领导—下属交换关系差异化基础对分配公平氛围及团队绩效的影响

The Effect of LMX Differentiation Basis on Distributive Justice Climate and Group Performance

基于现有文献中领导成员交换关系差异化在团队层面作用的矛盾性结果,本文引入LMX差异化基础这一概念,并进一步区分了工作导向(包括任务导向和能力导向)差异化基础和关系导向差异化基础。基于公平视角下的公平原则和意义构建分析,通过对多来源、多时点的101对领导—下属配对数据分析发现:任务导向基础可以提升分配公平氛围进而增进团队绩效,能力导向基础和关系导向基础削弱分配公平氛围,从而降低团队绩效;工作导向基础会削弱关系导向基础的消极影响。总体来看,本研究证实了LMX差异化基础在领导与不同下属建立差异化关系中的重要作用,从而为解释团队层面上LMX差异化作用的矛盾性结果提出了新思路。

Leaders often develop different leader-member exchange(LMX)relationships with their subordinates in the workplace(Dansereau,Graen&Haga,1975;Graen&Uhl-Bien,1995),providing more support to,bestowing more trust in,and giving more respect for some members than others(Scandura&Schriesheim,1994).This phenomenon is coined as LMX differentiation,capturing the degree to which the same leader differs in his/her exchange relationships with team members(e.g.,Erdogan&Bauer,2010;Gooty&Yammarino,2013;Liao,Liu,&Loi,2010;Liden,Erdogan,Wayne,&Sparrowe,2006;Kauppila,2016).Although leadership researchers have conducted extensive work examining the influences of LMX differentiation on team outcomes,empirical findings are rather inconclusive(see Yu,Matta,&Cornfield,in press for a meta-analysis and see Matta&Van Dyne,in press for a review).For instance,high LMX differentiation was found to benefit team consequences(e.g.,Le Blanc&González-Romá,2012;Naidoo,Scherbaum,Goldstein,&Graen,2011;Stewart&Johnson,2009),but at the same time was found to dampen team functioning(Hooper&Martin,2008;Ford&Seers,2006;Nishii&Mayer,2009).Even though recent studies have proposed and tested many explanations(e.g.,Kauppila,2016;Liden et al.,2006;Omilion-Hodges&Baker,2013),we currently have little theory succinctly addressing why LMX differentiation could have both positive and negative effects on group effectiveness.To establish an integrated framework that can account for these controversial findings,we distinguished between work-oriented LMX differentiation basis(including task-oriented LMX differentiation basis and capacity-oriented LMX differentiation basis)and relationship-oriented LMX differentiation basis.LMX differentiation basis refers to the sources,standards,or factors based on which leaders develop and maintain differential exchange relationships with their subordinates.The core content of work-oriented basis contains task performance and OCB,work effort and attitude,task skills whereas the core content of relationship-oriented basis contains social networking,leader-member similarity,ingratiation,and leader-member non-work interaction.Drawing upon Equity Theory and Sense Making Analysis,our research probes into the relationship between LMX differentiation basis and group performance via distributive justice climate.Specifically,we hypothesize that work-oriented LMX differentiation basis can positively predict team distributive justice climate which can in turn increase team performance;whereas relationship-oriented LMX differentiation basis can dampen team distributive justice climate and thus team performance.In addition,based on the perspective of sense making analysis,when an unexpected event occurs which may inhibit one’s self-regulation,this person is more likely to seek more information and become more sensitive to the relevant information.Therefore,we further argue that high relationship-oriented(or low work-oriented)LMX differentiation basis is less legitimate and thus makes employees likely pay more attention to the information related to LMX differentiation,which would strengthen the effect of the other type of LMX differentiation on team distributive justice climate and team performance.In other words,the two types of LMX differentiation basis can interact with each other to affect team process and consequences.Specifically,when team work-oriented LMX differentiation basis is relatively low,the negative effect of relationship-oriented LMX differentiation basis on team distributive justice climate and team performance will be stronger;when team relationship-oriented LMX differentiation basis is higher,the positive relationship between relationship-oriented LMX differentiation basis and its consequences will be stronger.To test our hypotheses,we collected data at different time points from different sources(team leaders and members).At time 1,all respondents reported demographic information and their perceived LMX differentiation basis.At time 2,team members reported distributive justice.At time 3,we invited team leaders to evaluate group performance.We adopted a two-week lag between the three time points and obtained valid responses from 367 employees of 101 work teams.The results found that task-oriented basis positively related to distributive justice climate while capacity-oriented and relationship-oriented basis negatively related to distributive justice climate.We also found that distributive justice climate mediated the indirect effect of LMX differentiation basis on group performance.In addition,the results suggested that work-oriented basis attenuated the negative effects of relationship-oriented basis on distributive justice climate and group performance.Our manuscript makes several contributions to the literature.First,our study demonstrates that LMX differentiation basis has an important impact on the effect of LMX differentiation at the group level.By doing so,we provide a plausible explanation of the contradictory findings in the existing literature on LMX differentiation.Second,based on equity theory,we found task-oriented LMX differentiation basis increases group justice climate and thus group performance,whereas relationship-oriented LMX differentiation basis harms group justice climate and group performance.Therefore,our findings directly and precisely address the question that"How should we distribute LMX resource to promote group justice and function?"These findings not only deepen our understanding of LMX distribution,but also provide a new perspective of studying group justice.Third,this study also contributes to the emerging research of LMX differentiation basis.Recently,researchers start to conceptualize and measure the basis of LMX differentiation.However,most of them neglect the nonwork-related LMX differentiation basis,such as leader-member similarity,personal relationship and social network,which plays an important role at the workplace.Furthermore,we measured the employees’perception of LMX differentiation basis and demonstrated its important role,which extends the extant literature that has primarily focused on the objective measure of LMX differentiation basis.Finally,our study examines the interactive effect of work-oriented basis and relationship-oriented basis,providing a more nuanced and systematic view to understand the influence of LMX differentiation basis.While the findings of this research open new avenues to study the effects of LMX,we recognize a few limitations.First,future research can advance our study by testing the generalizability of our findings in other culture contexts.Another direction is to study whether the most dominant bases used by the leaders in treating members differentially have a different effect on the group outcomes.It is also important to explore the potential incongruence between member perception of LMX differentiation basis and the actual basis and its influence on group consequences.