier version. This research is supported by NFSC
and the number is 71032001.
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: Xiaobei.li@gsm.pku.edu.cn, xiaobei.li@gmail.com (X. Li).
in turn contributes to job performance. LMX is defined as the qual-
ity of the relationship between supervisor and subordinate (Graen
and Scandura, 1987). LMX assumes that supervisors use a different
style for each of their subordinates. Based on dimensions such as
mutual trust, respect and obligation, differentiated relationships
between leaders and followers have been found across cultures
(see Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995). Law et al. (2010) reported two
studies in China in which LMX was positively related to task perfor-
mance and OCBs in the first study while LMX was associated with
contextual performance in the second study. LMX influences work
outcomes through different mechanisms including organizational
job embeddedness (Harris et al., 2009a,b), trust in the supervisor
(Wat and Shaffer, 2005) and feedback avoidance behavior (Moss
et al., 2009). Recent research has examined LMX’s influences on
service employees’ emotions. Using a Chinese call center sample,
Huang et al. (2010) found that LMX and burnout were negatively
associated. Emotional states are particularly relevant to service
employees whose performance, as we argue later, depends on their
willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ In this study, we examine whether
work engagement – a construct combining emotion and cogni-
tive disposition – acts as a mediator in the relationship between
LMX and employee job performance. Schaufeli et al. (2002) define
work engagement as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of
mind characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption (see also
Bakker and Demerouti (2007)). Modern organizations, especially
in the service sector, need employees who are engaged with their
work: they are more pro-active, take more initiatives and feel more

0278-4319/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2012.01.002
1060 X. Li et al. / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 1059–1066
responsible for delivering quality outcomes (Bakker and Leiter,
2010). In addition, our study integrates LMX with an additional
organizational influence, namely the Human Resource Manage-
ment (HRM) system. Recently attention has moved from a concern
with the content of HRM, – e.g. recruitment and selection, and per-
formance appraisal – to HRM process (see Sanders and Frenkel,
2011), i.e. how HRM practices are implemented by line managers
and interpreted by employees, with consequences for organiza-
tional performance (Bowen and Ostroff, 2004). In this study we
propose that the more employees perceive consistent messages
concerning the purpose of HR practices (HRM consistency) the
stronger will be LMX influences on work engagement and employee
job performance.
Prior studies have investigated LMX – outcome relationship con-
tingencies including leadership style (Harris et al., 2009a,b), task
characteristics (Dunegan et al., 1992, 2002); employee personal-
ity (Harris et al., 2009a,b), top management support (Erdogan and
Enders, 2007); and employee psychological climate (Tordera et al.,
2008). However, little is known about how the characteristics of an
HRM system influence LMX-outcome relationships. This is surpris-
ing since scholars have for some time suggested more integration
between LMX and HRM studies (Lengnick-Hall and Lengnick-Hall,
2003; Uhl-Bien et al., 2000). While a high-quality supervisory
relationship is likely to be an important influence on employees’
performance, consistent HRM messages will tend to reinforce the
alignment between management expectations and employee goals,
fostering stronger engagement and ultimately leading to higher
individual performance.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. We begin
by noting key work requirements in luxury hotels followed by an
outline of our theoretical framework and hypotheses. The data and
methodology are then described followed by a presentation and
discussion of our results. We conclude by considering implications
for further research and practice and noting the study’s major lim-
itations.
2. Conceptual framework
2.1. LMX, work engagement and job performance
Contemporary hospitality organizations face a challenge of com-
bining service efficiency with service quality 24 h a day. This is
particularly the case for luxury (five-star) hotels where high levels
of employee discipline and application of systematic routines are
required to execute tasks efficiently while service quality requires
information and sensitivity to customer requirements and flexi-
bility in interacting with customers (Enz and Siguaw, 2000). It is
management’s role to encourage and co-ordinate employees in
order to deliver seamless, quality service (Schneider and Bowen,
2010). In this paper we argue that it is the supervisors’ rela-
tions with employees that are crucial to maintaining employee
enthusiasm and that this enthusiasm is aimed at providing service
excellence by a set of supportive HR policies that are consistently
communicated to employees (Fig. 1).
