In her first few weeks at the marketing division of Rolland Retails, Judith Cox realized that Joshua, Doug, and Carl were closer to her manager, Eric Scott, than the other five team members. Eric, Joshua, Doug, and Carl came to work at the same time, were seen together at the cafeteria, and stayed late and worked when the need arose. In contrast to them, the other five team members did the routine jobs assigned to them and their interactions lacked the understanding and camaraderie that Eric shared with the others. According to leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, Joshua, Doug, and Carl make up Eric's ________.
Select one of the following: