6533b7d3fe1ef96bd12614b3
RESEARCH PRODUCT
A team-level investigation of the relationship between leader-member-exchange (LMX) differentiation and commitment and performance
Vicente González-romáPascale M. Le Blancsubject
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementSchool teachersEmpirical researchSociology and Political ScienceDifferential treatmenteducationWork valuesBusiness and International ManagementPsychologySocial psychologyOutcome (game theory)Applied Psychologydescription
Although the differential treatment of team members by their leader is at the heart of Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) theory, empirical studies exploring the role of within-team LMX differentiation in relation to team outcomes are still relatively scarce. This study among 269 Dutch secondary school teachers from 33 different teams tested the hypotheses that the relationship between LMX differentiation and team commitment, and team performance is moderated by LMX-quality median. Moreover, we hypothesized that team members' perceived dissimilarity regarding work values and orientations would be positively related to within-team LMX differentiation. Teachers completed questionnaires on LMX-quality, dissimilarity, and team commitment, whereas team performance was rated by school principals. Results indeed showed that LMX differentiation is positively related to both outcome variables in teams with a low LMX-quality median only. As expected, more perceived dissimilarity between team members was related to more within-team variability in LMX-scores. These results contribute to knowledge on hypothetical antecedents and consequences of LMX differentiation at the team level.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-06-01 | Leadership Quarterly |