Gender Dissimilarity And Leader-Member Exchange: The Mediating Effect Of Communication Apprehension

This paper proceeds from the perspective that demographic variables directly affect social dynamics (e.g., communication), which in turn influence a variety of organizational outcomes, including leader-member exchange. This paper elaborates on previous studies of leader-member exchange that discuss personality traits and personal characteristics by providing an in-depth examination of two variables: communication apprehension and gender dissimilarity. Thus, by providing an in-depth examination of these two personal characteristics, this paper proposes a model that may explain why some dyads have difficulty forming high quality leader-member exchange relationships. Testable propositions are presented for empirical testing in future research.