Impact of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) on Organizational Performance: Synthesis of Literature (2015-25)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/hrlj.3499Keywords:
Leader-Member Exchange, Organizational Performance, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Innovative Work Behavior, Leadership StylesAbstract
Purpose: The purpose of this extensive literature review is to synthesize empirical, conceptual, and observed meta-analysis on the effect of quality of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) on organizational productivity within the defined period, 2015-2025.
Methodology: The review employed integrative literature review approach to investigate diverse methodologies adopted in the study of LMX, which range from quantitative surveys using structural equation modeling to conceptual analyses that put emphasis on developing theoretical frameworks. In addition, this investigation encompasses empirical studies across many sectors such as manufacturing, hospitality, education, and construction, and also multi-cultural research, which captures the effect of globalization on LMX.
Findings: The study revealed that effective LMX dyads are instrumental in converting leadership behaviours into meaningful employee engagement, leading to enhanced voluntary performance outcomes. The review also established that the impacts of LMX on organizational efficiency are mediated by psychological frameworks, including trust, psychological capital, job satisfaction, and self-efficacy, whilst being moderated by situational constructs such as the type of industry, cultural values and standards, core job features, and workforce composition. Essentially, the review highlighted unfolding complications within the dynamics of LMX based on distinct themes of relationship such as reciprocal support, dominance, status/ego, friction/disagreement, and instability, where each generates perceptible designs of trust, open communication, and initiative.
Unique Contributions to Theory, Policy and Practice: The review showed that there remain important research gaps, especially those that relate to longitudinal studies, non-Western environments, subjective-biased view of LMX mechanisms, and unsatisfactory results It also put forward best practical guidelines for leadership development programmes, aligning organizational cultures, and adaptive HR initiatives intended to maximize effectiveness of LMX for sustained growth.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alawi Dawuda, Seidu Amadu, Abdul-Razak Adam, Cornelius Akabutu, Mohammed Hashim Abdallah, Bernard Fianku
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