Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2013-8
The Mediating Role of Perceived Cooperative Communication in the Relationship between Interpersonal Exchange Relationships and Perceived Group Cohesion
This study develops a multilevel model to advance research on interpersonal exchange relationships among supervisors, subordinates, and coworkers by integrating leader–member exchange (LMX), team–member exchange (TMX), and perceived cooperative communication. The model was tested by using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) with data obtained from a sample of 375 manager–employee dyads working in 48 groups in Malaysia. At the individual level, LMX was found to be related to TMX; at the team-level, the relationship between the LMX-perceived cohesion link and the TMX-perceived cohesion link was mediated by perceived cooperative communication. These findings validated the proposed model and, in particular, empirically confirmed the central role of communication in LMX processes in workgroups. Practical implications are discussed.
BakarH. A.DilbeckK. E.McCroskeyJ. C. (2010). Mediating role of supervisory communication practices on relations between leader–member exchange and perceived employee commitment to workgroup. Communication Monographs, 77, 637-656.
2.
BallingerG. A.SchoormanF. D. (2007). Individual reactions to leadership succession in workgroups. Academy of Management Review, 32, 118-136.
3.
BaronR. M.KennyD. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
4.
BlieseP. (2000). Within-group agreement, nonindependence, and reliability. In KleinK.KozlowskiS. (Eds.), Multi-level theory, research, and methods in organizations (pp. 349-381). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
5.
BochnerS. (1994). Cross-cultural differences in the self concept: A test of Hofstede’s individualism/collectivism distinction. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 25, 273-283.
6.
BollenK. A.HoyleR. H. (1990). Perceived cohesion: A conceptual and empirical examination. Social Forces, 69, 479-504.
7.
BowlerW. M.BrassD. J. (2006). Relational correlates of interpersonal citizenship behavior: A social network perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 70-82.
8.
CastroS. L. (2002). Data analytic methods for the analysis of multilevel questions: A comparison of interclass correlation coefficients, rwg(j), hierarchical linear modeling, within and between analysis and random group resampling. Leadership Quarterly, 13, 69-93.
9.
ChanC. C. A.PearsonC. A. L. (2002). Comparison of managerial work goals among Bruneian, Malaysian and Singaporean managers. Journal of Management Development, 21, 545-556.
10.
ChenC. H. V.TangY. T.WangS. J. (2009). Interdependence and organizational citizenship behavior: Exploring the mediating effect of group cohesion in multilevel analysis. Journal of Psychology, 143, 625-640.
11.
ChenG. (2005). Newcomer adaptation in teams: Multilevel antecedents and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 101-116.
12.
ChenG.KlimoskiR. J. (2003). The impact of expectations on newcomer performance in teams as mediated by work characteristics, social exchanges, and empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 591-607.
13.
ChenG.TjosvoldD.LiuC. (2006). Cooperative goals, leader people and productivity values: Their contribution to top management teams in China. Journal of Management Studies, 43, 1177-1200.
14.
ChuaR. Y. J.IngramP.MorrisM. W. (2008). From the head and the heart: Locating cognition and affect based trust in managers’ professional networks. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 436-452.
15.
CogliserC. C.SchriesheimC. A. (2000). Exploring work unit context and leader–member exchange: A multi-level perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 487-511.
16.
ContractorN. S.WassermanS.FaustK. (2006). Testing multitheoretical, multilevel hypotheses about organizational networks: An analytic framework and empirical example. Academy of Management Review, 31, 681-703.
17.
DoseJ. J. (1999). The relationship between work value similarity and team-member and leader–member exchange relationships. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practices, 3, 20-32.
18.
GlickW. H. (1985). Conceptualizing and measuring organizational and psychological climate: Pitfalls in multi-level research. Academyof Management Review, 29, 459-478.
19.
GraenG. B.ScanduraT. A. (1987). Toward psychology of dyadic organizing. In CummingsL. L.StawB. M. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (vol. 9, pp. 175-208). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
20.
GraenG. B.Uhl-BienM. (1995). Development of leader–member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 6, 219-247.
21.
KozlowskiS. W. J.IlgenD. R. (2006). Enhancing the effectiveness of workgroups and teams. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7, 77-124.
22.
KramerM. W. (2004). The complexity of communication in leader–member exchanges. In GraenG. (Ed.), New frontiers of leadership. A volume in LMX leadership: The series (pp. 167-191). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
23.
