Leader-Member Exchange and Employee Performance: A Study of Manufacturing Firms in Port Harcourt

Abstract

This paper examined the relationship between leader-member exchange and employee performance in manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt. The objective of the study was to empirically examine the relationship between dimensions of leader-member exchange such as contribution and loyalty and measures of employee performance such as quality of output and productivity. The cross sectional survey research design was adopted for this study. The population of the study consisted of one hundred and twenty-nine (129) staff of four selected manufacturing firms operating in Port Harcourt. Purposive sampling technique was used to obtain a sample size of eighty (80) respondents. After validation by three experts in organisational behaviour, a structured questionnaire was used to generate primary data from the respondents. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha which yielded coefficients above 0.74 across all the items. Out of eighty (80) copies of the questionnaire distributed, the researchers were able to retrieve 70 copies. The data collected were analyzed using Spearman Rank Order statistical tool for the test of hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance with the aid SPSS Version 21. The results revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between contribution and measures of employee performance such as productivity and quality of output of employees in manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt; and that there is a significant positive relationship between loyalty and employee performance in terms of the quality of output of employees in manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt. The study concluded that leader-member exchange significantly boosts the performance of workers in manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt. The study recommended that superiors should get their subordinates involved in critical job responsibilities as well as build rapport with them to build their confidence on the job.