ABSTRACT
Given the positive outcomes of a good relationship quality between leader and follower (Leader–Member Exchange, LMX; e.g., Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995), a question that is often asked is how many good quality relationships one leader can establish and maintain (e.g. Schyns, Maslyn, & Weibler, 2010). As early as 1975, Dansereau, Graen, and Haga pointed out that leaders have limited resources, which may jeopardize their efforts to establish and maintain good relationship qualities with all their followers. This means that in large spans of control leaders might find it difficult to have a good relationship quality with all their followers. While in LMX research, span of control is considered relatively often (e.g., Cogliser & Schriesheim, 2000), one could argue, based on considerations concerning leader distance in general (Antonakis & Atwater, 2002; Napier & Ferris, 1993), that it is only one of many indicators of distance between leaders and followers. This leads to the question, whether not only in large spans of control, but generally when a leader is distant, establishing and maintaining Leader–Member Exchange relationships can be difficult. Nevertheless, given that span of control is relatively well researched in the context of LMX, it will be used in this chapter as the main basis for drawing conclusions about the effects of leader distance in LMX relationships.
