Relationships, relationships, relationships: The impact of a differentiated Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) on individual performances within socio-comparative groups. (original) (raw)
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The Leadership Quarterly, 2009
Using a sample of 285 matched pairs of employees and supervisors, we explore the extent to which congruence in leader and follower ratings of LMX quality is related to follower job performance and work attitudes. An original conceptual model is introduced that identifies four combinations of leader and follower LMX ratings: balanced/low LMX (low leader and follower LMX), balanced/ high LMX (high leader and follower LMX), follower overestimation (low leader LMX/high follower LMX), and follower underestimation (high leader LMX/low follower LMX). As expected, balanced/low (high) LMX relationships were associated with relatively low (high) levels of follower job performance, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction, while the incongruent combinations generally yielded intermediate levels of follower outcomes. However, follower underestimation was also related to high levels of follower job performance, whereas follower overestimation was associated with high levels of follower satisfaction and organizational commitment. Implications of these findings for future LMX research are considered.
Beyond relationship quality: The role of leader-member exchange importance in leader-follower dyads
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
In this paper we introduce a novel construct, Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) importance, which we position as a meta-perception indicating whether followers view their LMX relationship as personally important or valuable to them. Based on social exchange theory, we examine the extent to which the obligation followers feel towards their leader depends jointly on the quality and the importance of the LMX relationship. We examine how LMX importance influences the process through which LMX quality affects employees' level of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by focusing on felt obligation (a measure of followers' reciprocity obligation in the social exchange process) as a mediating variable. Across two studies, we found that high levels of both LMX quality and LMX importance interacted to engender a greater feeling of obligation in followers to repay the perceived favourable exchanges with their leader. Felt obligation predicted leader-rated OCB, demonstrating support for our hypothesised moderated mediation model. However, psychological empowerment, when included alongside felt obligation (in Study 2) did not mediate the LMX-OCB relationship. Overall, our findings extend the focus of LMX theory beyond the confines of LMX quality to incorporate the importance of the LMX relationship.
2017
Leadership has been a broad subject to explore by several researchers since decades. The relationships between the manager and subordinates, however, narrows the topic down to more specific, workplace environment. This study is to understand the theoretical concept of the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and investigate how and what influences such partnership. The author of this body of work conducted five semi-structured interviews and collected relevant information for the subject investigation. Based on the qualitative methods of data collection, this researcher concluded on the attitudes and traits that may impact the process of forming the relationships between the leader and followers and on how, within that process, the perception of being a part of the group may change. The interviews were organized as face-to-face meetings and the author aimed to get an insight of the manager’s experiences that were relevant to the subject of the study and could contribute to the value of this...
Reversing the lens: How followers influence leader–member exchange quality
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2019
Building on Foa and Foa's (1974) resource theory, this study explores why, how, and when followers' proactive engagement in taking charge behaviours can drive leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships. Through a three-wave multi-rater field survey among 230 leader-follower dyads in China, we found that follower taking charge is positively related to LMX after accounting for the effect of in-role performance. Our results suggest leader perceived service resources (i.e., the efforts and actions carried out by the focal follower that make the leader's work more effective) as the underlying mechanism of this relationship. Further, our findings demonstrate that achievement-goal-striving leaders are more likely to recognize the service value of taking charge followers and subsequently develop high-quality LMX relationships with them. This study moves LMX theory forward by investigating follower-driven LMX development. It also contributes to the emerging work on followership by 'reversing the lens' between leadership practice (in terms of LMX) and follower behaviour (in terms of taking charge). Practitioner points Leaders should be aware of the valuable service resources associated with followers' taking charge attempts. Followers who work under achievement-goal-striving leaders should be more proactive in building high-quality relationships with their bosses by taking charge at work. To benefit from high-quality LMX relationships, organizations should train leaders to appreciate followers' taking charge endeavours. Concrete research evidence has accumulated to show that leader-member exchange (LMX), defined as the quality of the resource-based exchange relationship in a leaderfollower dyad (Sparrowe & Liden, 1997), brings vast benefits for employees (for systematic reviews, see Bauer & Erdogan, 2016; Erdogan & Bauer, 2014). The consistency *Correspondence should be addressed to Zhenyao Cai, SHU
Not all leader–member exchanges are created equal: Importance of leader relational identity
The Leadership Quarterly, 2010
Recent research by leadership scholars has emphasized the important role of follower selfidentity. For example, leaders influence subordinate attitudes and behaviors by activating a collective identity level among their subordinates. We extend existing identity-based approaches by examining the relational identity level of leaders. Previous work has focused predominantly on followers (vs. leaders) and on collective (vs. relational) identity. Using data from two samples, we supported our hypothesis that leader relational identity moderates relationships of leader-member exchange (LMX) with subordinate task performance and citizenship behaviors. The nature of the interaction was such that the negative relationships of low-quality LMX with performance are mitigated when subordinates had supervisors with strong relational identities. These findings highlight the need to consider not only the identities of followers but those of leaders as well.
