Collectivism And Religious Affiliation As Predictors Of The Multidimensional Measure Of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX-MDM)

Abstract

Drawing upon the existing literature, this study investigated the relationship between collectivism and religious affiliation with the four Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) dimensions of Contribution, Loyalty, Affect, and Professional Respect.  In this study of 300 adults, a significant positive relationship was found between the Multidimensional Measure of Leader-Member Exchange with collectivism and religious affiliation.  With regard to the dimension of Contribution, collectivism and religious affiliation were both found to be strong predictors.  With respect to Loyalty; collectivism and age helped to increase ratings of the supervisor and perceptions of leadership.  Affect only had one significant predictor, collectivism.  The LMX dimension of Professional Respect was found to have four significant predictors, including collectivism, religious affiliation, age, and years as a manager.  Further regression analysis indicated that the diversity dimension, collectivism, was the driving factor of the relationship. This outcome indicated that collectivism was a strong predictor of how positively participants rated their attitudes toward their immediate supervisor and perceptions of leadership.  The results of this study indicate that a relationship does exist between collectivism and religious affiliation with the Multidimensional Measure of Leader-Member Exchange, particularly with regard to the LMX dimensions of Contribution and Professional Respect. Furthermore, it strengthens the argument that organizations must be prepared to re-evaluate their policies with regard to diversity in the organization, particularly with respect to collectivism.