PREDICTING EMPLOYEE-SUPERVISOR RELATIONSHIP STRENGTH (LMX): DOES A SINGLE MOMENT MATTER?

Abstract

Abstract The leader-member exchange (LMX; Dansereau et al., 1975) theory explains how employee-supervisor relationships form and posits that relationship strength will be established through communication-based exchanges over time as supported by the social exchange theory (SET; Blau, 1964; Homans, 1958). The conceptual framework of anchoring events (AEs; Ballinger & Rockmann, 2010) proposes that a single exchange may impact the strength of the relationship but has yet to be empirically tested. This study examines 1) employees’ descriptions of AEs and their perceived impact; 2) whether positive and negative AEs’ impact predicts LMX; and 3) if AEs account for significant variance in LMX over and above communication frequency. Participants (N = 367) consisted of a convenience sample. LMX strength was assessed with the Leader-Member Exchange scale (LMX-7; Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995), perceived communication frequency was determined with the Leader Communication Exchange scales (LCX-P, LCX-N; Omilion-Hodges & Baker, 2017), and qualitative data were gathered to explore AEs (N = 851). Exploratory factor analysis of LCX scales revealed five factors with good reliabilities (α between .89 and .97); however, positive correlations between the affect LCX factor and LMX (r = .84) indicate low discriminant validity. LCX factors explained 73% of the outcome variance of LMX, whereas AE’s impact accounted for 55%; however, AE did not exhibit incremental validity. Implications from this study would help with training and developing supervisors in relationship building, improving performance management processes with employees, providing individualized recognition, and conflict resolution. Keywords: leader-member exchange (LMX), social exchange theory (SET), anchoring events (AEs), supervisor communication