Most organizational systems today are hierarchically arranged, and our under
standing of formal leadership holds great significance in both theory and application.
One of the crucial elements that influences role-taking in an organizational setting
is the interpersonal exchange relationship that develops between a superior and a
role incumbent. This interactional, interpersonal element is the crux of Leader-
Member Exchange-a scale which serves as a measure of the social exchange
relationship that can develop between two organizational interactants. The research
reported in this article is a confirmatory factor analysis of the Leader-Member
Exchange (LMX) scale, and a test of a nomothetic network for the LMX factors. The
scale was found to have two factors that were highly correlated. All correlations of
the two LMX factors with factors in the nomothetic net have overlapping confidence
intervals. The findings support the construct validity of the Leader-Member Ex
change scale. This research provides added evidence that increased understanding
of Leader-Member Exchange, coupled with an increased attention to the dynamics
of the superior-subordinate relationship, can lead to improved organizational opera
tion.
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