Trust and leader--member exchange: a closer look at relational vulnerability.

Trust in work relationships is an intriguing topic in leader--member exchange (LMX) research, however, previous LMX studies examined trust as unidimensional. Research on LMX has yet to explore the multidimensional nature of trust and how different dimensions may affect LMX quality. This study with 228 full-time employees explores the effect of different trust dimensions on LMX relationships. It is interesting that LMX quality was positively related to identification-based trust as well as calculus-based trust, which involves calculative exchanges. Results found support for a nonlinear association between calculus-based trust and LMX. Thus, contrary to expectations, trust appears to be vulnerable even in high-quality LMX relations.

Keywords: leader--member exchange; LMX; social exchange; trust

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More than four decades ago, leadership research began to challenge the existence of an average leadership style (Fleishman & Harris, 1962; Likert, 1967; Schriesheim & Stogdill, 1975; Taylor & Bowers, 1972). These studies indicated that leaders differentiate among followers rather than enacting one leadership style with all members (Dansereau, Graen, & Haga, 1975; Graen, 1976; Graen, Liden, & Hoel, 1982; Graen & Schiemann, 1978). When employees were asked to describe their relationship with their boss, different employees reported varying views of the same manager. Some employees reported high-quality exchanges characterized by a high degree of mutual trust, respect, and obligation (in-group). Others reported low-quality exchanges with their manager, where the employee fulfills job description requirements but contributes nothing extra; the relationship remains within the bounds of the employment contract (out-group) (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995).

These early studies led to the development of leader--member exchange (LMX) research, which posits that supervisor--subordinate relationships fall along a continuum ranging from low-quality, in which the relationship is based strictly on the transactional part of the employment contract, to high-quality relationships based on mutual liking, trust, obligation, and respect (Dienesch & Liden, 1986; Graen & Scandura, 1987; Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995). More than 30 years of research repeatedly linked LMX quality to a wide range of work outcomes including promotion, turnover, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, citizenship behaviors, willingness to contribute, performance, and trust in supervisor (Dulebohn, Brouer, Bommer, Ferris, & Kato, 2008; Gerstner & Day, 1997; Ilies, Nahrgang, & Morgeson, 2007; Liden, Sparrowe, & Wayne, 1997).

Despite the fact that research on trust is essential to a deeper understanding of LMX relationships, previous research on LMX examined trust as a unidimensional construct, and research has yet to examine different trust dimensions in the context of LMX relationships. Essentially, researchers have suggested that high-quality LMX relations involve high levels of interpersonal trust, which carries the relationship beyond the formal employment contract (Bauer & Green, 1996; Dienesch & Liden, 1986; Uhl-Bien, Graen, & Scandura, 2000). Therefore, prior research primarily studied LMX as a social exchange relationship involving high levels of affective interpersonal trust. However, in social exchange relationships, social transactions may coexist with economic transactions (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). Accordingly, high-LMX relationships may also involve a transactional (i.e., calculative) component, which may render trust to be vulnerable even in high-quality exchange relationships (Uhl-Bien, 2007).

Trust is a construct that has received broad attention in social sciences including psychology, sociology, political science, and economics (see Gambetta, 1988; Lewicki & Bunker, 1995; Lewicki, Tomlinson, & Gillespie, 2006, for reviews). In the context of organizations, research on trust has proliferated, which was reflected a decade ago in a 1998 special issue of Academy of Management Review on trust in work relationships. Furthermore, there are two recent metaanalyses on trust in organizations that found trust in manager to be positively related to job performance and organizational citizenship behavior and negatively related to counterproductive work outcomes, such as intention to quit the organization (Colquitt, Scott, & LePine, 2007; Dirks & Ferrin, 2002).