LMX studies indicate the importance of the role supervisors
play in shaping employees’ work attitudes and performance.
High-quality exchange relationships between supervisors and
employees involve respect and mutual influence while low-quality
exchange relationships are characterized by strictly contractual
exchanges and one-way, downward influence. The supervisor is
the most immediate and salient superordinate (Janssen and Van
Yperen, 2004). In a high quality exchange relationship the supervi-
sor as leader supports the subordinate by giving trust and emotional
support (in-group). In the low quality exchange relationship super-
visor and subordinate contribute nothing extra than their job
description requirements (out-group) (Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995;
Uhl-Bien et al., 2000).
LMX theory argues that positive actions by the leader can elicit
a sense of subordinate indebtedness in the form of a gift/favor
exchange (Liden et al., 1997). Thus, a favor induces an unspeci-
fied indebtedness with many content dimensions including trust,
competence, consideration, control of organizational resources, etc.
(Bernerth et al., 2007; Schriesheim et al., 1999). Prior research sug-
gests that employees’ work motivation can be enhanced by high
quality supervisor relationships (Gerstner and Day, 1997; Klein and
Kim, 1998). According to reviews by Gerstner and Day (1997) and
Ilies et al. (2007), LMX has generally positive effects on employee
work outcomes including satisfaction with supervisors, overall job
satisfaction, employee job performance, and organizational citi-
zenship behavior. However, some studies report non-significant
relationships between LMX and performance (Wayne and Ferris,
1990; Liden et al., 1993; Scandura and Pellegrini, 2008) leading
to calls for exploration of potential mediators and moderators of
LMX–outcome relationships. This is a challenge we address in this
paper.
In a luxury hotel context, supportive leaders tend to provide var-
ious resources that assist in coordinating employees. These include
performance feedback and coaching that enhances employees’ pro-
fessional skills and knowledge and permits supervisors to provide
more autonomy for employees to undertake their work. Super-
visors may grant employees’ preferred work schedules and give
emotional and social support when difficult customers or oner-
ous workloads place a heavier burden on employees (Vaux, 1988;
House, 1981). Social support provides opportunities for reappraisal
and adaptive responses to work stress; and facilitates well-being
(House, 1981; Cohen and Wills, 1985). Thus high-quality rela-
tionships with leaders offer distinct advantages for employees. In
addition, employees may perceive themselves as ‘in-group mem-
bers’ (Wayne and Green, 1993). These benefits tend to generate
intrinsic motivation through identification with supervisors (Farh
et al., 2006). A willingness to repay supervisors and increased
engagement provide high levels of energy, mental resilience and
willingness to invest effort when encountering difficulties, leading
to higher job performance (Bakker et al., 2007; Bakker and Leiter,
2010). A positive relationship between work engagement and job
performance has been supported by studies in a variety of indus-
tries (Gottschalg and Zollo, 2007; Leiter, 2010; Bakker and Leiter,
2010) including hotels (Salanova et al., 2005). Consequently, we
propose the following hypothesis:
H1. A positive relationship between leader–member exchange
(LMX) and job performance is mediated by work engagement.
2.2. The moderating role of HRM consistency
Employee reciprocity in high quality LMX relationships with
supervisors may not necessarily benefit the organization. This is
because the norm of reciprocity (Blau, 1964) underlying social
interactions is interpersonal rather than organizational. Tekleab
and Taylor (2003) showed that, unlike LMX reported by supervisors,
LMX reported by employees is not significantly associated with
their perceptions of obligations to the organization. Reciprocation
tends to reflect what supervisors value (Hofmann et al., 2003; Liden
et al., 1993). This implies that a high-quality, leader–member rela-
tionship does not necessarily convey to employees behavior that is
valued by the organization.
The HRM system is a key organizational influence that com-
municates the organization’s values, goals and procedures to both
managers and employees (Nishii et al., 2008; Bowen and Ostroff,
2004). For example, HR practices like extensive training pro-
grams, performance-based reward systems and promotion criteria
 X. Li et al. / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 1059–1066
usually make it clear to employees how high performance is defined
and the rewards that are attendant on achieving relevant stan-
dards or targets. HRM is an important addition to line management
relationships with employees. This is supported by evidence that
HR systems characterized by consistent HR practices are positively
related to organizational performance (Combs et al., 2006; Delery,
1998; Guest, 2007).
Regarding the hotel industry, Cho et al. (2006) found that firms
implementing HRM practices such as labor-management participa-
tion programs, incentive plans, and pre-employment tests are more
likely to experience lower employee turnover rates. Alleyne et al.
(2006) measured the effect of HRM on performance in the Barba-
dos hotel industry and found no support for either external fit (HR
is more effective when it is aligned with strategy) or internal fit
(HR is more effective when different HR practices are aligned with
each other). Rather than focusing on the content of HRM practices,
Bowen and Ostroff (2004) emphasized implementation (process),
arguing that when employees receive consistent HR messages, they
are likely to better comprehend the managerial purposes under-
lying these practices and act accordingly. This is because HRM
messages are utilized by individuals to make sense of organiza-
tional goals and procedures, attributing causes and motives (Kelley,
1967), including their relationship with the organization (Li et al.,
2011; Sanders et al., 2008). Furthermore, management’s objectives
are more clearly understood when employees receive consistent
messages over time and across different contexts (Bowen and
Ostroff, 2004; Kassin and Pryor, 1985). Conversely, if HRM mes-
sages are not communicated consistently across all HR practices,
employees may perceive a confusing or contradictory picture of
management objectives, making it difficult to connect individual
employee work roles and goals to a broader organizational pur-
pose. Incentives attempting to motivate appropriate behavior may
therefore prove ineffective.
Given that HRM involves the salient motivational aspects of
employment (e.g. pay, working conditions, task attributes and work
relationships), the relationship between LMX and employee perfor-
mance is likely to be strengthened by HRM consistency. In effect,
HRM messages can act as a lever that aligns employees’ responses
and interests with the organization’s purposes (Gottschalg and
Zollo, 2007). A way of viewing this is that supervisors develop
differentiated relationships with subordinates (LMX) in order to
facilitate attainment of performance targets through employee
reciprocation. This provides obligation-based intrinsic motivation
for employees (Deci and Ryan, 1985). On the other hand, HRM
contributes to realizing organizational goals by offering a rewards-
based incentive (extrinsic motivation) and competency-enhancing
support (resources) to align employee behavior with the orga-
nization’s goals (Brief and Aldag, 1977). When HR practices are
internally consistent, the organizational goals and the associated
incentives become salient to employees. Having been managed
in this way, employees are likely to recognize that, over-time
high-performance will be rewarded and increasingly value their
contributions to the organization’s goals. In a ‘strong situation’
(where opportunities and incentives are aligned towards orga-
nizational goals), individual employees tend to reciprocate their
LMX in a way that contributes to job performance. This is because
higher performance means higher levels of utility to employees
– including benefits stemming from both ongoing interpersonal
relationships with supervisors and HR managers. Accordingly,
employees’ work motivation will be heightened (Deci and Ryan,
1985), ultimately leading to higher performance.
In contrast, in a ‘weak situation’ where inconsistencies exist
between perceived organizational goals, performance objectives
and HRM messages, employees will see little connection between
their roles and goals and the organization’s policies and objectives.
Therefore, when employees reciprocate in relation to supervisors,
1061
their behaviors tend to be in line with personal rather than organi-
zational goals, weakening the relationships between LMX and work
outcomes (engagement and performance) valued by the organiza-
tion. In addition, the inconsistency mentioned above may increase
employees’ work stress as a result of cognitive confusion (Bowen
and Ostroff, 2004) thereby reducing engagement.
