Hierarchical levels of social and economic leader-member exchange and their relationship with knowledge sharing

Abstract

The aim of this master thesis is to first, explore the relationship between perceived social- and economic leader-member exchange relationships and knowledge sharing, and second, to explore if the trickle-down effect also exists for exchange relationships. The focus of this study lies on social leader-member exchange and economic leader-member exchange. We test if the social leadermember exchange relates positively social leader-member exchange on the lower hierarchical levels, and if economic leader-member exchange relates to economic leader-member exchange on the lower level. Further, we explore if lower level social leader-member exchange mediates the relationship between higher level social leader-member exchange and knowledge sharing. The data from 114 employees working in a Norwegian retail organization revealed that social leader-member exchange on the lower levels relates significantly positively related to knowledge sharing, whereas economic leadermember exchange on the lower levels does not relate to knowledge sharing. This finding is in line with previous research in the field, suggesting that emphasizing social exchange relationships may be important for leaders and organizations, as it is positively related to several employee outcomes. Furthermore, we find no support for the trickle-down effect on higher level social and economic leader-member exchange to lower level economic leadermember exchange. In addition, we find no evidence of an indirect relationship between higher-level SLMX and knowledge sharing. The non-significant findings on the trickle-down effect for leader-member exchange suggest that the immediate leaders play an essential role in forming their exchange relationships with their employees. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as well as limitations and directions for future research. Keywords: leader-member exchange, LMX, social LMX, SLMX, economic LMX, ELMX, knowledge sharing, trickle-down effect, leadership