Abstract: Leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation captures the phenomenon that leaders develop differentiated relationships with subordinates, ranging from low-quality transactional relationships to high-quality socio-emotional relationships. Despite the prevalence of LMX differentiation in teams, the impacts of LMX differentiation are still controversial. These contradictory findings neither help researchers clarify the psychological states and behavioral responses of individuals and groups when faced with different management styles, nor do they help managers use different management styles to achieve team goals. To this end, through a systematic review of Chinese and English literature in the area of LMX differentiation, this study summarizes the theoretical perspectives and empirical findings of three perspectives on the positive, negative, and inverted U-shaped effects of LMX differentiation on individual and team effectiveness. In addition, this study points out that the main reasons behind the inconsistent findings of current research are differences in moderating variables, different configurations of LMX differentiation, different bases of LMX differentiation, and different measurement approaches. Future researches should clarify the conceptual definition of LMX differentiation, enrich the methods for LMX differentiation, broaden the research perspectives on LMX differentiation, and pay attention to unique LMX differentiation phenomena in the era of digital intelligence.

Key words: leader-member exchange differentiation, leader-member exchange, impact, research prosp