So far, we have argued that HRM consistency strengthens the
relationship between LMX and two work outcomes (engagement
and job performance) and that work engagement predicts job
performance (part of H1). We further expect that the interaction
of LMX and HRM consistency affects job performance through
employee work engagement. This is because both supervisor sup-
port and HRM offer both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to
engage employees in their work, while at the same time, high HRM
consistency helps employees reciprocate supervisor behavior in the
form of superior performance. Therefore, we offer the following
hypotheses:
H2. HRM consistency strengthens the relationship between LMX
and work engagement.
H3. The relationship between the interaction of HRM consistency
and LMX on the one hand and job performance on the other hand
is mediated by work engagement.
3. Methods and data
3.1. Sample and procedures
The study sample included 326 employees and 54 of their imme-
diate supervisors working in several revenue centers in a luxury
hotel in 2009. This privately owned hotel is located in Guangdong
province in Southern China. The establishment’s main customers
include conference/leisure groups, business travelers, and local
customers. About 30 per cent of customers are foreign visitors. The
hotel has slightly more than two hundred guestrooms and employs
over 750 staff. The five key revenue centers are: guestrooms, food
and beverage (three restaurants), health center (including swim-
ming and tennis), entertainment (e.g. karaoke), and meeting space
rental. The hotel management’s mission is to “provide the best
service to customers.” Emphasis is placed on “people-oriented
management to create a fair, harmonious and creative work envi-
ronment” (Hotel employee handbook).
Questionnaires were constructed for both employees and super-
visors. The detailed items and scales are presented in the following
section. Following agreement from management regarding the
research, two sealed questionnaire packages (employee and super-
visor surveys) were administrated to the employees and the
supervisors across the revenue centers. Each employee received a
sealed package including a cover letter, which stated that the sur-
vey was voluntary and independent of management, and assured
them confidentiality; a return envelope; and a numbered employee
survey. Supervisors were asked to rate the performance of each
employee against the names provided.
Two hundred and ninety eight employees and 54 supervisors
returned completed surveys in a sealed envelope directly to one of
the researchers. The high response rate of 91 per cent for employ-
ees and 100 per cent for supervisors respectively is not uncommon
in Chinese surveys, particularly when management supports the
research (Cooke, 2009). The sample includes 161 (54 per cent)
female employees. The average age of employees is 21.5 (SD = 4.1)
years old and average tenure in the hotel is 9.47 months (SD = 9.4).
Among the 54 supervisors, 30 (55 per cent) are female. The aver-
age age is 26.5 (SD = 5.9) years old and average hotel tenure is 35.6
months (SD = 17.7).
1062 X. Li et al. / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 1059–1066

Table 1
Means, standard deviations, reliabilities, and correlations between variables.

Mean S.D. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Age (in years). 21.48 4.13

Workplace tenure (in months) 9.47 9.42 .21**
Gender .54 .49 −.01 −.01
Education level 2.82 .84 .03 −.05 .15**
Employment status .65 .47 .21** .33** −.16** −.45**
HPWS index 4.25 .70 .08 .06 −.09 −.11 .13*
Leader–member exchange 3.96 1.10 .11* .08 −.04 −.05 .12* .48*
HRM consistency 1.95 1.16 −.04 −.05 −.07 .01 −.04 .19* .13*
Work engagement 3.83 .97 .12* .09 −.09 .02 .07 .35* .35** .09
Job performance 4.70 .75 .06 .11 −.01 .05 .01 .02 .12* −.01 .19**

Note: Employee N = 298; Job performance was rated by the supervisor; S.D. means standard deviation; Gender (0 = male; 1 = female); Employment status (0 = temporary;
1 = formal).
**
p < .01.
*
p < .05.

3.2. Measures
Previously applied, validated scales were used to measure the
different concepts included in our survey. The questionnaires were
administrated in Mandarin after being developed in English. Two
bilingual Chinese persons back-translated the two survey inde-
pendently (Brislin, 1980). In addition, a 15 employee pilot study
(excluded from the main survey) was undertaken resulting in revi-
sions to the phrasing of some questions. Response items ranged
from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree. The six-point Likert
scales were chosen as a way of addressing Chinese people’s ten-
dency to conceal positive emotions and hence select midpoints of
a range (Lee et al., 2002).
