The Paradox of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Differentiation

. Drawing from the equity-equality paradigm and social interdependence theory, we examine cross-level effects of leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation on both task performance and creativity using 461 team members and 98 team leaders in China. We demonstrate the paradoxical (i.e., positive and negative) effects of LMX differentiation in teams. Specifically, while LMX differentiation was positively, directly associated with task...