Where do I stand? The interaction of leader–member exchange and performance ratings
Asian Business & Management, 2014
The congruence model of leader-member exchange (LMX) quality predicts that agreement between leader and members regarding relationship quality is associated with follower performance. However, questions remain over how cultural relational norms influence congruence. This study, based on a government-linked international joint venture in Malaysia, investigates cultural relational norms in relation to leader-member agreement on relational quality and leader evaluation of member performance. Our findings revealed that LMX quality agreement was related to in-role and extra-role performance among dyadic relationships conforming to Malaysian cultural norms. This study contributes to understanding how cultural relational norms provide conditions to the congruence model of LMX.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2010
This study investigates the role of similarity in ethnic origin between supervisor and employee as a potential moderator between subordinates' leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The results support the interaction effect of supervisor-subordinate ethnic differences with LMX and OCB. As hypothesized, OCB was positively related to LMX for both ethnically similar and dissimilar dyads, but the relationship was strongest for similar dyads.j asp_568 167..181 Researchers have theorized that organizations often benefit when employees are willing to contribute to the organization above and beyond their formally defined job descriptions (Katz, 1964; Organ, 1988; Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bachrach, 2000). In the increasingly dynamic and competitive environment in which organizations operate, such contributions, referred to as organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs; Organ, 1988; Smith, Organ, & Near, 1983), have received considerable attention from scholars and practitioners alike (Podsakoff et al., 2000). Leaders (i.e., supervisors) have an important influence on employees' attitudes and behaviors. Within the broad area of organizational leadership, leader-member exchange (LMX) theory has emerged as one of the most interesting and useful approaches for explaining the ways in which leaders influence subordinates (Gerstner & Day, 1997), differing from other leadership theories in its focus on the dyadic exchange relationship between leaders and each of their followers (Gerstner & Day, 1997). Drawing on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964), LMX maintains that leaders develop different types of exchange relationships with their followers, and the quality of these relationships affects important member attitudes and behaviors (Gerstner & Day, 1997; Ilies, Nahrgang, & Morgeson, 2007). Specifically, with some subordinates, leaders develop high-quality exchanges that are characterized
MY LEADER'S GROUP IS MY GROUP. " LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE AND EMPLOYEES' BEHAVIOURS
The construct of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) always remains a fundamental point for researchers for their research. Unfortunately, in this emerging globalization, hectic and fastpaced, competitive business world, people rarely realize the importance of these relationships in their business and personal lives also. The present study has been conducted to address the same (Leader-employee) relationship and its impact on employees' extra-role behaviours (Organizational Citizenship Behaviour, Knowledge Sharing Behaviour, Innovative Work Behaviour) through a mediating mechanism of Work Engagement with respect to JobDemand Resource (JD-R) Model. Time lagged based sample (n=367) was collected from R&D and IT sector of Pakistan in three phases. The hypothetical-deductive method was used to analyse the collected data to conclude the study outcomes. It has been ascertained through results of the survey that under commands' extra-role behaviours are positively proportionate with their exchange with the leader, and work engagement plays a mediating role in these relationships. The study also offers venues for future research and practical implications for business managers. KEY TERMS: Leader-Member Exchange, Extra Role Behaviours, Work Engagement, R&D, Pakistan
Economic and social leader–member exchange relationships and follower performance
The Leadership Quarterly, 2012
This exploratory study investigated the link between economic and social leader-member exchange relationships and follower work performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Instead of viewing exchange relationships between leaders and subordinates on a continuum from low to high quality, we conceptualize social and economic exchange relationships as relationships with different qualities, rather than different levels of quality. Data from 552 followers and 78 leaders supported our two-dimensional model of leader-member exchange relationships. Furthermore, an economic leader-member exchange relationship was negatively related to both work performance and organizational citizenship behavior. As expected, positive relationships were obtained for a social leader-member exchange relationship and work performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Leader-Member Exchange and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour
Accounting and Taxation Review, 2018
This study was an attempt to examine the extent to which the quality of relationship that exists between leaders and their subordinates often called leader-member exchange (LMX) affects organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among academic staff of the University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria. From the study population of 1,904, a sample size of three hundred and thirty (330) was drawn using the Yamani's (1967) formula with 95% confidence interval. A proportional sampling technique was further used to allot the sample size to the various faculties in the university. Of the three hundred and thirty (330) questionnaires administered, three hundred and eighteen (318) were retrieved and found usable, representing a response rate of ninety-six percent (96%). Therefore, three hundred and eighteen (318) were used for the analyses of the study variables. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. To test the impact of the independent variable on the dependent variable, a regression analysis was performed. The findings of the study include: (1) a substantially high quality LMX relationship and a considerably high level of OCB among academic staff in the University of Benin, (2) all four dimensions of LMX-affect, loyalty, contribution and professional respect, were found to have significant impact on OCB among academic staff in the University of Benin. It is recommended that management of the University of Benin should take measures to further foster much higher quality LMX relationships between academic staff and their heads of department in the university and also implement strategies aimed at furthering the exhibition of citizenship behaviour among academic staff in the university.