To prepare students for the workforce, instructors of business, technical, and professional communication must incorporate team projects in their curriculum. However, both instructors and students have negative perceptions of team projects due to a variety of factors including team dysfunctions like social loafing. No prior study has examined the relationship between leader rapport management (LRM) and social loafing. LRM refers to the use of linguistic strategies to manage relationships between leaders and members. Therefore, we built and tested a model that examines the relationship between LRM and social loafing that is mediated by leader-member exchange and communication quality.
AggarwalP.O’BrienC. L.(2008).Social loafing on group projects: Structural antecedents and effect on student satisfaction.Journal of Marketing Education,30(3),255-264.https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475308322283
2.
AnandS.HuJ.LidenR. C.VidyarthiP. R.(2011).Leader-member exchanges: Recent research findings and prospects for the future. InBrymanA.CollinsonD.GrintK.JacksonB.Uhl-BienM.(Eds.),The SAGE handbook of leadership(pp.311-325).Sage.
3.
AvolioB. J.ReichardR. J.HannahS. T.WalumbwaF. O.ChanA.(2009).A meta-analytic review of leadership impact research: Experimental and quasi-experimental studies.Leadership Quarterly,20(5),764-784.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.06.006
4.
BaronR. M.KenneyD. A.(1986).The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,51(6),1173-1182.https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
BarrickM. R.MountM. K.StraussJ. P.(1993).Conscientiousness and performance of sales representatives: Test of the mediating effects of goal setting.Journal of Applied Psychology,78(5),715-722.https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.78.5.715
7.
BrooksC. M.AmmonsJ. L.(2003).Free riding in group projects and the effects of timing, frequency, and specificity of criteria in peer assessments.Journal of Education for Business,78(5),268-272.https://doi.org/10.1080/08832320309598613
8.
BrownO.Paz-AparicioC.RevillaA. J.(2019).Leader’s communication style, LMX and organizational commitment: A study of employee perceptions in Peru.Leadership & Organization Development Journal,40(2),230-258.https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-03-2018-0129
9.
BurgoonJ. K.BonitoJ. A.RamirezA.Jr.DunbarN. E.KamK.FischerJ.(2002).Testing the interactivity principle: Effects of mediation, propinquity, and verbal and nonverbal modalities in interpersonal interaction.Journal of Communication,52(3),657-677.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02567.x
CampbellK. S.LamC.(2019).The effect of leader rapport-management feedback on leader-member relationship quality and perceived group effectiveness in student teams.IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,62(3),253-262.https://doi.org/10.1109/tpc.2019.2913238
12.
CampbellK. S.WhiteC. D.JohnsonD. E.(2003).Leader-member relations as a function of rapport management.Journal of Business Communication,40(3),170-194.https://doi.org/10.1177/002194360304000301
13.
CarsonJ. B.TeslukP. E.MarroneJ. A.(2007).Shared leadership in teams: An investigation of antecedent conditions and performance.Academy of Management Journal,50(5),1217-1234.https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.20159921
14.
DayD. V.FleenorJ. W.AtwaterL. E.SturmR. E.McKeeR. A.(2014).Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory.Leadership Quarterly,25(1),63-82.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.004
15.
DommeyerC. J.(2007).Using the diary method to deal with social loafers on the group project: Its effects on peer evaluations, group behavior, and attitudes.Journal of Marketing Education,29(2),175-188.https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475307302019
16.
DulebohnJ. H.BommerW. H.LidenR. C.BrouerR. L.FerrisG. R.(2012).A meta-analysis of antecedents and consequences of leader-member exchange: Integrating the past with an eye toward the future.Journal of Management,38(6),1715-1759.https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311415280
17.
EstelV.SchulteE.-M.SpurkD.KauffeldS.(2019).LMX differentiation is good for some and bad for others: A multilevel analysis of effects of LMX differentiation in innovation teams.Cogent Psychology,6(1).https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2019.1614306
18.
FoulkT.WoolumA.ErezA.(2016).Catching rudeness is like catching a cold: The contagion effects of low-intensity negative behaviors.Journal of Applied Psychology,101(1),50-67.https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000037
19.
GalbraithD. D.WebbF. L.(2013).Teams that work : Preparing student teams for the workplace.American Journal of Business Education,6(2),223-235.https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v6i2.7687
20.
GerstnerC. R.DayD. V.(1997).Meta-analytic review of leader-member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues.Journal of Applied Psychology,82(6),827-844.https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.6.827
21.
GoffmanE.(1967).Interaction ritual: Essays on face-to-face behavior.Anchor Books.
22.
GraenG. B.HuiC.TaylorE. A.(2006).Experience-based learning about LMX leadership and fairness in project teams: A dyadic directional approach.Academy of Management Learning & Education,5(4),448-460.https://doi.org/10.5465/AMLE.2006.23473205
23.
