The role of psychological capital, flow experience, and locus of control in the effect of leader-member exchange on job satisfaction

In this study, we tried to determine the role of psychological capital and locus of control as a personality trait on the effect of the employee's interaction with his/her supervisor on her job satisfaction and flow experience. It was aimed to test the hypotheses put forward in order to determine the interactions of the variables in the model established for this purpose. Quantitative methods were used in the research. With the convenience sampling method, analysis was made on the data obtained from 493 blue and white collar employees who continue their professional lives in various sectors, public and private. In the study; SPSS, PROCESS and AMOS software were used, and correlation, confirmatory factor and regression analyzes were performed on the variables included in the study. The findings obtained supported the research hypotheses. In this context, it has been determined that leader-member exchange has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction and flow experience, and that psychological capital partially mediates the leader-member interaction-job satisfaction and leader-member exchange-flow experience relationships. In line with the determined model, it has been observed that locus of control has a moderator role in the relationships in question (LMX-Psychological Capital, LMX-Flow Experience and LMX-Job Satisfaction). The results obtained from the research were expected to shed light on the concepts of job satisfaction and flow experience included in the study through leader-member exchange. In the literature, it has been observed that the attitudes and behaviors of the employee are rarely mentioned when evaluating the dependent and independent variables examined together within the scope of the topic. In addition, it was intended to fill the gap in the literature by revealing the impact of psychological capital and locus of control, which are considered among employee characteristics that can be seen as an important building block in establishing organizational functioning and relational network. In this respect, it is evaluated that this very research can be taken as a starting point for future theoretical studies and, in a practical sense, can guide practitioners at the management level in the context of the manager-employee relationship.