A Taxonomy of Supervisor-Subordinate Exchanges Across Cultures

Vol 23, No 2; Article by Naresh Khatri; June 2011

Scholars have raised major concerns regarding the adequacy of the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, the existing model on supervisor-subordinate exchanges. This paper addresses three shortcomings of the theory. First, current LMX theory lacks a clear description of the exchange process between a leader and subordinate. Moreover, the development and refinement of the theory has been stagnant. Supervisor-subordinate exchanges are far more complex than assumed in the theory and it is in sore need of reconceptualisation. This paper provides new theoretical insights into supervisor-subordinate exchanges by incorporating Fiske's relational models.

Second, the LMX theory is woefully inadequate in capturing the richness of supervisor-subordinate exchanges across cultures. The appropriate approach may be to develop cultural-specific models and measures of supervisor-subordinate exchanges. Already, such efforts are under way. This paper provides a rudimentary description of how supervisor-subordinate exchanges may vary across the cultural syndromes of vertical collectivism, vertical individualism, horizontal collectivism, and horizontal individualism that can form the basis for future empirical research.

Third, the proponents of LMX theory seem to downplay the dysfunctional organisational consequences of the close relationships between supervisors and their subordinates. However, numerous studies have shown that the downside of close relationships is considerable and cannot be overlooked. Given that such a large number of studies in the past have reported adverse consequences arising from close supervisor-subordinate relationships, it would seem improper to treat them as anomalies; the accumulated findings from these studies call for a theoretical explanation. This paper provides a framework around the concept of cronyism proposed by Khatri, Tsang, and Begley (2006) to explain the dark side of close supervisor-subordinate exchanges. It is proposed that supervisor-subordinate exchanges involve the highest level of relational cronyism in vertical collectivist cultures and the highest level of instrumental cronyism in vertical individualist cultures.