A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY ON THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF LEADER MEMBER EXCHANGES

The authors investigated the first 6 months that 166 newly hired emplo yees and their im supervisors worked together. Expectations, perceived similarity, liking, demographic similarity, and performance were exam ined as determinants of leader-member exchanges (LMXs). Leader and mem ber expectations of each other assessed in the first 5 days in the lif e of the dyad predicted LMXs at 2 weeks and at 6 weeks following the 1 st day of the dyads' existence. Member expectations of leaders also pr edicted LMXs at 6 months. Following nearly the same pattern, perceived similarity and liking from both the leaders' and members' perspective s predicted LMXs at most time periods. Demographic similarity between leaders and members had no significant effects on LMX development, and subordinate performance ratings were relatively less important in pre dicting LMX than were affective variables.