Abstract: Delegation can effectively improve work performance and organizational interests, but it is still not a common phenomenon that managers willing to delegate. Furthermore, most of the past studies on delegation concentrated on delegation’s positive outcome; however, little attention was paid to delegation obstacles. The purpose of this study is to explore the no-delegation phenomenon from the supervisor’s risk considerations for delegation, as well as to probe how Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and organizational centralization moderate the relationship between delegation risk and delegation behavior based on interactive and structure perspectives.
The sample consisted of 157 supervisors and 471 subordinates in 17 enterprises from different industries throughout Mainland China, and supervisors and subordinates were matched in accordance with the ratio of 1:3. HLM method was used for testing hypothesis and results showed that (1) The supervisors delegated less when perceived more delegation risks on task performance and organization benefit. (2) There were significant moderations of LMX on the relationships between supervisor’s delegation behavior and task performance risk, organizational benefit consideration. When Leader-Member Exchange was high, delegation risk about task performance and organization benefit exerted less negative impact on supervisor’s delegation behavior. Namely, the impact of delegation risk about task performance and organization benefit was strong in low LMX. (3) Organizational centralization had negative main and moderating effects on delegation behavior significantly. In higher degree of organizational centralization, the delegation risk consideration on power-status and organizational benefit had more strong negative influences on supervisor delegation; on the contrary, delegation risk consideration on power-status and organizational benefit positively or irrelevantly related with delegation behavior in lower organizational centralization.
This study contributed to understand the supervisor delegation behavior through supervisor’s psychological mechanism and clear the critical role of LMX and organizational centralization on the supervisor’s mental-behavior linkage. In addition, our finding offers to a great extent explanation on why no-delegation is prevailing in Chinese organizations. Finally, implications for supervisor delegation study, future research, and practice are discussed.

Key words: delegation risk consideration, delegation behavior, Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), centralization