Understanding the initiative paradox:the interplay of leader neuroticism and follower traits in evaluating the desirability of follower proactivity

This study investigates the relationship between leaders’ neuroticism and their evaluation of the desirability of followers’ proactive behaviour. We argue that leaders high in neuroticism are likely to evaluate follower proactivity as less desirable and that this relationship is amplified when followers are low in conscientiousness and agreeableness. Based on trait activation theory, we further propose that worry and threat act as underlying mechanisms of the interaction between these traits. We hypothesize that leaders high in neuroticism feel more threatened by the proactive behaviours shown by followers’ low in conscientiousness and agreeableness and rate the proactive behaviours of these followers as less desirable. In a field study with 205 leader–follower dyads (Study 1), we found the expected interaction effect. Leaders’ neuroticism interacted with their followers’ conscientiousness and agreeableness to predict their evaluation of the desirability of followers’ proactive behaviour. Study 2, an experimental vignette study, suggests a moderated indirect effect through the experience of threat, but not worry. We found no direct effects of leader neuroticism on the desirability ratings of followers’ proactive behaviour. This research emphasizes the value of investigating the interplay between leader and follower traits and the underlying cognitive-emotional processes for leader evaluations of followers’ proactivity

When the going gets tough: Employee reactions to large‐scale organizational change and the role of employee Machiavellianism

Large-scale, long-term change initiatives take time to unfold, which can be a source ofuncertainty and strain. Investigating the initial 19 months of a large-scale change, weargue that during these stages, employees' change-related beliefs become more negativeover time, which negatively affects their work engagement and, ultimately, increasestheir turnover intentions. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of a trait, Machiavel-lianism, on change reactions and propose that employees high in Machiavellianism reactmore negatively during change processes as they are especially susceptible to uncer-tainty and stress. We test our (cross-level) moderated mediation model in a three-wavelongitudinal study among employees undergoing a large-scale change (T1: n = 1,602; T2:n =1,113;T3:n = 759). We find that employees' beliefs about the impact and value ofthe change are indeed negatively related to change duration and that decreases in theseperceptions come with a decline in engagement and increases in turnover intentions.Moreover, employees high in Machiavellianism react more strongly to a deterioration inchange-related beliefs, showing stronger reductions in engagement and strongerincreases in turnover intentions than employees low in Machiavellianism. Our studyoffers explanations for the negative effects of large-scale changes including an explana-tory factor for disparate employee reactions to change over time

Felt or thought? Examining distinct mechanisms of exploitative leadership and abusive supervision.

Over the last years, there has been a steady increase in research on destructive forms of leadership. However, less attention has been paid to the question whether and to what degree different yet related destructive leadership behaviors may exert distinct effects on followers. In this research, we seek to address this question by testing the differential effects of abusive supervision versus exploitative leadership on followers\u2019 satisfaction with the leader and turnover intentions. Borrowing from justice theory, our theoretical model proposes that abusive supervision, as an inherently interpersonal provocation, impacts followers mainly through the mediating influence of negative affect towards the leader. In contrast, exploitative leadership, with its inherent focus on leader self-interest, is expected to affect followers mainly through cognitive means, i.e., perceived imbalance in social exchange. Results from two studies provide general support for our predictions. Study 1 was a two-wave field study, confirming the differential effects of abusive supervision and exploitative leadership on negative affect and perceived imbalance in social exchange. Study 2 used an experimental vignette approach, supporting that the obtained effects are causal. Moreover, it found that the effect of abusive supervision on negative affect was mediated by perceptions of interpersonal injustice, whereas exploitative leadership affected imbalance in social exchange perceptions through perceived distributive injustice. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of what destructive leaders actually do and how different destructive behaviors impact followers in unique ways

(Un)Ethical Behavior and Performanc Appraisal: The Role of Affect, Support, and Organizational Justice

