When the Dark Ones Become Darker: How Promotion Focus Moderates the Effects of the Dark Triad on Supervisor Performance Ratings

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2016

Department

Management and International Business

Abstract

The current study adds to a growing body of research on dark personality traits by investigating the moderating role of promotion focus on the relationships among dark triad traits and facets of job performance. Specifically, we investigated the effects of the dark triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) on supervisor ratings of performance, and the moderating effect promotion focus has on those effects. Using field data, we surveyed 549 employees from a manufacturing company in the USA and obtained supervisor ratings of task performance and helping behavior for each employee. We found support for multiple hypotheses, which suggests that managers rated narcissistic and psychopathic employees as having poorer task performance and psychopathic employees as engaging in fewer helping behaviors than employees low in those traits. Furthermore, promotion focus strengthened these negative relationships. We did not find these effects for Machiavellianism. Implications of these findings for future dark personality research as well as the practical implications for managers and organizations are discussed. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Publication Title

Journal of Organizational Behavior

Volume

37

Issue

2

First Page

236

Last Page

254

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