Leader-Member Social Exchange (Lmsx): Development and Validation of a Scale.

Abstract

In the last 10 years, research devoted to the construct of leader-member exchange (LMX) has increasingly relied on the tenets of social exchange as a theoretical foundation to propose and test relationships between supervisor-subordinate dyads and variables of significant consequence. Despite the theory underpinning such relationships, researchers continue to measure LMX with scales developed to assess vertical dyad linkage (VDL), not social exchange. To address this concern, we investigated the content validity of LMX7 (the most widely cited measure of LMX) and LMX-MDM (a popular multidimensional measure of LMX). Findings from content validity assessments by 25 LMX experts revealed LMX7 and LMX-MDM items are not representative of the construct of social exchange. As such, we undertook a series of studies to develop a new scale we label, leader-member social exchange (LMSX). Results indicate LMSX is able to assess different, as well as the same, components of the supervisor-subordinate relationship as previous scales while being more theoretically consistent with the notion of social exchange.

A two-study investigation of item wording effects on leader–follower convergence in descriptions of the leader–member exchange (LMX) relationship

“…Mentioned earlier, the LMX-MDM scale (Liden & Maslyn, 1998), which conceptualizes exchange relationships as multidimensional, has been used in some research, although this measure has not eclipsed the LMX-7 as a standard in the literature. More recently, a measure of leader-member social exchange (LMSX) (Bernerth, Armenakis, Field, Giles, & Walker, 2007) has been introduced to the literature, and it has been asserted that it addresses the construct validity concerns that are mentioned above regarding explicit assessment of the exchange process. Since our primary focus is on issues of convergence, commenting on the general merits of the LMX-MDM and LMSX measures compared to the LMX-7 is beyond the scope of this discussion.…”

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Benefits of Employee Trust: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective

“…For example, since employees tend to associate their organization with the current leaders of that organization (Dirks and Ferrin 2002), research should consider the relationship between ethical leadership (Brown et al 2005) and CSR perceptions, and/or the relationship between CSR perceptions and social exchange outcomes (Bernerth et al 2007;Gerstner and Day 1997;Shore et al 2006).…”

Examination of the neural substrates activated in memories of experiences with resonant and dissonant leaders

“…This suggests that positive affect is related to enhanced exchange. To account for the relational aspects of leader-member relationships, Liden and Maslyn (1998) and Bernerth et al (2007) proposed and empirically supported two variations of LMX-the multidimensional leader-member exchange scale (LMX-MDM) and leader-member social exchange (LMSX), respectively-as concepts and measures of social exchange through positive affect, fun, friendship, and mutual support between a leader and his or her employees.…”