Performance appraisals are widely used as an HR instrument. This study among 332 police officers examines the effects of performance appraisals from a behavioral ethics perspective. A mediation model relating justice perceptions of police officers¿ last performance appraisal to their work affect, perceived supervisor and organizational support and, in turn, their ethical (pro-organizational proactive) and unethical (counterproductive) work behavior was tested empirically. The relationship between justice perceptions and both, ethical and unethical behavior was mediated by perceived support and work affect. Hence, a singular yearly performance appraisal was linked to both ethical and unethical behaviors at work. The finding that ethical and unethical aspects of employee behavior share several of the same organizational antecedents, namely organizational justice perceptions, has strong practical implications which are discussed as well

Feeling Vital After a Good Night’s Sleep : The Interplay of Energetical Resources and Self-efficacy for Daily Proactivity

This study aims to investigate the role of daily vitality as an energy-based mechanism through which sleep quantity and quality relate to proactive behavior. In addition, we propose that daily self-efficacy forms a contingency condition in that self-efficacy facilitates the translation of vitality into proactive behavior. We conducted a 7-day diary study based on a sample of 66 employees who completed surveys 3 times daily. We used multilevel regression analyses to test the hypotheses while controlling for the 1-day lagged measures of vitality and proactivity. The results provide evidence for a model of moderated mediation. Sleep quality but not quantity predicted an increase in daily vitality. Self-efficacy moderated the relationship between vitality and daily proactivity such that this relationship was stronger when self-efficacy was reported to be high rather than low. The conditional effect mediated by vitality was significant for sleep quality but not for sleep quantity and occurred at the within-person level of analysis. These results suggest that organizations aiming to boost daily proactivity in employees can benefit from increasing employees' self-efficacy and supporting them in developing strategies to ensure sufficient vitality. One such strategy is improving sleep quality. This study extends the literature on dynamics in proactive work behavior and its well-being-related antecedents by exploring both vitality as an underlying energetic mechanism and daily self-efficacy as a boundary condition. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Entrepreneurial Intentions of Teams: Sub-Dimensions of Machiavellianism Interact With Team Resilience

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

Belschak et al JOB 2020-SPSS Data Set.sav

The SPSS file includes the raw data as well as the generated variables. The word file explains the SPSS file and provides information on the data analyses. The data is NOT available for public use

When intelligence is (Dys)functional for achieving sales performance

Using two samples of salespeople, the authors investigate how a combination of general mental ability (GMA) and specific skills and capabilities (social competence and thinking styles) enables salespeople to reach their sales goals. The study finds evidence for an interaction between GMA and social competence. When combined with high social competence, high GMA leads to the highest sales performance; when combined with low social competence, high GMA leads to the lowest sales performance. In addition, the authors find interaction effects between GMA and a judicial thinking style. Salespeople with a high GMA have the most potential for attaining high levels of sales performance when combined with specific skills; when salespeople with a high GMA lack these skills, they may become the firm's worst performers

Dual cognitive pathways to voice quality: Frequent voicers improvise, infrequent voicers elaborate.

We investigate the involvement of Working Memory Capacity (WMC, the cognitive resource necessary for controlled elaborate thinking) in voice behavior (speaking up with suggestions, problems, and opinions to change the organization). While scholars assume voice requires elaborate thinking, some empirical evidence suggests voice might be more automatic. To explain this discrepancy, we distinguish between voice quantity (frequency of voice) and voice quality (novelty and value of voiced information) and propose that WMC is important for voice quality, but less for voice quantity. Furthermore, we propose that frequent voicers rely less on WMC to reach high voice quality than people who voice rarely. To test our ideas, we conducted three studies: a between-participant lab-study, a within-participant experiment, and a multi-source field-study. All studies supported our expectation that voice quantity is unrelated to WMC, and that voice quality is positively related to WMC, but only for those who rarely voice. This indicates that the decision to voice (quantity) might be more automatic and intuitive than often assumed, whereas its value to the organization (quality), relies more on the degree of cognitive elaboration of the voicer. It also suggests that frequent and infrequent voicers use distinct cognitive pathways to voice high-quality information: frequent voicers improvise, while infrequent voicers elaborate

Angels and Demons: The Effect of Ethical Leadership on Machiavellian Employees’ Work Behaviors

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