Economic and social leader–member exchange relationships and follower performance

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–follower equilibria to examine investment decisions in grid resilience-enhancing measures

Large-area, long-duration power outages are increasingly common in the United States, and cost the economy billions of dollars each year. Building a strategy to enhance grid resilience requires an understanding of the optimal mix of preventive and corrective actions, the inefficiencies that arise when self-interested parties make resilience investment decisions, and the conditions under which regulators may facilitate the realization of efficient market outcomes. We develop a bi-level model to examine the mix of preventive and corrective measures that enhances grid resilience to a severe storm. The model represents a Stackelberg game between a regulated utility (leader) that may harden distribution feeders before a long-duration outage and/or deploy restoration crews after the disruption, and utility customers with varying preferences for reliable power (followers) who may invest in backup generators. We show that the regulator's denial of cost recovery for the utility's preventive expenditures, coupled with the misalignment between private objectives and social welfare maximization, yields significant inefficiencies in the resilience investment mix. Allowing cost recovery for a higher share of the utility's capital expenditures in preventive measures, extending the time horizon associated with damage cost recovery, and adopting a storm restoration compensation mechanism shift the realized market outcome toward the efficient solution. If about one-fifth of preventive resilience investments is approved by regulators, requiring utilities to pay a compensation of $365 per customer for a 3-day outage (about seven times the level of compensation currently offered by US utilities) provides significant incentives toward more efficient preventive resilience investments.     

Same difference? Exploring the differential mechanisms linking servant leadership and transformational leadership to follower outcomes

This paper aimed to provide insights into the different mediating mechanisms through which servant leadership (SL) and transformational leadership (TFL) affect followers. We also investigated environmental uncertainty as a moderator of the effects of servant leadership and transformational leadership. Based on the results of two experimental studies and one field study, we concluded that both SL and TFL were related to organizational commitment and work engagement; however, the manner in which they exerted their influence differed. SL worked primarily through follower need satisfaction, whereas TFL worked mainly through perceived leadership effectiveness. The moderating influence of uncertainty was inconsistent across the studies.     

Balance in leader and follower perceptions of leader–member exchange: Relationships with performance and work attitudes

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.     

Perceptions of and reactions to leader toxicity: Do leader–follower relationships and identification with victim matter?

This experimental study examined the influence of leader–follower relationships (i.e., LMX) and target salience on perceptions of leader toxicity and intentions to challenge the leader. There are no studies that evaluate the effect of leader–follower relationships on these two variables. Participants (n = 298) with work experience viewed a video of a leader acting in a destructive manner toward a target. As predicted, LMX out-group participants perceived the leader to be toxic to a greater extent than participants with favored status, and indicated greater intent to challenge the leader. With regard to target salience, the results also showed that observers perceived the leader to be toxic to a greater extent when the leader was targeting someone in their LMX grouping, but there were no significant differences in challenging intentions based on the target's LMX status. Implications for leaders, followers, and organizations are discussed.     

The moderating role of leader and follower sex in dyads on the leadership behavior–leader effectiveness relationships

Transformational leadership (TL) and leader–member exchange (LMX) literatures provide theoretical frameworks and accompanying empirical evidence for studying the relationship between leader behavior and effectiveness. Although prior attention has been given to gender differences in leadership style and leader effectiveness, the moderating effects of the sex of the leader and subordinate on the leadership–leader effectiveness relationship have not been investigated. In a field study of employees from a manufacturing plant, we examined whether leader and subordinate sex, and the sex composition of the leader–subordinate dyad, moderated the linkages of each set of leader behaviors (i.e., TL and LMX) with actual evaluations of leader effectiveness provided by the leader's subordinates and direct supervisor. Although female leaders were rated as more effective than male leaders overall, a fine-grained analysis of leader–subordinate dyads revealed that the male leaders benefited more than the female leaders from the use of transformational leadership in the leader behavior–leader effectiveness relationship. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

When opposites do (and do not) attract: Interplay of leader and follower self-identities and its consequences for leader–member exchange

Employees' self-identities, or the ways in which they define themselves relative to others, have implications for the quality of leader and follower relationships at work. Although self-identity has been examined within the context of transformational and charismatic leadership, its relevance for leader–member exchange (LMX) has received little attention. In this study we integrate LMX and self-identity theories. Doing so proved useful because it was found that leader and follower identities predicted LMX quality, as did the fit between leader and follower identities and interactions among fit at different self-identity levels. LMX quality fully mediated relationships of self-identity fit with job performance, regardless of whether LMX was reported by subordinates or their supervisors. Lastly, we also found that self-identity predicted LMX agreement across supervisors and subordinates. Implications of our findings for theory and practice are discussed.