Article pdf: DRMJ vol13 no01 2024 – Article 2
DOI:
doi:10.17708/DRMJ.2023.v12n02a02
Excerpt:
Although individuals possess different behaviors, they have coherent and stable patterns of emotion and behavior in close relationships, which can significantly impact their relationships. We extend the theoretical understanding of leader–member exchange (LMX) relationships by offering new insights into why leaders develop different types of relationships with their subordinates. Specifically, we propose how subordinates’ attachment styles influence LMX relationships through emotional expressivity. This study is based upon positivism research philosophy, and we followed the deductive research approach. Moreover, we used the survey method as the research strategy. Results from surveying 258 employees revealed that secure and preoccupied attachments are positively related and dismissive attachments are negatively related to emotional expressivity. Furthermore, the results of our study indicate a strong positive association between emotional expressivity and the LMX relationship. In addition, except for the fearful attachment, the mediation analysis results showed that emotional expressivity mediates the association between attachment style and LMX. Furthermore, our results show that individuals with secure and preoccupation attachment styles develop strong positive LMX relationships (in‐group relationships), and dismissive individuals are poor in relationship building. Contributions to the literature on LMX and attachment theory are discussed.
Pages:
19‐35
Keywords: