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1. Introduction
Research regarding the important role of emotion in leadership is extensive. Leadership areas in which emotion has been examined include political leadership ([36] Sheard et al. , 2011), authentic leadership ([4] Avolio and Gardner, 2005), leadership and organizational change ([7] Bovey and Hede, 2001) and leadership and emotional intelligence ([8] Bratton et al. , 2011; [27] Jordan and Troth, 2011; [39] Stein et al. , 2009). In explaining the important relationship between leadership and emotion, [26] Humphrey (2002) argues that emotions provide the connection or "glue" between the leader and follower.
A growing cohort of leader-member exchange (LMX) scholars are similarly beginning to examine how the quality of a subordinate's relationship with their supervisor is likely to elicit emotional experiences for the subordinate that have important workplace attitudinal and performance consequences (e.g. [1] Adams, 2005; [2] Ashkanasy, 2003; [11] Dasborough, 2006; [25] Hughes and Avey, 2009; [29] Lee, 2005; [40] Tse and Ashkanasy, 2008). LMX focusses on the quality of the dyadic relationship between a leader and follower ([22] Graen and Uhl-Bien, 1995). In this paper, we present the findings of a qualitative study that examines subordinate perceptions of their supervisors during workplace interactions, and how they respond emotionally to these interactions. Drawing on LMX research and affective events theory (AET; [44] Weiss and Cropanzano, 1996), our study has three specific aims. First, we aim to qualitatively verify the perceptual differences of subordinates in LMX relationships of differential quality (most of the LMX research utilizes quantitative methods; [11] Dasborough, 2006 is an exception). Second, building on arguments put forward by [2] Ashkanasy (2003) and [41] Tse and Dasborough (2008), we investigate whether LMX are seen as affective events by subordinates that evoke positive or negative emotions. Finally, we aim to establish whether subordinates' emotional experiences vary according to the differential quality of their relationship with their supervisors. Our use of a qualitative approach, that takes a follower perspective, is also relatively rare in the area of LMX.
2. LMX
LMX is a dyadic leadership theory that proposes leaders use diverse leadership styles to develop differential interpersonal relationships with individual subordinates within a workgroup. This conceptualization derives from vertical dyad linkage theory, which assumes that leaders treat each subordinate differently because each subordinate is...