Avoiding or embracing social relationships? A conservation of resources perspective of leader narcissism, leader–member exchange differentiation, and follower voice

Abstract

In this study, we draw from the conservation of resources theory and the narcissism literature to examine why and when narcissistic leaders develop and maintain differentiated social relationships with followers in a group setting, therefore demotivating follower voice. Using data from 457 employees and their 95 supervisors working at a large Chinese consulting company, we tested and found support for our hypotheses that leader narcissism had a negative direct effect on employee voice, as well as a negative indirect effect on voice via group-level leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation. Our findings further showed that leaders' upward exchange, leaderleader exchange (LLX), with their own supervisor moderated the negative indirect effect of narcissism on voice such that this negative indirect effect was stronger in the presence of low leader LLX but turned nonsignificant in the presence of high leader LLX. Theoretical and practical implications of our research are discussed. Limitations and directions for future research are also offered. K E Y W O R D Sleader-leader exchange, leader narcissism, LMX differentiation, voice

What You Get is What You See: Other-Rated but not Self-Rated Leaders’ Narcissistic Rivalry Affects Followers Negatively

“…Successful leadership is largely built on positive dyadic relationships (Graen and Uhl-Bien 1995), and it has been shown in other contexts that narcissists have trouble-or rather, are not interested in-building sustainable relationships (Campbell and Campbell 2009). In the business ethics literature, several studies have examined how leader narcissism relates to follower emotions, perceptions and behavior (e.g., Braun et al 2018;Den Hartog et al 2020;Huang et al 2020;Liu et al 2017;Nevicka et al 2018b). The current study aims to further contribute to this literature by heeding claims for a more fine-grained approach in investigating narcissism (e.g., Ackermann et al 2011; Braun 2017) through differentiating two dimensions of narcissism proposed by the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC; Back et al 2013).…”

The Effect of Abusive Supervision on Employees’ Work Procrastination Behavior

“…Low-quality leader-member relationships will lead to employees’ initiative to reduce interaction and exchanges with leaders. It makes them difficult to gain leaders’ trust, support, and affirmation, which are required by employees to meet their needs for recognition of capabilities and values within the organization ( Huang et al, 2020 ). As a consequent positive self-evaluation cannot be established.…”

When does emotional intelligence (EI) benefit team-member exchange? The cross-level moderating role of EI-based leader-member exchange differentiation

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