Leader–member exchange (LMX). LMX was measured by LMSX,
a shortened four-item scale developed and validated by Bernerth
and colleagues (2007). Two example items are ‘Voluntary actions
on my part will be returned in some way by my supervisor’ and ‘If
I do something for my supervisor, s/he will eventually repay me.’
The scale had high reliability (Cronbach’s ˛ = .82).
Following past research (Sun et al., 2007; Li et al., 2011), we
measured the content of HR practices using the 15-item high
performance work practices (HPWS) scale used in a study of Chi-
nese hotel employees (Li et al., 2011). The scale covered four HR
practices: training (four items); internal promotion (three items);
employee participation (four items); and performance-oriented
rewards (four items). Two sample items include ‘HR practices here
help me a great deal to develop my knowledge and skills.’ and ‘This
company prefers to promote from within the company’. Each HR
practice demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach’s alphas are .86,
.77, .78 and .76 respectively). HRM consistency is measured by the
inverse of the average deviation (within-respondent agreement)
of the above-mentioned four HR practices (Sanders et al., 2008; Li
et al., 2011). A higher score denotes higher HRM consistency.
Work engagement was measured on a five-item work vigor scale
(Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004). Example items included ‘At my work,
I feel bursting with energy’ and ‘When I get up in the morning, I feel
like going to work’. The reliability value is acceptable (Cronbach’s
˛ = .76).
Job performance was measured by asking supervisors to rate
employees’ performance on the nine items from Griffin et al.’s
(2007) role-based performance scale. Three dimensions were eval-
uated: task proficiency (‘the extent to which an individual meets
role requirements that can be formalized’), task adaptability (‘the
extent to which an individual adapts to changes in a work system
or work roles’) and task proactivity (‘the extent to which the indi-
vidual takes self-directed action to anticipate or initiate change in
the work system or work roles’). The reliabilities of the different
sub-scales were high (Cronbach’s alphas are .88, .75, and .83). Sam-
ple items included ‘Carried out the core parts of his/her job well’
and ‘Come up with ideas to improve the way in which his/her core
tasks are done’. Following other studies, we computed an overall
job performance score for each employee as an average of the three
dimensions (Salanova et al., 2005; Zacher et al., 2010).
Based on the proposition that employees’ personal and employ-
ment characteristics are likely to influence their work outcomes,
the following characteristics were included as control variables:
age, gender, type of labor contract (permanent vs. temporary), edu-
cational level (from junior middle school to master’s degree and
above), and workplace tenure (in months). Furthermore, follow-
ing previous studies (Beugelsdijk, 2008; Doellgast, 2008; Ramsay
et al., 2000; Sanders et al., 2008), we calculated the HPWS index
(the average of the four HR practices).
3.3. Analysis
Data for this study is hierarchical in nature because employees
worked under different supervisors and each supervisor evalu-
ates the job performance of five to six employees. Therefore, we
used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM; Raudenbush and Bryk,
2002) when testing hypotheses related to job performance (H1 and
H3). HLM enabled simultaneous control of the effects of within-
and between supervisor-level data (Raudenbush and Bryk, 2002).
The procedure has two steps. First, for each supervisor (level 2),
relationships at level 1 were estimated among level 1 variables,
analogous to ordinary least squares regression analysis at a single
level. Then, parameter estimates (intercepts for each supervisor)
generated from the first step were used as outcome variables in
level 2 in order to examine supervisor-level effects. The Log likeli-
hood statistics is a model fit index similar to chi-square statistics.
Like R square in regression analysis, pseudo R squares are reported

HRM consistency

H2
Leader-member exchange Work engagement Job performance
H1 H1 (H3)

Fig. 1. Theoretical model showing the expected influence of LMX, work engagement, and HRM consistency on job performance.
