Belonging in the team, or chosen to be in the ‘in-group’ of the supervisor - which promotes more discretionary effort?

This paper looks at the ideas associated with discretionary effort (DE). It uses a case study approach, with the theory of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and the LMX-7 questionnaire to assess the relationships in two teams at a Slovenian manufacturing organization. Results show that, contrary to the LMX theory, more DE is created by the relationships between team members, than by developing the high level relationships with the supervisor. Implications for the future will be to cultivate the within team relationships while strengthening the relationships with the supervisor, to allow for a synergistic effect, where DE, such as continuous improvement (CI) programs, becomes part of the in-role tasks.