Systematic Literature Review of Perspective-Taking in Social Exchanges: Implications for Management and Leadership

Abstract

Contemporary research in the area of perspective-taking in the workplace has begun to challenge our view of how it is currently conceptualised and measured. Whereas individual-level perspective-taking was initially assumed to be a predominantly cognitive process, recent empirical work has documented the complexity of perspective-taking and scholars are starting to acknowledge that perspective-taking should not be considered in subjective isolation but in conjunction with sociocultural, affective, and organisational practices. As such, this paper provides an extensive look at perspectivetaking within the context of social-exchange theory through a systematic review methodology. Three core research themes are found within perspective-taking literature: (a) emotional reconfiguration; (b) cognitive reconstitution; and (c) social and organisational familiarisation. These research themes are linked with arguments derived from leader–member exchange (LMX) theory to advance a framework of how perspective-taking may affect social-exchange relationships and consequent organisational outcomes.