Factors Affecting Exchange Relationships Among Subordinates and Supervisors: A Study of Military Officers

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This research examined the effect of organizational structure on the relationships between subordinates and their supervisors using measures of leader-member exchange (LMX), mentoring effectiveness, perceived organizational support (POS), perceived opportunities for promotion, job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intent to remain. The sample obtained included 147 subordinate Air Force traditional Civil Engineer officers, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officers, Bioenvironmental Engineer officers, and 27 squadron commanders at 19 Air Force bases. The methods of multiple analysis of variance and structural equation modeling were used to evaluate five research questions and nineteen hypotheses. Overall, no differences were found between the types of subordinate officer surveyed for the constructs of interest. However, it was found that subordinates and their commanders view their relationships differently. Commanders reported higher responses for LMX and mentoring effectiveness that did not correlate with their subordinate's responses, suggesting that the relationship between commanders and their subordinates needs to be strengthened. The research also revealed that subordinate officers felt average to slightly positive about the LMX, POS, perceived opportunities for promotion, job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intent to remain in the Air Force. The research concluded with providing tentative support for suggesting that organizational structure may play a role in the perceptions and intentions of subordinate officers.