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Jiang F, Zhang W, Zhang H, Zhang Z. Why does a leader's other-oriented perfectionism lead employees to do bad things? Examining the role of moral disengagement and moral identity. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1290233. [PMID: 38348248 PMCID: PMC10859487 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1290233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Moral disengagement is an essential concept in organizational behavioral ethics, as it is strongly related to employee behaviors and attitudes. What is not clear, however, is which leader traits are directly associated with employees' moral disengagement and which are indirectly associated with unethical behavior. This study draws on a social cognitive perspective that links leaders' other-oriented perfectionism (LOOP) with unethical employee behavior. Specifically, we propose that LOOP provides employees with excuses and encouragement to engage in unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). Methods We analyzed data collected from 266 full-time employees at two-time points, and used mediated and moderated structural equation models to test the hypotheses, and the findings largely support our claims. Results The results suggest that LOOP effectively promotes employees' involvement in UPB. Moderated mediation tests suggest that the positive indirect impact of LOOP on employees' unethical behavior via moral disengagement was attenuated by higher employees' moral identity. Discussion In summary, the results indicate that when leaders emphasize only perfection and make unrealistic demands on their employees, the latter perceive that engaging in unethical behavior is demanded by the leader, that the responsibility is not theirs, and thus they are more willing to engage in unethical behavior. This study discusses the implications of these findings from both practical and theoretical perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Jiang
- School of Business Administration, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
| | - Weipeng Zhang
- School of Sports Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Hongyan Zhang
- School of Business Administration, Shandong Women's University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Zhe Zhang
- School of Business Administration, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
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Uppal N, Bansal A. A study of trickle-down effects of leader Machiavellianism on follower unethical behaviour: A social learning perspective. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2023.112171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
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Exposing the darkness within: A review of dark personality traits, models, and measures and their relationship to insider threats. JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SECURITY AND APPLICATIONS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jisa.2022.103378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Zhang Z, Hu Y, Wang J. CSR is not a panacea: The influence of CSR on disgust and turnover intention. JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Wille B, Heyde F, Vergauwe J, De Fruyt F. Understanding dark side personality at work: Distinguishing and reviewing nonlinear, interactive, differential, and reciprocal effects. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ijsa.12407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bart Wille
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Fien Heyde
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Jasmine Vergauwe
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
- Work and Organizational Psychology Vrije Universiteit Brussel Belgium
| | - Filip De Fruyt
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
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Liyanagamage N, Fernando M, Gibbons B. The Emotional Machiavellian: Interactions Between Leaders and Employees. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS : JBE 2022; 186:1-17. [PMID: 36090312 PMCID: PMC9449947 DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05233-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This paper examines the emotional processes in Machiavellian leadership. The leadership literature portrays Machiavellians as 'dark' individuals that engage in unethical actions, causing employee dissatisfaction, distress, emotional exhaustion and high turnover. However, research has seldom questioned the processes behind these unethical and negative outcomes. This study explores Machiavellian emotional processes at multiple levels-within-persons and relational levels (between-persons and interpersonal interactions in organisations). In this study, emotions and leadership are not explored in isolation but as social processes that occur in relationships between leaders and employees in evolving organisational settings. This study draws on 20 participants from four large multi-national construction firms in Sri Lanka. Open-ended semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the emotions of Machiavellians in organisations. The findings suggest that Machiavellianism influences leader and employee emotional processes. Furthermore, the emotional processes, influenced by Machiavellianism, appear to facilitate the development of leader and employee relationships and emotional experiences at within-persons and relational levels in organisations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mario Fernando
- Faculty of Business and Law, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW Australia
| | - Belinda Gibbons
- Faculty of Business and Law, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW Australia
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Varshney D. Machiavellianism, self-concept and resilience: do they affect employee performance? A moderated-mediated analysis. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1108/ijppm-06-2021-0348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
PurposeOver the years, the impact of personality attributes on work behavior has constituted a broad research domain. The manner in which employees view themselves have been regarded as significant in analyzing their work behavior and eventual employee performance from the organizational perspective. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between self-concept and performance, with resilience as a mediator and Machiavellianism as a moderating variable.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 271 employees from four medium-sized private sector companies in India after excluding missing data. Correlation, regression and Hayes Macro analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses.FindingsResilience mediates the relationship between self-concept and performance. Second, Machiavellianism moderated the relationship between self-concept and resilience and moderated the mediation effect of resilience on the relationship between self-concept and performance. The role of personality attributes has been found to profoundly impact the employee's perception of self and work performance. Resilience, which refers to the individual's ability to bounce back amidst adverse situations, is simultaneously moderated by one of the dark triad personalities, Machiavellianism.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the self-concept dimension, the dual effects of resilience and the Machiavellianism personality have gradually become immensely significant for improvising employee work performance in the organization.Originality/valueThis original research has examined a model of untested variables and explored the mediating effect of resilience by connecting self-concept to performance along with the moderated-mediated impact of Machiavellianism on the variables, which is a novel attempt.
