The Influence of Personality Differences Between Subordinates and Supervisors on Perceptions of LMX

Abstract

Although the concept of leader—member exchange (LMX) has received a considerable amount of attention since its conception in the early 1970s, very little research has focused on antecedents to the formation of this exchange. To fill this gap, the authors collected data from 195 matched pairs of employees and supervisors from a variety of organizations and investigated the role of personality differences on employees' perceptions of LMX quality. As predicted, differences in emotional stability, intellectual openness, agreeable-ness, and conscientiousness negatively related to perceptions of LMX. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.