Leaders' political skills and subordinates' service‐oriented organizational citizenship behavior

Team‐oriented tasks are inherent in the hospitality industry, requiring leaders to cultivate quality relationships with subordinates and facilitate team‐member interaction to achieve organizational goals. However, there is a lack of understanding of how leaders' political skills shape vertical and horizontal exchange relationships, leading to subordinates' performance. This study investigates the impacts of leader political skill (LPS) on leader–member exchange (LMX), team–member exchange (TMX), and service‐oriented organizational citizenship behavior (SOOCB) in an airline service setting where leaders' relationship‐building skills and influence and members' interpersonal relationship building are essential. To this end, 289 valid questionnaires were collected from flight attendants in South Korea. Results showed that perceived LPS positively affected LMX and TMX. Additionally, LMX and TMX fully mediated the relationship between LPS and SOOCB.