The Power of Solidarity

Previous research solely investigated Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Team-Member Exchange (TMX) separately based on direct reciprocity. This research examines LMX and TMX in relation to organizational solidarity based on the mechanism of indirect reciprocity, and argues that solidarity from the supervisor is positively related to solidarity among employees (hypothesis 1). This research further examines whether this relationship is strengthened by the employment contract (hypothesis 2), temporal embeddedness of past experiences (hypothesis 3a) and future encounters with the supervisor (hypothesis 3b). Regression analyses show that solidarity from the supervisor is related to solidarity among employees. Employment contract appears not to be important in explaining the relationship between solidarity from the supervisor and solidarity among employees. Past experiences of temporal embeddedness do not affect this relationship, while future encounters of temporal embeddedness do impact the relationship of solidarity from the supervisor to solidarity among employees.