The contribution of leader–member exchange (LMX) to organisational sustainable development: Results and implications from Kenyan public universities study

Abstract

We aimed to establish the contribution of leader–member exchange (LMX) to sustainable development of public universities in the emerging country of Kenya. The participants were 320 employees from public universities in Kenya (female = 43.1%; middle level managers = 47.8%, top leadership team = 26.6%; mean year of service = 13 years, SD = 3.6 years). They completed measures on LMX, innovative work behaviour, organisational engagement and sustainable development. Following structural equation modelling, findings showed that high quality LMX characteristics exhibited between leaders and followers significantly contributed to organisational sustainable development. High quality LMX also significantly contributed to employee organisation engagement. The results further revealed that innovative work behaviour was positively associated with sustainable development in that high LMX relationships between leaders and their followers inspired workers to be more innovative in their jobs. Our findings suggest a need for emerging countries’ public universities to incorporate LMX in their policies and procedures for their sustainability. The results indicate that high LMX is a key factor for driving successful public universities in developing country settings.