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Genau HA, Blickle G, Schütte N, Meurs JA. Machiavellian Leader Effectiveness. JOURNAL OF PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1027/1866-5888/a000284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. Research on the effectiveness of Machiavellian leaders has found contradictory results. By linking socioanalytic and trait activation theory to the Machiavellianism and leadership literature, we argue that political skill may explain these findings by moderating the relation between Machiavellianism and leadership effectiveness. Using a multisource design and moderated mediation analyses with 153 leaders, 287 subordinates, and 153 superiors, we show that leaders who are both strongly politically skilled and high on Machiavellianism successfully enact transformational leadership, mediating improved leader effectiveness. However, when leader political skill is low, high Machiavellianism is negatively associated with (subordinate-rated) transformational leadership, resulting in lower leader effectiveness ratings by superiors. We discuss these results in light of current research on Machiavellianism in leadership and work contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Nora Schütte
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Germany
| | - James A. Meurs
- Michael A. Leven School of Management Entrepreneurship and Hospitality, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
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Li A, Kong DT, Lin Q, Fan YF. Why do followers feel inauthentic and withdraw? The joint effect of leader Machiavellianism and perceived collectivistic work climate. J Pers 2021; 90:490-508. [PMID: 34655474 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Although past research has shown the negative consequences of state inauthenticity (i.e., the experience of inauthenticity), what triggers state inauthenticity remains to be better understood. We focus on leader Machiavellianism (Mach), defined as the extent to which leaders engage in unethical and manipulative behaviors to attain their goals, as a predictor of follower state inauthenticity. Drawing on the social misfit argument, we examined a model in which leader Mach, jointly with a perceived collectivistic work climate, determines follower state inauthenticity and subsequent work withdrawal. METHOD We used a vignette-based lab study (303 participants from the United States) and a daily diary field study (476 daily responses from 69 participants recruited from China). RESULTS Across two studies, we found that follower state inauthenticity mediated the relationship between leader Mach and follower work withdrawal. The positive relationship between leader Mach and follower state inauthenticity was strengthened by a perceived collectivistic work climate. CONCLUSIONS The present research underlines the importance of the social environment in influencing follower state inauthenticity at work and shifts research attention from the consequences of state inauthenticity to its predictors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Li
- Department of Management, Engler College of Business, West Texas A & M University, Canyon, Texas, USA
| | - Dejun Tony Kong
- School of Information Systems and Management, Muma College of Business, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Quan Lin
- Department of Business Administration, Business School, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yifeng Felix Fan
- Department of Management, Dolan School of Business, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
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Duan J, Xu Y, Wang X, Wu C, Wang Y. Voice for oneself: Self‐interested voice and its antecedents and consequences. JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/joop.12334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jinyun Duan
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Yue Xu
- International Business School Suzhou Xi’an Jiaotong‐Liverpool University Suzhou China
| | - Xiaotian Wang
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Chia‐Huei Wu
- Leeds University Business School University of Leeds UK
| | - Ying Wang
- School of Management RMIT University Melbourne Victoria Australia
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Karim DN. Effect of Dark Personalities on Knowledge Hiding Behaviour at Higher Education Institutions. JOURNAL OF INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1142/s0219649220500318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
A key concern in the way of improving knowledge sharing practices is knowledge hiding behaviour. Literature shows that knowledge hiding is a prevalent phenomenon in organisations including higher education institutions (HEIs) and is largely determined by the personality of the knowledge holders. Thus, the present study attempts to examine the effect of dark personalities (undesirable personality traits comprising of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) on knowledge hiding behaviour of faculty members at HEIs. Based on 139 valid responses from the full-time faculty members serving in various private universities in Bangladesh, the study revealed that both Machiavellianism and psychopathy have significant positive association with knowledge hiding behaviour of the academics, whereas narcissism is insignificantly related with knowledge hiding behaviour. This study indicated that dark personalities play a key role in academics’ inclination to hide knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dewan Niamul Karim
- Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Business Studies, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Gürlek M. Shedding light on the relationships between Machiavellianism, career ambition, and unethical behavior intention. ETHICS & BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/10508422.2020.1764846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mert Gürlek
- School of Tourism and Hotel Management, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University
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Schippers MC, Rauch A, Belschak FD, Hulsink W. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Teams: Sub-Dimensions of Machiavellianism Interact With Team Resilience. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2607. [PMID: 31824384 PMCID: PMC6882381 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Machiavellians are often seen as manipulative people who contribute negatively to teams and ventures. However, recent work has shown that Machiavellians can also cooperate and act in pro-social ways in a team context. Thus, some aspects of Machiavellianism might be conducive for teams and team members' intentions to start a business venture. Most studies in this area have failed to (a) assess the effect of Machiavellianism at the team level, (b) take into account the dimensional nature of Machiavellianism, and (c) assess moderators of these effects. We propose that the combination of Machiavellianism and resilience in teams predict team entrepreneurial intentions (EI). Moreover, we propose that different team level dimensions of Machiavellianism (amoral manipulation, desire for status, desire for control, distrust of others) are differentially related to EI. More specifically, we expect at the team level that amoral manipulation and desire for status are positively related to changes in EI (as teams high on these dimensions feel that they can use unethical practices that give them an advantage in being successful), whereas desire for control and distrust of others should be negatively related to changes in EI (as entrepreneurial teams usually work in less structured situations and need to closely work together). Furthermore, all sub-dimensions of Machiavellianism should interact positively with team resilience as resilience acts as a buffer that protects teams from potential negative effects of Machiavellianism. In a multi-wave study among newly formed teams engaged in entrepreneurship projects, controlling for psychopathy and narcissism, we found partial support for our hypotheses. Results supported our expectations for the "amoral manipulation" and "desire for control" sub-dimensions, but not for the "desire for status" and the "distrust of others" sub-dimensions of Machiavellianism, with distrust of others showing unexpectedly opposite effects. This study contributes to the literature by looking at the dimensions of Machiavellianism at the level of entrepreneurial teams in conjunction with the more positive team characteristic, resilience. Our results indicate that the relationship between Machiavellianism and EI is more complex than previously hypothesized, as the sub-dimensions are sometimes positively and sometimes negatively related to entrepreneurial intentions and interact with team-level resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaéla C. Schippers
- Department of Technology and Operations Management, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Andreas Rauch
- University of Sydney Business School, Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Frank D. Belschak
- Department of Leadership and Management, Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Willem Hulsink
- Department of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Belschak FD, Den Hartog DN, De Hoogh AHB. Angels and Demons: The Effect of Ethical Leadership on Machiavellian Employees' Work Behaviors. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1082. [PMID: 30002641 PMCID: PMC6031853 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Machiavellians can be characterized as goal-driven people who are willing to use all possible means to achieve their ends, and employees scoring high on Machiavellianism are thus predisposed to engage in unethical and organizationally undesirable behaviors. We propose that leadership can help to manage such employees in a way that reduces undesirable and increases desirable behaviors. Studies on the effects of leadership styles on Machiavellian employees are scarce. Here we investigate the relationship of ethical leadership with prosocial (helping colleagues or affiliative OCB) and antisocial work behavior (knowledge hiding and emotional manipulation) for employees who are higher or lower in Machiavellianism. The effect of an ethical leadership style on employees predisposed to engage in unethical behaviors has not been investigated so far. In a cross-sectional multi-source survey study among a sample of 159 unique leader-follower dyads, we find interaction effects between leadership and employee Machiavellianism for prosocial and antisocial work behavior. As expected, employee Machiavellianism comes with reduced helping behavior and increased knowledge hiding and emotional manipulation, but only when ethical leadership is low. Under highly ethical leaders, such increases in organizationally undesirable behaviors of Machiavellian employees do not occur. While the cross-sectional design precludes conclusions about the direction of causality, findings of our study suggest to further explore (and from a practical perspective to invest in) ethical leadership as a potential remedy for undesirable behavior of Machiavellian employees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank D. Belschak
- Section of Leadership and Management, Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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