 X. Li et al. / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 1059–1066
to demonstrate the variance explained in the dependent variable
by the predictors.
H1 suggests that LMX is related to job performance through
work engagement. To test this hypothesis we followed the proce-
dure outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986).1 This includes the Sobel
test (Sobel, 1982) in order to confirm that the effect of LMX on job
performance is decreasing significantly when work engagement is
added. H2 anticipates that the relationship between LMX and work
engagement is stronger when employees perceive HRM as consis-
tent. To test this hypothesis and to ensure that the interaction term
is not related to one of the main effects, we mean-centered LMX
and work engagement and add the main and interaction effects
in model 2, Table 2 (Aiken and West, 1991). In H3 we expect that
the interaction between LMX and HRM consistency is related to
job performance through work engagement. To test this hypothesis
we again follow the procedure specified by Baron and Kenny (1986:
1179) and examine if the effect of the interaction between LMX and
HRM consistency on job performance is significantly decreasing
when work engagement is added (see Liao and Chuang, 2007).
4. Results
Table 1 reports the means, standard deviations, and relations
between all variables at the employee level. As shown in Table 1,
leader member exchange (LMX) and work engagement were pos-
itively related to job performance (r = .12, p < .05 and r = .19, p < .01
respectively). LMX was also positively related to engagement
(r = .35, p < .01).
Table 2 reports the regression analysis predicting work engage-
ment and the HLM results predicting job performance. First we
calculated an empty model in which no predictors or controls
were added in order to assess the variance in job performance at
the employee level and supervisor level respectively. The results
showed that 11 per cent of the variance in job performance can
be attributed to the supervisor, which we controlled for. Because
age and gender have trivial (<.02) and non-significant effects on job
performance, these variables were excluded from the analysis.
H1 predicts that work engagement mediates the relationship
between LMX and job performance. Following Baron and Kenny
(1986)’s approach outlined above, we found an effect of LMX on
work engagement (b = .18, p < .01) in Model 1. Moreover, Model 1
showed that workplace tenure (b = .01, p < .05) and the HPWS index
(b = .28, p < .01) had significant effects. Models 3 and 4 indicated that
both LMX (b = .11, p < .05) and work engagement (b = .17, p < .01) had
positive effects on job performance. In Model 5, the effects of LMX
on job performance became non-significant (b = .08, p > .10) after
entering work engagement, which remained a significant influ-
ence (b = .15, p < .05). The Sobel test demonstrated that the indirect
effect of LMX on job performance was significant (z = 2.84, p < .01).
Therefore, H1 is supported.
H2 proposed that the LMX – work engagement relationship is
strengthened by HRM consistency. As illustrated in Model 2, the
interaction of LMX and HRM consistency had a positive effect on
work engagement (b = .12, p < .05). This interaction effect between
LMX and HRM consistency is depicted in Fig. 2. This figure shows
that when employees perceive HRM practices as highly consistent
with one another, the relationship between LMX and work engage-
ment is stronger than in the case that employees perceive HRM
practices as low consistent. These findings support H2.
1
A mediation effect is said to exist when the independent variable (IV: e.g. LMX)
significantly predicts the dependent variable (DV: e.g. job performance); the IV
significantly predicts the mediator variable (e.g. work engagement); the mediator
significantly predicts the DV; and the effects of the IV on the DV becomes smaller
or non-significant when controlling for the mediator.
1063
Fig. 2. Effect of the interaction between LMX and HRM consistency on work engage-
ment.
H3 was examined in Models 6 and 7. Model 6 showed that the
interaction of LMX and HRM consistency had positive effects on
job performance (b = .12, p < .05). This means that a higher HRM
consistency enhances the positive relationship between LMX and
employee performance. In Model 7, after entering work engage-
ment, the effect of the interaction of LMX and HRM consistency
decreases. Having shown that the interaction effects had a posi-
tive effect on work engagement (Model 2) and on job performance
(Model 6) and that work engagement predicted LMX (Model 4),
these results support H3. In sum, the three hypotheses were sup-
ported by the results.