GrazianoW. G.HabashiM. M.SheeseB. E.TobinR. M.(2007).Agreeableness, empathy, and helping: A person × situation perspective.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,93(4),583-599.https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.4.583
24.
HairJ. F.RisherJ. J.SarstedtM.RingleC. M.(2019).When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM.European Business Review,31(1),2-24.https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
25.
HallD.BuzwellS.(2013).The problem of free-riding in group projects: Looking beyond social loafing as reason for non-contribution.Active Learning in Higher Education,14(1),37-49.https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787412467123
JanssenO.Van YperenN. W.(2004).Employees’ goal orientations, the quality of leader-member exchange, and the outcomes of job performance and job satisfaction.Academy of Management Journal,47(3),368-384.https://doi.org/10.5465/20159587
29.
JungD. I.SosikJ. J.(2002).Transformational leadership in work groups: The role of empowerment, cohesiveness, and collective-efficacy on perceived group performance.Small Group Research,33(3),313-336.https://doi.org/10.1177/10496402033003002
KarauS. J.WilliamsK. D.(1993).Social loafing: A meta-analytic review and theoretical integration.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,65(4),681-706.https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.4.681
32.
LamC.(2013).The efficacy of text messaging to improve social connectedness and team attitude in student technical communication projects: An experimental study.Journal of Business and Technical Communication,27(2),180-208.https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651912468888
33.
LamC.(2015).The role of communication and cohesion in reducing social loafing in group projects.Business and Professional Communication Quarterly,78(4),454-475.https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490615596417
34.
LamC.(2016).Improving technical communication group projects: An experimental study of media synchronicity theory training on communication outcomes.Journal of Business and Technical Communication,30(1),85-112.https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651915602293
35.
LidenR. C.ErdoganB.WayneS. J.SparroweR. T.(2006).Leader-member exchange, differentiation, and task interdependence: Implications for individual and group performance.Journal of Organizational Behavior,27(6),723-746.https://doi.org/10.1002/job.409
36.
LidenR. C.MaslynJ. M.(1998).Multidimensionality of leader-member exchange: An empirical assessment through scale development.Journal of Management,24(1),43-72.https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639802400105
37.
LidenR. C.WayneS. J.StilwellD.(1993).A longitudinal study on the early development of leader-member exchanges.Journal of Applied Psychology,78(4),662-673.https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.4.662
38.
LorinkovaN. M.PearsallM. J.SimsH. P.Jr.(2013).Examining the differential longitudinal performance of directive versus empowering leadership in teams.Academy of Management Journal,56(2),573-596.https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0132
39.
LowryP. B.GaskinJ.(2014).Partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) for building and testing behavioral causal theory: When to choose it and how to use it.IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,57(2),123-146.https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2014.2312452
40.
LowryP. B.RobertsT. L.RomanoN. C.Jr.CheneyP. D.HightowerR. T.(2006).The impact of group size and social presence on small-group communication: Does computer-mediated communication make a difference?Small Group Research,37(6),631-661.https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496406294322
41.
LuoZ.SongH.MarnburgE.ØgaardT.(2014).The impact of relational identity on the relationship between LMX, interpersonal justice, and employees’ group commitment.International Journal of Hospitality Management,41,21-27.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2014.04.008
42.
MartinkoM. J.SikoraD.HarveyP.(2012).The relationships between attribution styles, LMX, and perceptions of abusive supervision.Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies,19(4),397-406.https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051811435791
43.
MichaelD.(2012).Supportive supervisor communication as an intervening influence in the relationship between LMX and employee job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and performance.Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business,5,4-28.https://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/111002.pdf
44.
OakleyB. A.HannaD. M.KuzmynZ.FelderR. M.(2007).Best practices involving teamwork in the classroom: Results from a survey of 6435 engineering student respondents.IEEE Transactions on Education,50(3),266-272.https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2007.901982
45.
O’ReillyC. A.RobertsK. H.(1977).Task group structure, communication, and effectiveness in three organizations.Journal of Applied Psychology,62(6),674-681.https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.62.6.674
46.
PhillipsA. S.BedeianA. G.(1994).Leader-follower exchange quality: The role of personal and interpersonal attributes.Academy of Management Journal,37(4),990-1001.https://doi.org/10.5465/256608
Spencer-OateyH.(2002).Rapport management: A framework for analysis. InSpencer-OateyH.(Ed.),Culturally speaking: Managing rapport through talk across cultures(pp.11-46).Continuum.
50.
VikG. N.(2001).Doing more to teach teamwork than telling students to sink or swim.Business Communication Quarterly,64(4),112-119.https://doi.org/10.1177/108056990106400413
WhiteC. D.CampbellK. S.KacmarK. M.(2012).Development and validation of a measure of leader rapport management: The LRM scale.Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management,13(2),121-149.https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-31430-003
53.
WolfeJ.PowellE.(2014).Strategies for dealing with slacker and underperforming teammates in class projects.2014 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference.https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.2014.7020346
