Leader-member exchange, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and sustainability, and innovation behavior

This research investigates the direct impact and mediation roles of leader-member exchange (LMX), organizational commitment, and innovative employee behavior. Employee innovation plays a crucial role in enhancing a company’s performance and competitive edge. While the strong link between LMX and employee innovation has been well-documented, some studies have yielded inconsistent findings (Evers et al., 2024). To address this discrepancy, this study introduces organizational commitment and job satisfaction as mediating factors. The data, gathered from a survey of 245 employees in West Surabaya, Indonesia, were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that LMX positively influences job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and innovative behavior. Organizational commitment emerged as a key mediator between LMX and innovative behavior, whereas job satisfaction did not serve as a mediator. This study confirms that strong relationships between leaders and team members boost job satisfaction and organizational commitment, which in turn, foster innovative behavior among employees. However, job satisfaction alone is insufficient to mediate the effect of LMX on innovative behavior. The practical implications underscore the need to reinforce organizational commitment to fully harness employee innovation through strong LMX relationships.