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Narcissistic leaders: An asset or a liability? Leader visibility, follower responses, and group-level absenteeism.
J Appl Psychol. 2018 Jul; 103(7):703-723.JA

Abstract

Although narcissists often emerge as leaders, research has thus far shown inconsistent results on the relationship between leader narcissism and effectiveness in the eyes of followers. Here we draw on leader distance theory (Shamir, 1995) and implicit leader theory (Lord & Maher, 1991) to propose that followers' assessment of a narcissistic leader and followers' overall job attitudes depend on the leader's visibility to the followers. The more opportunities followers have to observe narcissistic leaders the more they will experience these leaders' toxic behavior (e.g., exploitativeness) and the less they will perceive the leader as effective. To test our hypotheses we collected multisource, longitudinal data from 175 retail stores and obtained subjective (followers' perceptions of leader effectiveness and their overall job attitudes) as well as objective (leaders' organizational experience at time of hire, employee absenteeism trends) indices of leader functionality. Results showed that narcissistic leaders had less organizational experience at the time they were hired. Moreover, when followers had fewer opportunities to observe their leader, leader narcissism was positively related to perceived leadership effectiveness and job attitudes. However, when followers had more opportunity to observe their leader, the positive relationship disappeared. Finally, leader narcissism was neither positively nor negatively associated with absenteeism, whereas absenteeism declined over time under non-narcissistic leaders. These findings advance our knowledge of how followers respond to narcissistic leaders and how these leaders function in organizational settings where they have legitimate positions of power. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Nevicka B
Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Amsterdam.
Van Vianen AEM
Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Amsterdam.
De Hoogh AHB
Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam.
Voorn BCM
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen.

MeSH

AbsenteeismAdultEmploymentFemaleHumansLeadershipMaleMiddle AgedNarcissismSocial BehaviorYoung Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

29553765

Citation

Nevicka, Barbara, et al. "Narcissistic Leaders: an Asset or a Liability? Leader Visibility, Follower Responses, and Group-level Absenteeism." The Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 103, no. 7, 2018, pp. 703-723.
Nevicka B, Van Vianen AEM, De Hoogh AHB, et al. Narcissistic leaders: An asset or a liability? Leader visibility, follower responses, and group-level absenteeism. J Appl Psychol. 2018;103(7):703-723.
Nevicka, B., Van Vianen, A. E. M., De Hoogh, A. H. B., & Voorn, B. C. M. (2018). Narcissistic leaders: An asset or a liability? Leader visibility, follower responses, and group-level absenteeism. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(7), 703-723. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000298
Nevicka B, et al. Narcissistic Leaders: an Asset or a Liability? Leader Visibility, Follower Responses, and Group-level Absenteeism. J Appl Psychol. 2018;103(7):703-723. PubMed PMID: 29553765.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Narcissistic leaders: An asset or a liability? Leader visibility, follower responses, and group-level absenteeism. AU - Nevicka,Barbara, AU - Van Vianen,Annelies E M, AU - De Hoogh,Annebel H B, AU - Voorn,Bart C M, Y1 - 2018/03/19/ PY - 2018/3/20/pubmed PY - 2018/10/18/medline PY - 2018/3/20/entrez SP - 703 EP - 723 JF - The Journal of applied psychology JO - J Appl Psychol VL - 103 IS - 7 N2 - Although narcissists often emerge as leaders, research has thus far shown inconsistent results on the relationship between leader narcissism and effectiveness in the eyes of followers. Here we draw on leader distance theory (Shamir, 1995) and implicit leader theory (Lord & Maher, 1991) to propose that followers' assessment of a narcissistic leader and followers' overall job attitudes depend on the leader's visibility to the followers. The more opportunities followers have to observe narcissistic leaders the more they will experience these leaders' toxic behavior (e.g., exploitativeness) and the less they will perceive the leader as effective. To test our hypotheses we collected multisource, longitudinal data from 175 retail stores and obtained subjective (followers' perceptions of leader effectiveness and their overall job attitudes) as well as objective (leaders' organizational experience at time of hire, employee absenteeism trends) indices of leader functionality. Results showed that narcissistic leaders had less organizational experience at the time they were hired. Moreover, when followers had fewer opportunities to observe their leader, leader narcissism was positively related to perceived leadership effectiveness and job attitudes. However, when followers had more opportunity to observe their leader, the positive relationship disappeared. Finally, leader narcissism was neither positively nor negatively associated with absenteeism, whereas absenteeism declined over time under non-narcissistic leaders. These findings advance our knowledge of how followers respond to narcissistic leaders and how these leaders function in organizational settings where they have legitimate positions of power. (PsycINFO Database Record SN - 1939-1854 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/29553765/Narcissistic_leaders:_An_asset_or_a_liability_Leader_visibility_follower_responses_and_group_level_absenteeism_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -