Balance in Social and Economic LMX Relationships and its Relation to Work Performance - Relational Schemas as Moderator
Master thesis

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Date
2020Metadata
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- Master of Science [1822]
Abstract
The aim of this study is to examine the link between social leader-member exchange
(SLMX) balance, economic leader-member exchange (ELMX balance), and work performance.
It also examines whether followers’ expressive and instrumental relational schemas moderate the
relationship between different LMX balance constellations and work performance. The study is
based on cross-sectional data from an internet survey conducted among 150 followers (response
rate = 87%) with 62 associated leaders (response rate = 84%) in Norwegian companies. Analyses
of variance revealed that work performance scores varied significantly across four different
SLMX relationship types (H1-H2) but not across ELMX relationship types (H3-H4). Moderation
analyses revealed significant interactions between certain SLMX relationship types and
relational schemas, and between certain ELMX relationship types and relational schemas (H5-
H8). Five out of eight hypotheses were partially supported. The study fills both theoretical and
empirical gaps in LMX theory research, and is the first to combine insights about balance in
perceptions with the distinction between SLMX and ELMX. It increases our understanding of
the LMX construct by giving a clearer image of the conditions under which LMX relates to work
performance. It also advances our knowledge about the interplays of leader-member exchanges
and followers’ relational schemas.
Key words: Leader-member exchange (LMX), LMX theory, social LMX, economic
LMX, LMX balance, relational schemas, work performance, work effort, work quality
Description
Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Leadership and Organizational Psychology - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2020