Leader‐Member Exchange Relationships and Follower Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Perceiving Goals as Invariable

• Date: 01 January 2018
• Published date: 01 January 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21826
• Author: Robert Buch,Bård Kuvaas

Human Resource Management, January–February 2018, Vol. 57, No. 1. Pp. 235–248

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI:10.1002/hrm.21826

Correspondence to: Bård Kuvaas, Professor, BI Norwegian Business School, Nydalsveien 37, 0484 Oslo, Norway,

Phone: +4746410731, Fax: +4746410701, E-mail: bard.kuvaas@bi.no

LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE

RELATIONSHIPS AND FOLLOWER

OUTCOMES: THE MEDIATING

ROLE OF PERCEIVING GOALS

AS INVARIABLE

BÅRD KUVAAS AND ROBERT BUCH

In the present study, we investigated whether perceiving goals as invariable

mediated the link between leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships and

role overload, turnover intention, and work performance. Perceiving goals as

invariable refers to the extent to which followers believe that the goals in a per-

formance management system represent the absolute standards that they must

meet without exception, even if they think other factors are more important (e.g.,

situational factors or factors that are not associated with goals). In Study 1, per-

ceiving goals as invariable mediated the relationships between LMX and role

overload and turnover intention, such that a high-quality LMX relationship was

negatively associated with perceiving goals as invariable, which in turn was pos-

itively related to both role overload and turnover intention. In Study 2, social

LMX was negatively associated and economic LMX was positively associated

with perceiving goals as invariable, which in turn was negatively related to work

performance. Furthermore, perceiving goals as invariable mediated the relation-

ship between social LMX relationships and work performance. Theoretical and

practical implications and directions for future research are discussed. © 2017

Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: goal setting, leadership, performance management

Many organizations rely on goal-setting

theory and apply specific and dif-

ficult goals when conducting perfor-

mance management. A large number

of laboratory and field studies show

that “specific, high (hard) goals lead to a higher

level of task performance than do easy or vague,

abstract goals such as the exhortation to ‘do one’s

best’” (Locke & Latham, 2006, p. 265). There are,

however, a number of contingencies for specific

and difficult goals to be effective, such as goal

commitment, task-relevant feedback, individual

traits or states, and task complexity (Locke &

Latham, 2002, 2006). A growing number of stud-

ies have also revealed that there may be a dark side

to setting specific and difficult goals. They may,