The effect of leader and follower extraversion on leader-member exchange: An interpersonal perspective incorporating power distance orientation

ABSTRACT

Organizational research commonly proposes that leader and/or follower extraversion will be positively related to leader-member exchange (LMX). The assumption is that being social translates into high-quality relationships. We move beyond this intrapersonal hypothesis and offer an interpersonal hypothesis. Following similarity-attraction theory, we suggest that leader-follower extraversion similarity positively relates to LMX. We also suggest that this relationship depends on follower perspectives regarding appropriate relationship power dynamics. Polynomial regression and moderated polynomial regression analysis using 374 leader-follower dyads found that the relationship between leader-follower extraversion similarity and LMX is significant for followers high in power distance orientation (PDO), but not for followers low in PDO. We also found that low PDO enhances the effect of follower extraversion on LMX, and that for high PDO followers, LMX was highest when leader-follower similarity occurred at extreme levels along the extraversion-introversion continuum compared to similarity at moderate levels (i.e., ambiverts).

KEYWORDS:

• Extraversion
• person-supervisor fit
• leader-member exchange
• power distance orientation
• similarity-attraction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://sc.lib.miamioh.edu/handle/2374.MIA/6593.

Open scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Data and Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The data and materials are openly accessible at https://sc.lib.miamioh.edu/handle/2374.MIA/6593.

Notes

1. The data and procedures used for this study are available at: https://sc.lib.miamioh.edu/handle/2374.MIA/6593

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Scott Dust

Scott Dust, Ph.D. is the Dr. John F. Mee Endowed Assistant Professor of Management at the Farmer School of Business, Miami (OH) University. His research on leadership and teams has been published in a variety of journals, including Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Human Relations. He is currently on the editorial board at Journal of Organizational Behavior and Group and Organization Management.

Peng Wang

Peng Wang is an associated professor in the Department of Management at Farmer School of Business, Miami University. She received her Ph.D. in human resource management and organizational behavior from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests includes leadership, work-family balance, diversity, and cross-cultural management.

Joseph Rode

Joseph Rode is the George and Mildred Panuska Professor in Business at the Farmer School of Business, Miami (OH) University. Dr. Rode received his PhD in organizational behavior from Indiana University, Bloomington.  His research on emotional intelligence, values, and leadership has been published in a variety of journals including The Journal of Applied Psychology, The Journal of International Business Studies, and The Journal of Organizational Behavior.

Zhiming Wu

Zhiming Wu is an associate professor in the Department of Leadership and Organization Management at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Beijing Normal University.  His current research interests focus on leadership, team effectiveness, employee creativity, employee’s recruitment and selection, and expatriate management.

Xin Wu

Xin Wu is an associate professor at School of Economics and Management, Beihang University. She received her PhD from School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University. Her research interests include team effectiveness, leadership, and organizational citizenship behavior.