Discussion
The results of testing the first hypothesis in this study indicate that
PS-Fit has a positive effect on LMX. It can be said that the more in
line with the values held by employees and their leaders, the
closeness between the two increases. Conformity between employees and
leaders can be shown from the similarity of personality, values and
goals between the two. Frequent interactions between employees and their
leaders can show interest in each other which will increase their
closeness which is shown by mutual respect, protection, and
self-sacrifice between one another. The Interpersonal Attraction theory
explains that leaders are attracted to subordinates because they are
complementary and have something in common. (Lim et al., 2019). The
compatibility between the two makes them interact more, complement each
other and need each other compared to other employees. This study is in
line with other studies that prove that PS-Fit has a positive effect on
LMX (Van Vianen et al., 2011).
The results of testing the second hypothesis in this study indicate that
LMX has a positive effect on employee performance. It can be said that
the better the LMX level, the higher the employee performance. Employees
who are close to their leaders are more receptive to instructions given
by their leaders so that coordination between the two can work well,
which will improve employee performance. Leaders who are close to their
subordinates also always provide solutions to problems faced by
employees (Enwereuzor et al., 2018; Reitan & Stenberg, 2019). Zakiy
(2019b) explains that employees who are close to their leaders (in the
group of LMX) are more trusted and get more information than employees
who only have work contracts (out of the group of LMX). For this reason,
employees who gain a lot of trust from their leaders will always
maintain that trust by improving their performance. This study confirms
previous research that explains that high LMX can improve employee
performance (Anand et al., 2018; A. Lee et al., 2019; Singh &
Vidyarthi, 2018).
The results of testing the third hypothesis in this study indicate that
LMX has a positive effect on work engagement. It can be said that the
higher the closeness between the leader and his subordinates, the higher
the work engagement of employees. Employees close to their leaders get
more priority than other employees who are not close to their leaders.
In addition, leaders who are close to their subordinates always provide
motivation in interpreting a job encourage and always inspire employees
to love their work. In other words, employee work engagement can be
created because of the leader’s role in providing direction and input to
employees. The results of this study are in line with previous research,
which said that high LMX could increase employee work engagement
(Agarwal et al., 2012; Kim & Koo, 2017).
The results of testing the fourth hypothesis in this study indicate that
LMX is able to mediate the effect of PS-Fit on employee performance. It
is not only the compatibility of employees with their organizations that
can cause employee performance to increase (Wulandari, 2021), but the
compatibility between employees and their leaders also greatly
determines the working conditions of employees. The similarity of values
between employees and their leaders makes the closeness between the
two increase, which can improve employee performance. As previously
explained, the important factor in the formation of LMX is the
compatibility of goals, values and personality between the leader and
his subordinates, and this can make employees focus on their performance
and strive to improve their performance. In other words, these results
explain that LMX has succeeded in connecting PS-Fit with employee
performance. The interpersonal closeness between leaders and
subordinates makes closeness between individuals
(Lim et al., 2019; Subramaniam &
Sambasivan, 2018), which has a major influence on social interactions
and relationships between individuals (Singh et al., 2017). This causes
the closeness between the two to increase, which leads to an increase in
employee performance.
The results of testing the last hypothesis in this study indicate that
LMX can mediate the effect of PS-Fit on work engagement. Besides being
able to mediate PS-Fit on employee performance, LMX can also mediate the
effect of PS-Fit on employee work engagement in this study. The
similarity of goals, personality and values shared by both of them can
make LMX increase so that it has an effect on increasing employee work
engagement. This suitability is manifested by the high interaction
between leaders and subordinates in both formal and informal forums,
which makes employees get more information about work, so they can
maximize the work they do. This study confirms the Social Exchange
Theory, which explains that the reciprocal relationship between leaders
and subordinates can lead to mutual benefits (Decuypere & Schaufeli,
2020) by increasing more effort at work (Regts et al., 2019). This can
cause employees to better understand the meaning of work and be more
involved in their work.