Talk Matters at Work: The Effects of Leader-Member Conversational Quality and Communication Frequency on Work Role Stressors
Abstract
Although it is clear that leadership plays a significant role in followers’ psychological health, the specific mechanisms by which leadership effects may take place await further theorizing and investigation. We argue that communication practices may constitute such specific mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) and communication frequency are associated with members’ perception of work role stressors. Through an online survey, the study found that LMCQ has a significant predictive effect on work role ambiguity and role overload. However, LMCQ interacts with communication frequency in their effects on role conflict. These findings contribute to theories of leadership communication and the continuous development of role dynamics theory.
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Good leader-member exchange quality is associated with lower levels of role stress.
“A good leader-member exchange quality is also associated with lower levels of role stress in some studies (Jian and Dalisay 2018;Nelson et al. 1998)”
From Leadership and technostress: A systematic literature review (2025) · cites this paper as Jian and Dalisay 2018
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- Authors
- Jian, G., & Dalisay, F.
- Affiliations
- Cleveland State University (US)
- University of Guam (GU)
- Corresponding author
- Jian, Guowei
- Venue
- International Journal of Business Communication
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-07-06
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 483-500
- ISSN
- 2329-4884 (ISSN-L)
- 2329-4892
- OpenAlex
- W2338100185
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 3 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 1.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Business Communication (publishedVersion)
- EngagedScholarship @ Cleveland State University (Cleveland State University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Team Dynamics and Performance
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
- Keywords
- communication frequency, role ambiguity, role overload, role conflict, leadership communication, leader-member exchange
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