Abstract
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.
Highlights
There is a growing acknowledgment that career success is the main driving source of the behavior of employees at the workplace (Spurk et al, 2019)
Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the discriminant validity of leader narcissism, supervisor-subordinate relationship conflict, employee dominance, subjective career success, and objective career success (Table 2)
Leader narcissism was positively associated with supervisor-subordinate relationship conflict (r = 0.54 and p < 0.01), but negatively related to career satisfaction (r = −0.54 and p < 0.01) and objective career success (r = −0.34 and p < 0.01)
Summary
There is a growing acknowledgment that career success is the main driving source of the behavior of employees at the workplace (Spurk et al, 2019). Previous research has illustrated that narcissistic individuals often have difficulty in maintaining interpersonal relationships due to a lack of trust and care for others (Ames et al, 2006) Extending this discussion, we contended that leader narcissism negatively affects the career success of employees. Stemming from an interpersonal relationship perspective, leader narcissism negatively affects the supervisor-subordinate relationship, resulting in detrimental, cascading influences on the career success of employees (Xin and Pelled, 2003; Grijalva and Harms, 2014). The moral exclusion theory (Opotow, 1990) suggests that leaders are more likely to morally exclude subordinates with whom they are experiencing relationship conflict (based on perceived fairness) These behaviors negatively influence the objective career success of their employees and deprive the subordinate of essential career resources and professional development opportunities. Interpersonal complementarity theory provides a useful framework for studying that how supervisor and subordinate characteristics mutually influence
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