As could be deducted from the literature discussed above, most studies conducted on this topic address similarity, without specifically looking at dissimilarity. A study that did look at this was one conducted by Green, Anderson, and Shivers (1996). Their results indicated that sex dissimilarity is related to lower quality LMX. However, these findings are to be interpreted with caution as the sample was dominantly female. To conclude, the findings on the effect of (dis)similarity on LMX are contradictory. A reason for this could be that the effects of (dis)similarity in demographics, in this case gender, may be too widespread and asymmetric across different groups and cultures (Douglas, 2012).
Gender, LMX, and OCB
Organizational citizenship behaviour, also know as “extra-role behaviour”, is the act of taking on tasks that are not formally assigned to the employee but that do affect the organization’s performance. These behaviours include helping colleagues, doing extra work, and avoiding unnecessary conflicts (Robbins, 2001; Estiri, Amiri, Khajeheian, & Rajey, 2017). Researchers claim that OCB consists of different dimensions, including altruism, conscientiousness, civic virtue, and sportsmanship (Netemeyer, Moles, Mckee, & McMurrian, 1997; Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bachrach, 2000). Altruism is the concern for others (e.g. voluntarily helping colleagues); conscientiousness is the willingness to perform one’s tasks in the best way possible; civic virtues include respecting the organization’s regulations and acting responsibly on the work floor; and sportsmanship mainly includes being able to take criticism and give constructive feedback.
Many variables seem to affect OCB, including confidence, organizational justice, trust, commitment, etc. However, leadership styles, and particularly LMX, seem to have the largest effect. Research suggests a positive relationship between LMX and OCB (Estiri et al., 2017). Furthermore, it is suggested that gender has a significant impact on OCB. Several studies have found women to be more likely to display OCB, and this relationship is explained by their higher level of sentimentality compared to men (Kidder, 2002; Bommer, Miles, & Grover, 2003; Estiri et al., 2017). Women seem to, more than men, perceive OCB as intra-role behaviour than extra-role behaviour. In other words, women consider OCB as part of their job (Hackett, 2008).
