How and when leader narcissism links to employees' objective career success: The roles of ingratiation and careerist orientation

Previous researches have emphasized the value of leader narcissism on employees' career success, whereas we still know little about how and when this relationship will materialize. By integrating dramaturgical theory and leader narcissism literatures, we propose a theoretical model to explain the mechanism and boundary of leader narcissism in promoting employees' objective career success (e.g., salary increases and promotions). To test our hypotheses, we carried out a multi-wave research design and collected data from 299 employees in Chinese manufacturing firms. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that leader narcissism motivates employees' ingratiation, which in turn facilitates employees' objective career success, especially when those employees are high in careerist orientation. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Effects of Leader Narcissism on Career Success of Employees: An Interpersonal Relationship Perspective

Previous studies have shown that leader narcissism has a significant impact on the effectiveness of a leader and employee behaviors; however, research on career outcomes of employees is still inadequate. This study explores the effects of leader narcissism on the career success of employees from an interpersonal relationship perspective and examines the mediating role of supervisor-subordinate conflict and the moderating role of dominant personality traits of employees. Data from 291 employees in Chinese companies have revealed that leader narcissism, directly and indirectly, affects the career success of employees through supervisor-subordinate relationship conflict. However, dominant personality traits of employees strengthen the impact of leader narcissism on supervisor-subordinate relationship conflict. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings of this study are further discussed.

Leader Narcissism and Employee Organizational Citizenship Behavior Directed Toward the Leader: Roles of Perceived Insider Status and Need for Self-Esteem

Based on self-concept theory, the present study proposed and empirically tested the impact of leader narcissism on employee organizational citizenship behavior directed toward the leader (OCB-L), highlighting the mediating role of perceived insider status and the moderating role of need for self-esteem in this relationship. Based on an analysis of 161 two-stage matched leader-employee dyads, the hypotheses were tested and the results showed that the leader narcissism had a negative direct effect on employee OCB-L, as well as a negative indirect effect on employee OCB-L via perceived insider status. Furthermore, the need for self-esteem was found to moderate the negative effect of leader narcissism on perceived insider status as well as the mediating effect of perceived insider status between leader narcissism and employee OCB-L. The theoretical and practical implications of our research were discussed. Limitations and directions for future research were also offered.

How Leader Narcissism Links to Team Voice Behavior: The Mediating Mechanisms of Leader Voice Solicitation and Team Voice Climate

Drawing on the narcissism literature and social information processing theory, we theorized and examined a serial mediation model linking leader narcissism with team voice behavior through leader voice solicitation and team voice climate. We tested our hypotheses using data collected from a time-lagged and multisource survey of 223 frontline employees in 60 teams at a large manufacturing organization. The results indicated that leader narcissism had a negatively indirect effect on team voice climate via leader voice solicitation. Team voice climate positively predicted team voice behavior, and the indirect effects of leader narcissism via leader voice solicitation and team voice climate on team voice behavior were significantly negative. In this paper, we discuss the theoretical implications of our findings for both the narcissism literature and the voice literature, along with their practical implications.

How Does Job Insecurity Affect Workplace Harassment? The Interaction Effect of Hypercompetitive Attitude, Coworker Impression Management, and Leader Narcissism

With concerns that artificial intelligence may replace existing jobs, job insecurity is becoming more prevalent. In-depth study of how job insecurity affects our society has become an important research topic. This study investigates the internal mechanisms through which such job insecurity influences workplace harassment. Based on the theories of psychological contract breach and the conservation of resources, this study proposes an indirect effect of job insecurity and a three-way moderation effect of hypercompetitive attitude, perceived coworker impression management, and leader narcissism on aggression intention. Using survey data from 286 employees in South Korea, bootstrapping analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, and a slope-difference test were performed to confirm the mediation and moderation effects. The results showed that hypercompetitive attitude mediates the association between job insecurity and aggression intention. The three-way interaction effect was also confirmed, such that the interaction effect of hypercompetitive attitude and coworker impression management is only effective when leader narcissism is high. This study contributes to the literature and business practices by offering significant suggestions to aid a more in-depth understanding of the workplace harassment occurrence process.

Narcissistic Leaders-Promise or Peril? The Patterns of Narcissistic Leaders' Behaviors and Their Relation to Team Performance

Leader narcissism has attracted substantial attention in leadership research and organizational practice. Yet, the exact relationship between leader narcissism and performance remains unclear. In this paper, we set out to illuminate the narcissism-leadership-performance puzzle. We build on research that points to a curvilinear relationship between leader narcissism and performance and open the black box behind this curvilinear relationship. Thereby, we take into consideration the context, in which narcissistic leaders act, and explore their leadership behaviors in a compelling context: entrepreneurial teams. In a quantitative study, we found that a moderate level of leader narcissism was associated with the best team performance as assessed by the quality of a business plan. In a qualitative follow-up interview study, we explored the patterns of leadership behaviors shown by narcissists to better understand how different behaviors combine into effective versus destructive leadership, shaping team performance eventually. Finally, in an experimental online study using the scenario technique, we investigated the relevance of these leadership patterns associated with different levels of narcissism across contexts. The results of our multi-method and multi-source studies suggest that the most promising avenue to understand the narcissism-leadership-performance puzzle is that it depends on the levels of narcissism and more specifically that it depends on the patterns of behaviors narcissistic leaders show—the context seems to play a less important role.

Narcissistic Leaders and Their Victims: Followers Low on Self-Esteem and Low on Core Self-Evaluations Suffer Most

Narcissistic leaders are self-absorbed and hold beliefs of entitlement and superiority. Their aggressive tendencies in the face of criticism and inclinations to validate their self-worth by derogating others may lead others to perceive them as being abusive. Here, we test the relationship between leader narcissism and followers' perceptions of abusive supervision. Drawing upon research related to the behavioral plasticity hypothesis, we propose that followers with low self-esteem will perceive narcissistic leaders as more abusive than those with high self-esteem. Followers low on self-esteem are more insecure, more in need of approval from their supervisor and are more likely to interpret the haughty, derogatory attitude of narcissistic leaders as abusive. Such followers also make for 'easier targets' and thus may actually suffer more abusive behavior from their narcissistic leaders. In a first multi-source study of 85 leaders and 128 followers, we found support for the moderating role of follower self-esteem in the relationship between leader narcissism and perceived abusive supervision: Narcissistic leaders were rated as more abusive by followers who were low on self-esteem, but not those higher on self-esteem. In a second multi-source field study among 177 leader-follower dyads, we tested a moderated mediation model and showed that this finding also holds for the broader concept of follower core self-evaluations as a moderator. Abusive supervision, in turn, was related to lower follower performance and followers experiencing more burnout symptoms. Thus, followers low on self-esteem or low on core self-evaluations seem to suffer most from narcissistic leaders as they perceive them to be abusive and, in turn, these followers show reduced performance and more burnout symptoms when working for such leaders. This research thus identifies an important moderator that might help reconcile previous inconsistent findings regarding perceptions of narcissistic leaders.