Too Much of a Good Thing: The Curvilinear Effect of Leader-Member Exchange on Stress

Organizational researchers have given considerable attention to the construct of leader-member exchange (LMX). Numerous studies have empirically supported the negative correlations between LMX relationships and unwanted individual outcomes, including stress. However, in the present study, the authors investigated whether the relationship is best represented as linear or curvilinear. The authors tested their research hypothesis in two organizational samples of 120 and 402 employees, respectively, and found support for the nonlinear relationship in both samples. The authors described strengths, limitations, practical implications, and directions for future research.

[1]  George B. Graen,et al.  When managers decide not to decide autocratically: An investigation of leader–member exchange and decision influence. , 1986 .

[2]  Terry A. Beehr,et al.  Supervisor behaviors, role stressors and uncertainty as predictors of personal outcomes for subordinates , 1994 .

[3]  Robert C. MacCallum,et al.  DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN MODERATOR AND QUADRATIC EFFECTS IN MULTIPLE REGRESSION , 1995 .

[4]  D. Duchon,et al.  Vertical dyad linkage: A longitudinal assessment of antecedents, measures, and consequences. , 1986 .

[5]  Charlotte R. Gerstner,et al.  Meta-Analytic Review of Leader-Member Exchange Theory: Correlates and Construct Issues , 1997 .

[6]  Anson Seers,et al.  Team-member exchange quality: a new construct for role-making research , 1989 .

[7]  D. Ganster,et al.  Role of social support in the experience of stress at work. , 1986, The Journal of applied psychology.

[8]  A. Gouldner.  THE NORM OF RECIPROCITY: A PRELIMINARY STATEMENT * , 1960 .

[9]  Raymond T. Sparrowe,et al.  Leader-member exchange theory: The past and potential for the future. , 1997 .

[10]  G. Pretty,et al.  Psychological environments and burnout: Gender considerations within the corporation , 1992 .

[11]  L. Tetrick,et al.  The role of fair treatment and rewards in perceptions of organizational support and leader-member exchange. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[12]  Kenneth J. Harris,et al.  An examination of the curvilinear relationship between leader–member exchange and intent to turnover , 2005 .

[13]  Robert C. Liden,et al.  A longitudinal study on the early development of leader-member exchanges. , 1993 .

[14]  S. Green,et al.  Both Sides Now: Supervisor and Subordinate Perspectives on Relationship Quality , 2002 .

[15]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[16]  E. Prien,et al.  The Experience of Work. , 1985 .

[17]  Murray S. Davis,et al.  That's Interesting! , 1971 .

[18]  G. Graen,et al.  Toward a psychology of dyadic organizing. , 1987 .

[19]  John M. Ivancevich,et al.  Stress on the job: An executive update , 1998 .

[20]  T. Wills,et al.  Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. , 1985, Psychological bulletin.

[21]  S. Wayne,et al.  The Effects of Leader-Member Exchange on Employee Citizenship and Impression Management Behavior , 1993 .

[22]  G. Graen,et al.  Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective , 1995 .

[23]  William S. Peters,et al.  Form, effect size and power in moderated regression analysis , 1987 .

[24]  Stephen J. Gerras,et al.  Climate as a moderator of the relationship between leader-member exchange and content specific citizenship: safety climate as an exemplar. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[25]  G. Graen,et al.  Generalizability of the vertical dyad linkage model of leadership. , 1980 .

[26]  Karen A. Jehn,et al.  Differential effects of strain on two forms of work performance: individual employee sales and creativity , 2002 .

[27]  Stephen G. Green,et al.  Development of Leader-Member Exchange: A Longitudinal Test , 1996 .

[28]  P. Blau.  Exchange and Power in Social Life , 1964 .

[29]  Raymond T. Sparrowe,et al.  Process and Structure in Leader-Member Exchange , 1997 .

[30]  Lynda A. King,et al.  Social support and occupational stress: Talking to supervisors , 1990 .

[31]  G. C. Homans,et al.  Social Behavior as Exchange , 1958, American Journal of Sociology.

[32]  Stephen B. Castleberry,et al.  Vertical Exchange Quality and Performance: Studying the Role of the Sales Manager , 1990 .

[33]  J. Sutherland.  The experience of work: Is working for an overseas‐owned multinational so different? , 2003 .

[34]  C. Schriesheim,et al.  Leader–member exchange (LMX) research: A comprehensive review of theory, measurement, and data-analytic practices. , 1999 .

[35]  Yoav Ganzach,et al.  Nonlinearity, Multicollinearity and the Probability of Type II Error in Detecting Interaction , 1998 .

[36]  John M. Maslyn,et al.  Multidimensionafity of Leader-Member Exchange: An Empirical Assessment through Scale Development , 1998 .

[37]  J. Edwards.  A Cybernetic Theory of Stress, Coping, and Well-Being in Organizations , 1992 .

[38]  Development of Leader-Member Exchange: A Longitudinal Test , 1996 .

[39]  L. Chonko,et al.  Vertical Exchange and Salesperson Stress , 1993 .

[40]  J. Peiró,et al.  Relationships between leadership and professionals' job attitudes and perceptions: Comparison of two leadership models , 1996 .

[41]  Deborah E. Rupp,et al.  The mediating effects of social exchange relationships in predicting workplace outcomes from multifoci organizational justice , 2002 .

[42]  Chockalingam Viswesvaran,et al.  The Role of Social Support in the Process of Work Stress: A Meta-Analysis , 1999 .

[43]  D. Nelson,et al.  An Examination of Exchange Quality and Work Stressors in Leader–Follower Dyads , 1998 .

[44]  R. Liden,et al.  Leader-Member Exchange Model of Leadership: A Critique and Further Development , 1986 .

[45]  D. Lykken.  Statistical significance in psychological research. , 1968, Psychological bulletin.

[46]  W. D. Perreault,et al.  Organizational role conflict: Its antecedents and consequences , 1976 .

[47]  Saroj Parasuraman,et al.  Sources and Outcomes of Stress in Organizational Settings: Toward the Development of a Structural Model , 1984 .

[48]  T. DeCotiis,et al.  Organizational Determinants of Job Stress , 1983 .

[49]  W. Chaplin,et al.  The next generation of moderator research in personality psychology. , 1991, Journal of personality.

[50]  P. M. Podsakoff,et al.  Self-Reports in Organizational Research: Problems and Prospects , 1986 .

[51]  Robert J. House,et al.  Role conflict and ambiguity as critical variables in a model of organizational behavior , 1972 .

[52]  Alicia A. Grandey,et al.  The relationship of organizational politics and support to work behaviors, attitudes, and stress , 1997 .

[53]  Gerald R. Ferris,et al.  Method and analysis in organizational research , 1984 .

[54]  R. Kahn,et al.  Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. , 1965 .

[55]  R. Liden,et al.  Perceived Organizational Support And Leader-Member Exchange: A Social Exchange Perspective , 1997 .

[56]  M. Uhl‐Bien,et al.  Leader-member exchange and its dimensions: effects of self-effort and other's effort on relationship quality. , 2001, The Journal of applied psychology.

[57]  Robert A. Snyder,et al.  Quality of Vertical Dyad Linkages: Congruence of Supervisor and Subordinate Competence and Role Stress as Explanatory Variables , 1985 .

[58]  D. Ganster,et al.  Work Stress and Employee Health , 1991 .