John M. Maslyn

Multidimensionafity of Leader-Member Exchange: An Empirical Assessment through Scale Development

Whether Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) is a unidimensional or a multidimensional construct was assessed through the development and validation of a multidimensional measure. Item analysis involving 302 working students, followed by construct and criterion-related validation using 249 employees representing two organizations resulted in a multidimensional LMX scale. The results provided support for the affect, loyalty, and contribution dimensions identified by Dienesch and Liden (1986), as well as a fourth dimension, professional respect.

Leader–member exchange and its dimensions: Effects of self-effort and other's effort on relationship quality.

Two hundred thirty-two manager-subordinate dyads provided data on the effort expended toward the development of leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships, how such effort related to expectations about relationship quality, and intentions to exert future effort toward relationship development. For both managers and subordinates, higher quality LMX relationships were reported and expectations were met when the other member of the dyad put forth effort into relationship development. Ones own higher effort coupled with lower effort by the other was associated with a lower quality LMX relationship. Examination of the 4 dimensions of LMX (R. C. Liden & J. M. Maslyn, 1998) revealed unique effects depending on the dimension considered. In addition, LMX and relationship tenure interacted, showing that future effort toward relationship development was greatest when individuals had been in higher quality relationships for longer periods of time.

Performance improvement efforts in response to negative feedback: the roles of source power and recipient self-esteem

This study investigates dimensions of supervisor power and recipient self-esteem as predictors of performance improvement efforts following negative performance feedback. The study employs two stimuli (recall and scenario) administered at two different points in time with full-time employees. Results point to the importance of differentiating the types of supervisor power and assessing the extent to which different types of power moderate the self-esteem - performance improvement relationship.

Why Are Styles of Upward Influence Neglected? Making the Case for a Configurational Approach to Influences

Kipnis and Schmidt (1988) challenged the traditional between-person focus in upward influence research by the clustering of tactics to identify four broader styles individuals use in influence attempts. Using two diverse samples, findings supported the existence of three of the four styles identified by Kipnis and Schmidt (Tactician, Shotgun, and Bystander). Tests of hypotheses linking theoretical correlates to specific styles suggest that configurational approaches to influence use should not be ignored by researchers.

Politics and political behavior: Where else do we go from here?

In this paper, we explore a number of politics-related issues that are raised in the extensive review by Ferris, Adams, Kolodinsky, Hockwarter, and Ammeter (this volume). In some cases, we have attempted to add important details (e.g. providing possible scale items to tap positive politics across multiple levels of the organization) and, in other cases, we have applied different viewpoints to identify alternative possibilities (e.g. the role of performance as a predictor of political perceptions). In all cases, we offer propositions to foster future politics-focused research.

Can some leaders have a good relationship with many followers?: The role of personality in the relationship between Leader‐Member Exchange and span of control

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report a study of the relationship between Leader‐Member Exchange (LMX) and span of control. The paper argues that depending on their extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, some leaders will find it easier to establish and maintain LMX relationships with their followers in larger groups.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted among 52 leaders and 389 followers. As matched data were used, the final sample consisted of 244 individual employees who worked in 41 different groups.Findings – Results show that extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness moderate the relationship between span of control and various dimensions of LMX. The results for agreeableness, however, were in the opposite direction than expected.Research limitations/implications – The moderation effects that were found for leader personality indicate that organizations could foster LMX relationships by selecting leaders with certain personality patterns for larger gro...

When organizational politics matters: The effects of the perceived frequency and distance of experienced politics:

Drawing from literature linking organizational politics with effects of challenge or hindrance stressors, this study investigated the effects of the frequency and psychological distance of positive and negative conceptualizations of perceived politics on the impact to the individual. It was hypothesized that the frequency of political behavior would exhibit an inverted-U-function relationship with favorable evaluations of political behavior and that this relationship would be moderated by distance. Two independent samples were used to test the hypotheses. Results for negative conceptualizations of perceived politics indicated a curvilinear frequency–evaluation relationship such that moderate levels of negative or dysfunctional politics are evaluated more favorably than either high or low levels. The distance of the political behavior was further found to moderate this relationship, with distant politics having little effect on the frequency–evaluation relationship, but politics with nearby impact yielding more negative evaluations as frequency increased. For positive conceptualizations of perceived politics, results revealed that respondents evaluated this form of politics more favorably the more it occurred. Further, positive political behavior was reported to be less desirable when its impact was believed to be at a distance rather than being felt by respondents personally. Implications are discussed.

An Exploratory Investigation of Policy Use in the Management of Poor Performers

The extent to which managers and teachers used policies or individualized treatment to deal with poorly performing subordinates and students was examined in two field studies. Over half of the 441 participants responded to poor performance by invoking a policy, while the remaining participants reported that they would handle each poor performance case on an individual basis, diagnosing the problem and developing a response. Policy users tended to be more concerned with their own self-interest, while those handling each case individually were more concerned with being fair. It was suggested that policy use may involve more scripted and less effortful cognitive processing, and individual treatment may entail more individualistic and more effortful cognitive processing.

Attachment style and leader-member exchange: the role of effort to build high quality relationships

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine psychological attachment styles (secure, anxious, and avoidant) as antecedents to leader-member exchange (LMX) quality both directly and through their impact on employees’ efforts to build high quality LMX relationships. Employees with secure attachment styles are proposed to be successful at building high quality LMX relationships while employees with anxious and avoidant styles are proposed to display the opposite effect. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a survey of 213 employees nested in 37 work groups. Hypotheses were tested using multilevel modeling within MPlus. Findings Results indicated that secure and anxious attachment styles were associated with LMX only by impacting the exertion of effort specifically aimed at relationship development with the manager. Alternatively, the avoidant style was directly and negatively linked to LMX but not associated with effort undertaken to build a high quality relationship. Practical implications The effects of attachment style on effort to develop high quality LMX relationships reveal that subordinate attachment style may impact those subordinates’ ability and interest in developing positive LMX relationships. Therefore, managers may need to purposively deviate from typical LMX development processes in order to create a more conducive environment for developing high quality relationships with subordinates of differing attachment styles. Originality/value This study is one of the first to examine the mediating impact of effort to build high quality LMX relationships given personal propensities (attachment style) to form relationships in the workplace.