5. Discussion
In this paper we have taken up the call by some LMX researchers
(Bauer et al., 2006; Huang et al., 2010) to investigate the mecha-
nisms through which LMX affects employees’ job performance. We
proposed a model involving LMX, HRM consistency and employee
performance in a service context. Our first finding is that LMX
was positively associated with work engagement and, through
work engagement, further enhances employee job performance
as reported by supervisors (H1). This confirms that work engage-
ment is an additional mechanism that links LMX and employee job
performance.
We then examined whether HRM consistency plays a role in
the LMX-outcome relationships. The results indicated that HRM
consistency strengthens two relationships – LMX – work engage-
ment (H2) and LMX – job performance through work engagement
(H3) respectively. In short, when an employee perceives HR prac-
tices are highly consistent with each other, they are more likely to
reciprocate high LMX with stronger work enthusiasm and higher
job performance.
These results highlight HRM as an important contingent fac-
tor in the LMX – outcome relationship. When HRM messages are
consistent with each other, employees are able to detect the man-
agement purposes underlying HR practices and more confidently
make sense of organizational goals (Bowen and Ostroff, 2004). This
helps align employees’ responses with the organization’s objec-
tives expectations thereby motivating employees to respond to
high LMX with appropriate attitudes and behavior. This is consis-
tent with recent empirical studies (see Sanders et al., 2008; Li et al.,
2011), earlier HPWS research (Delery and Doty, 1996; Macduffie,
1995) and social psychology studies (for example, cognitive dis-
sonance theory, Festinger, 1957; attribution theory, Kelley, 1967).
Cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957) assumes that people
have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their
attitudes, beliefs or behavior. In the context of HRM this means
that employees are motivated to balance their perceptions of the
consistency of the HRM system with their attitudes and behavior.
Attribution theory (Kelley, 1967) assumes that people are strongly
motivated to understand their environment, including their own
1064 X. Li et al. / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 1059–1066

Table 2
Results of hypotheses testing relating to work engagement and job performance.

Models Work engagement Job performance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Workplace tenure (in months) .04 .04 .01* .01* .01* .01* .01*
Education level .10 .09 .09 .08 .06 .08 .08
Employment status .05 .04 .08 .08 .07 .07 .06
HPWS index .28** .27** .02 .02 .06 .01 .05
Leader–member exchange (LMX) .18** .20** .11* .08 .14* .09
HRM consistency .02 .01 .00
LMX × HRM consistency .12* .12* .10
Work engagement .17** .15* .14*
(Pseudo) R2 .17 .19 .04 .04 .05 .08 .10
(Pseudo) R2 Change .02 .02 .03 .03 .01 .03 .02
F Change or −2 Restricted Log Likelihood 7.0** 4.1* 596.5 591.9 590.8 602.1 601.7

Note: Employee N = 298; Job performance was rated by the supervisors; Standardized parameter estimates were given. Employment status (0 = temporary; 1 = formal).
*
p < .05.
**
p < .01.

and others’ behaviors. The co-variation principle of attribution the-
ory suggests that if employees perceive their environment (HRM
in this case) as distinctive (it is visible) and consistent, and if other
employees perceive HRM in the same way (consensus) employees
will clearly understand management expectations and associated
rewards. Consequently, their job performance will increase and the
effects of LMX on work engagement and job performance will be
enhanced.
After controlling for HRM content, our results confirmed that
highly consistent HRM messages, measured by within-respondent
agreement, helped employees reciprocate to leaders in ways that
are aligned with the organization’s purpose. This may shed light
on why some studies have found a non-significant relationship
between LMX and employee performance. In short, by including
HRM consistency as a moderator it is possible to see why under
certain conditions (low consistency) the relationship between
LMX and performance is unlikely to be significant for reasons
outlined earlier. Perceptions of inconsistent HRM practices and
consequent confusion about alignment of employees’ roles and the
organization’s objectives is likely to increase employee stress and
dissatisfaction leading to reduced performance. This is indicated by
Tordera and colleagues (2008)’s finding that individual employees’
goal orientation strengthened the negative relationship between
LMX and role overload in 33 health care service organizations. In
other words, lacking a clear goal, employees are likely to be more
stressed, perform at a lower level and be more likely to quit (Cho
et al., 2006).
