The effect of leader personality on follower behaviour: The mediating role of leader-member exchange

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of the leader-member exchange (LMX) on the relationship between leader personality and follower attitudes and behaviours, including task performance, satisfaction with the leader and organisational citizenship behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a multifaceted perspective to examine the relationships among the research variables, data were collected from 67 leaders and 372 followers. To test the hypotheses, hierarchical linear modelling analyses were conducted. Findings The results indicate that leader extraversion is positively related to follower task performance and that leader agreeableness is positively related to follower organisational citizenship behaviour and satisfaction with leaders. Moreover, the results indicate that the quality of the LMX relationship partially mediated the positive relationship between leader extraversion and follower task performance and fully mediated the relationship between leader agreeableness and satisfaction with leader and organisational citizenship behaviour. Practical implications The findings of this study support the mediating role of the LMX relationship between leader personality and follower attitudes and behaviours. Hence, it is worthwhile to examine the effects of leader personality in an organisational context. Originality/value The originality of this study is that it focusses on the integration of leader personality, LMX, and follower attitudes and behaviours in a single study, providing a model that indicates the mediating role of LMX in the relationship between leader personality and follower attitudes and behaviours.