Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation and team members’ job performance. The conceptual model developed in this paper also investigates the moderating role of the perception of organisational politics (POP) in affecting the association between LMX differentiation and team members’ job performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data using a survey from 32 Chinese firms. The questionnaire included scales measuring LMX, POP, job performance, and demographic variables. The final sample consisted of 122 teams with 561 employees. The hypothesised relationships among variables were assessed using hierarchical linear modelling. Findings The results show that the higher the LMX differentiation, the lower the level of team members’ contextual performance. The authors also found that POP has a significant effect in positively moderating the relationships between LMX differentiation and team members’ contextual and task performances. Research limitations/implications The conceptual model developed and verified in this paper provides essential insights for the research on LMX and job performance. Future studies are suggested to collect cross-national data to examine the conclusions of this study. Originality/value The association between LMX differentiation and team members’ job performance is moderated by the degree of POP.

No abstract