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Machiavellianism is typically considered to encompass rather negatively connoted characteristics such as being ruthless, deceitful or self‐centred. Concerning its influence on job performance, there have been notions about a positive linear association as well as a negative one. Somewhat reflecting these different views, a recent meta‐analysis regarding this link indicated both large variability in respective empirical investigations and no substantial linear association. Herein, we aimed to integrate the theoretical underpinnings of both perspectives of a linear link by proposing an inverted U‐shaped relation between Machiavellianism and job performance. Using data from n = 235 dyads of self‐rating and colleague rating, results supported this hypothesis with regard to the three dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviour, whereas no support was found with regard to task performance. More precisely, intermediate levels of Machiavellianism yielded the highest organisational citizenship behaviour as compared with both lower and higher levels—although employees with lower levels had outcomes nearly as high as those of employees with intermediate levels. Further, tenure was found to moderate the curvilinear relation between Machiavellianism and organisational citizenship behaviour directed at individuals. In sum, this investigation might help to disentangle different understandings of the effects of Machiavellianism in organisational life and beyond. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology

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Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the effects of political skill in a specific workplace setting – the job negotiation. The authors expected negotiator political skill to be positively related to distributive negotiation outcome, problem-solving as a negotiation strategy to mediate this relationship and political skill to also moderate – that is amplify – the link between problem-solving and negotiation outcome. Design/methodology/approach – In Study 1, a laboratory-based negotiation simulation was conducted with 88 participants; the authors obtained self-reports of political skill prior to the negotiation and – to account for non-independence of negotiating partners’ outcome – used the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model for data analysis. Study 2 was carried out as a real-life negotiation study with 100 managers of a multinational corporation who were given the opportunity to re-negotiate their salary package prior to a longer-term foreign assignment. Here, the authors drew on two objective measures of negotiation success, increase of annual gross salary and additional annual net benefits. Findings – In Study 1, the initial hypothesis – political skill will be positively related to negotiator success – was fully supported. In Study 2, all three hypotheses (see above) were fully supported for additional annual net benefits and partly supported for increase of annual gross salary. Originality/value – To the authors' best knowledge, this paper presents the first study to examine political skill as a focal predictor variable in the negotiation context. Furthermore, the studies also broaden the emotion-centered approach to social effectiveness that is prevalent in current negotiation research.