This study concerned the application of the leader-member exchange (LMX) model of leadership to lieutenant-soldier relationships in the Korean Army platoons.
The LMX model suggests that leaders differentiate among their subordinates within the work unit, and develop different types of relationship or exchange with their subordinates.
Although a number of studies have devoted substantial attention to the application of the LMX model to various organizational settings, there has been little effort to verify the various propositions of LMX model in specialized organizational settings such as the army. This study is the first attempt to apply the LMX model of leadership to the Korean Army.
In this study, I developed a framework describing the factors affecting the LMX quality, the relationship between LMX quality and outcome variables, and the factors moderating this relationship, on the basis of literature review.
By analyzing of 400 leader-member dyads dollected from 100 platoons in the Korean Army, this study found that (1) personal characteristics(locus of control and growth need strength of lieutenant-soldier) and interpersonal factors (perceived similarity and liking of subordinates) affected the LMX quality, (2) educational similarity influenced subordinates' LMX quality, and position tenure similarity had impact on supervisors' LMX quality, (3) the LMX quality of subordinates and supervisors explained the outcome variables for supervisors and subordinates respectively, (4) the relationship between subordinates' LMX quality, and performance appraisal and job satisfaction was strongly positive if subordinates' jobs were hard, or the degree of subordinates' growth need strength was low.
These findings suggest that (1) platoon leaders' better understanding of each subordinate, and (2) more support and concerns about subordinates performing difficult job, or having low degree of growth need strength, are important factors affecting the improvement of each subordinate's performance and job attitude.
In conclusion, this study shows that the LMX model of leadership can be a useful tool for analyzing the leadership behaviors of Korean Army platoon leaders.