Following this line of reasoning, further research may use-
fully focus on other aspects of HRM or managerial behavior that
are able to align employees’ behavior with organizational objec-
tives in studying LMX-relationship outcomes. Candidates include
the extent of consensus between HRM and line management on
organizational values and goals (Bowen and Ostroff, 2004) and job-
design and feedback mechanisms that align employees interests
with organizational purposes (Gottschalg and Zollo, 2007).
Also noteworthy is the finding shown in Fig. 2 that when LMX
is low, employees perform better when HRM consistency is low
than when it is high. A similar pattern exists when plotting the
joint effects of LMX and HRM consistency on job performance as
indicated in Model 6 of Table 2. One explanation is that the incon-
gruence between the espoused values/goals of the organization
indicated by low HRM consistency, and the enacted values/goals
conveyed through LMX, is less salient when HRM consistency is
low. Employees are therefore less frustrated and their motivation to
work less impaired than if the organization’s objectives were more
clearly understood and the incongruence between organizational
objectives and enacted goals more salient. Another possibility is
that when employees want to perform at a high level in response to
consistent HR practices and lack supervisor and co-worker support,
they are likely to feel unsatisfied and stressed. This may translate
into lower levels of engagement and performance. Clearly, further
research would benefit by including these two variables as moder-
ators in more complex models.
This study has two main limitations. First, although employee
performance was reported by supervisors, the relationship
between LMX and work engagement raises the issue of common
method variance. However, this is not a serious problem because
the two constructs are very different and the correlation between
them is acceptable (.35, p < .01). The second limitation is that our
results are based on a single hotel in China. This restricts generaliz-
ability and calls for further research in the hospitality sector, across
different hotel categories (3, 4 and 5-star) and in different cultural
contexts.
Our study has two important practical implications. First,
supervisors are encouraged to engage in social exchange
relationships with subordinates, particularly on-the-job coaching
and mentoring. This will enhance employees’ work motivation and
performance. Our findings also suggest that supervisors commu-
nicate clearly and regularly to employees regarding organizational
strategies and objectives including the connection between indi-
vidual roles and goals and these wider organizational features.
Employees need to be given opportunities to discuss and seek clar-
ification. Such processes would help employees better understand
the organization and enable them to align personal goals with orga-
nizational objectives. Management expectations can be formalized
in periodic performance appraisals. The second implication is that
it is important for management to execute HR practices and initia-
tives in a consistent way so that desired attitudes and behavior are
clearly conveyed across the organization. High HRM consistency
relies on many factors including commitment to key values, unam-
biguous policies, and consistent HR practice implementation by HR
and line management (Sanders et al., 2008).
6. Conclusion
Our study addressed the challenge of extending LMX explana-
tions of job performance by focusing on mediating and moderating
variables in a hospitality setting. LMX was found to influence
job performance via work engagement while consistency in HRM
communications encouraged employees to respond to favor-
able LMX relations with increased work engagement and higher
performance.
 X. Li et al. / International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 1059–1066
This contribution suggests three directions for future research.
First, it is unclear what aspects of LMX are most important for
employees. Is supervisor contribution more important than respect
as a professional or loyalty to the person? Application of a multi-
dimensional rather than a global measure of LMX would help to
answer this question. Second, many organizations seek to develop
a unique culture that is intended to encourage particular attitudes
and behaviors. Accordingly, future research should measure this
organizational attribute and examine how it strengthens or weak-
ens employee engagement and performance. Finally, rather than
seeking performance assessments from supervisors, research in
service organizations should consider measuring individual perfor-
mance from the standpoint of service recipients, i.e. from internal
or external customers depending on the individual’s organizational
position.
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