LeeJ. (1997). Leader–member exchange, the “Pelz effects” and cooperative communication between group members. Management Communication Quarterly, 11, 266-287.
24.
LeeJ. (2001). Leader–member exchange, perceived organizational justice, and cooperative communication. Management Communication Quarterly, 14, 574-589.
25.
LeeJ. (2005). Communication as antecedents and consequences of LMX development globally: A new strong inference approach. In GraenG.GraenJ. A. (Eds.), Global organizing designs. A volume in LMX leadership: The series (pp. 1-41). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
26.
LepineJ. A.Van DyneL. V. (2001). Voice and cooperative behavior as contrasting forms of contextual performance: Evidence of differential relationships with big five personality characteristics and cognitive ability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 326-336.
27.
LiaoH.ChuangA. (2007). Transforming service employee and climate: A multilevel, multisource examination of transformational leadership in building long-term service relationship. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1006-1019.
28.
LidenR. C.MaslynJ. M. (1998). Multidimensionality of leader–member exchange: An empirical assessment through scale development. Journal of Management, 24, 43-73.
29.
LidenR. C.WayneS. J.SparroweR. T. (2000). An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 407-416.
30.
LimL. (2001). Work-related values of Malays and Chinese Malaysians. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 1, 209-226.
31.
MongeP.ContractorN. (2003). Theories of communication networks. Cambridge, UK: Oxford University Press.
32.
O’ReillyC. A.IIICladwellD. F.BarnettW. P. (1989). Workgroup demography, social integration and turnover. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34, 21-37.
33.
PaxtonP.MoodyJ. (2003). Structure and sentiment: Explaining emotional attachment to group. Social Psychology Quarterly, 66, 34-47.
34.
PilemerK.SuitorJ. J.HendersonC. R.MeadorR.SchultzL.RobinsonJ.HegemanC. (2003). A cooperative communication intervention for nursing home staff and family members of residents. The Gerontologist, 43, 96-106.
35.
PolzerJ. T.MiltonL. P.SwannW. B. (2002). Capitalizing on diversity: Interpersonal congruence in small workgroups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47, 296-324.
36.
RaudenbuschS. W.BrykA. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
37.
RaudenbuschS. W.BrykA. S.CheongY. F.CongdonR. (2004). HLM6: Hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.
38.
SchriesheimC. A.CastroS. L.ZhouX. T.YammarinoF. J. (2001). The folly of theorizing “A” but testing “B”: A selective level-of-analysis review of the field and a detailed leader–member exchange illustration. Leadership Quarterly, 12, 515-551.
39.
SchumakerJ. F.BarracloughR. A. (1989). Protective self-presentation in Malaysian and Australian individuals. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20, 54-63.
40.
SeersA. (1989). Team-member exchange quality: A new construct for role-making research. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 43, 118-135.
41.
SeersA.PettyM. M.CashmanJ. F. (1995). Team-member exchange under team and traditional management. Group and Organization Management, 20, 18-38.
42.
SheronyK. M.GreenS. G. (2002). Coworker exchange: Relationships between coworkers, leader–member exchange, and work attitudes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 542-548.
43.
SiasP. M. (2005). Workplace relationships quality and employee information experience. Communication Studies, 56, 375-395.
44.
SiasP. M.CahillD. J. (1998). From coworkers to friends: The development of peer friendships in the workplace. Western Journal of Communication, 62, 272-299.
45.
SiasP. M.JablinF. M. (1995). Differential superior-subordinate relations, perceptions of fairness, and coworker communication. Human Communication Research, 22, 5-38.
46.
SparroweR. T.LidenR. C. (2005). Two routes to influence: Integrating leader–member exchange and social network perspectives. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50, 505-535.
47.
TjosvoldD.JohnsonD. W.JohnsonR. (1984). Influence strategy, perspective-taking, and relationships between high- and low-power individuals in cooperative and competitive contexts. Journal of Psychology, 116, 187-202.
48.
TseH. H. M.DasboroughM. T.AshkanasyN. M. (2008). A multi-level analysis of team climate and interpersonal exchange relationships at work. Leadership Quarterly, 19, 195-211. Editor Comments.
49.
WeickK. (1969). The social psychology of organizing. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
