LMX, Context Perceptions, and Performance: An Uncertainty Management Perspective

This study investigates the role of leader—member exchange in moderating the effects of perceptions of organizational justice and politics on job performance. In contrast to previous research, which has relied on social exchange theory to explain these relationships, the current study uses uncertainty management theory to propose that relationships between employee perceptions of the context (e.g., perceptions of organizational politics, procedural justice, and distributive justice) and performance are stronger for employees who have lower quality leader—member exchange relationships with their supervisors. Analysis of data from a sample of 157 government employees and their supervisors provided partial support for the three hypothesized interactions and indicated that leaders play an important role in determining how employees respond to their perceptions of politics and justice and that neither social exchange theory nor uncertainty management theory fully explained our results. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings as well as directions for future research are provided.