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Introduction
Although the leadership literature is replete with studies concentrating on the positive outcomes of supervisor-subordinate relationships (Ansari et al., 2007; Arici, 2018), we observe that only a handful of studies explore the impact of monitoring styles of supervisors on similar outcomes (Lee et al., 2019). Following the study conducted by Liao and Chun (2016), we have examined the role of interactional and observational monitoring styles of supervisors in effectuating subordinates' job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment through their psychological need satisfaction and perceived supervisory support. Our empirical analyses lend support in favor of the interactional over the observational monitoring style of supervisors in developing positive job attitudes of subordinates. These findings carry significant implications for practicing managers in terms of how to bring out the best from their subordinates in the workplace. More importantly, from the viewpoint of performance monitoring and feedback, this study explains how supervisor-subordinate relationships marked by supervisors' personal touch can make a substantive difference in the work attitudes of employees in comparison to relationships that are driven purely by employment contracts. Thus, our study strengthens the popular leader-member exchange stream of literature by adding the perspective of supervisors' monitoring styles that has not been explored adequately in the academic literature. Therefore, the role of supervisors becomes amplified in connecting employees with positive organizational outcomes. In the subsequent sections, we begin with a review of the literature followed by hypotheses development, then move on to the method and results and conclude with the implications of the study.
Theory and hypotheses development
Supervisor monitoring
Supervisor monitoring is defined as “supervisor's behaviors intended to gather information regarding a subordinate's work progress and effectiveness” (Liao and Chun, 2016, p. 170). Supervisor monitoring may be considered as a subset of the broader concept of “performance monitoring” which refers to “the gathering of information about the work effectiveness and productivity of individuals, groups and larger organizational units” (Larson and Callahan, 1990, p. 530). Performance monitoring is a crucial activity in organizations because it enables the generation of valuable performance-related information, which is then fed as an input to several HR processes such as performance appraisal and benefits administration (Liao and Chun, 2016; Niehoff and Moorman, 1993). Given the informational benefits of performance monitoring, firms...