LEADERSHIP STYLE AND EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION: AN ELABORATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP
University of Groningen
Faculty of Economics and Business MSc International Business & Management
3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am honoured to present the final achievement of my studies in the program ''International Business and Management'' at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisors Dr. O. Lindahl from the University of Uppsala and Dr. S.R. Gubbi from the University of Groningen. Especially, I want to thank Dr. O. Lindahl for his guidance, extensive feedback, kindness and patience during the process of writing this research. The meetings, Skype sessions and e- mails were helpful and he was always prepared to answer my questions.
4 LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Characteristics of Transactional and Transformational Leadership 12
Table 2 Healthy and Destructive Narcissism 14
Table 3 Frequency Table 25
Table 4 Cross-case findings narcissistic leadership 27
Table 5 Cross-case finding non-narcissistic leadership 29
Table 6 Characteristic Charismatic: Illustrative Quotations 33 Table 7 Characteristic Inspirational: Illustrative Quotations 34 Table 8 Characteristic Emotions in decision- making: Illustrative Quotations 35
Table 9 Characteristic Demanding: Illustrative Quotations 36
Table 10 Characteristic Lack of/selective personal involvement: Illustrative Quotations 37 Table 11 Characteristic Non-supportive environment: Illustrative Quotations 38
Table 12 Comparing NLS and NNLS Most Important Factors 40
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Conceptual Model 39
LIST OF APPENDICES
5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ... 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... 3 LIST OF TABLES ... 4 LIST OF FIGURES ... 4 LIST OF APPENDICES ... 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ... 5 1. INTRODUCTION ... 7 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ... 11 2.1 Theory ... 11 2.1.1. Leadership theory ... 11 2.1.2. Leadership styles. ... 12 2.1.3. Narcissism. ... 13 2.1.4. Narcissism in leadership... 15
2.1.5. Employee job satisfaction. ... 16
3. RESEARCH METHODS ... 17
3.1 Exploratory multiple-case study ... 17
3.2 Sample ... 18
3.3 Data collection ... 19
3.4 Data analysis ... 20
3.5 Validity and reliability ... 21
3.6 Ethics ... 22
3.6.1. Protection of employees ... 22
3.6.2. Protection of leaders ... 23
4. FINDINGS ... 24
4.1 Factor identification within cases ... 24
4.2 Summarizing and analyzing between cases... 24
4.2.1. Frequency analysis ... 24
4.2.2. Cross-case analysis... 26
5. ANALYSIS ... 32
5.1 Narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership characteristics influencing job satisfaction32 5.1.1. Charismatic... 32
6
5.1.3. Uses emotions in decision-making... 35
5.1.4. Demanding ... 36
5.1.5. Lack of/selective personal involvement ... 36
5.1.6. Non-supportive environment... 37
5.2 Conceptual Model... 38
5.3 NLS and NNLS situations: Comparing Characteristics ... 39
6. DISCUSSION... 41
7. CONCLUSION ... 42
7.1 Theoretical implications. ... 42
7.2 Managerial and practical implications ... 43
7.3 Limitations and Future Research ... 43
REFERENCES ... 44
APPENDIX A ... 47
8 This requires leaders to adapt their strategies towards a more interconnected-world-approach and these new demands have given rise to managers whose leadership styles are more and more characterized by an emphasis on themselves (Maccoby, 2004; Chatterjee & Hambrick, 2007).
Maccoby (2004) states that ''there is something new and daring about the CEOs who are transforming today's industries.'' (Maccoby, 2004; p.92). He argues that the comparison between the early days and now lay in for instance corporate PR publishing versus current leaders having their own publishers and appearing on various magazine covers. Leaders are nowadays more exposed as well as more willing to be exposed. Researchers have found that there is a change in personality and perception of self. Several researchers suggest that today's society has been shifting towards a more narcissistic way of thinking and behaving. Studies have revealed an increase in narcissism in American culture today (Twenge, 2006), as well as an increase in the self- focus in cultural products such as music (DeWall et al., 2011). Much research regarding narcissistic personality traits and narcissistic leadership has been done in the field of psychology and managerial psychology (e.g. Kets de Vries & Miller, 1985; Maccoby, 2004; Bushman & Baumeister, 1998; Wink, 1991) performed by psychologists and psychoanalysts. Due to the sensitivity and psychological nature of narcissistic leadership, much less research has been done regarding this topic on a business, organizational and managerial level.
9 Narcissism has become an increasingly popular topic of interest within the field of organizational research. Grijalva and Harms (2014) claim that the public is becoming more aware and interested in the concept of narcissism, due to the fact that they perceive it in their daily lives. Additionally, they argue that the current socio-historical context is one of the main causes for the increasing interest. Grijalva and Harms state that ''...the world reels from a financial crisis brought on partly by unethical business practices.'' (2014; p. 112). The rising perception of self, global interconnectedness and the rise of leaders such as President Donald Trump, make that the concept of narcissism an interesting and accurate in today's globalized world.
The sensitivity and difficulty of the concept have prevented much research from being established, however this solely enhances the interest and need for answers. Whereas much research has been conducted on the relation between leadership style and job satisfaction (e.g. Bogler, 2001; Madlock, 2008; Wong & Laschinger, 2013), this research aims to contribute to the field of leadership theory by investigating the understudied relation between narcissistic leadership style and job satisfaction. As discussed above, the main focus in the field of narcissistic leadership is through psychological and clinical research, classifying narcissism as a disorder. However, this research will approach narcissistic leadership as a form of leadership style and trait rather than a personality disorder. Assumptions will be made about the relation between this type of leadership style and employee job satisfaction, through making a comparison between narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership style. This brings us to the following research question:
How does narcissistic leadership influence employee job satisfaction and does this differ from non-narcissistic leadership?
We will aim to answer this research question by conducting exploratory research in the form of in-depth open ended interviews with employees about their identified leaders. By doing this, we hope to contribute to the increasingly popular discussion on narcissistic leadership and its influences on, in our opinion, the most vital part of the organization: the employees. Additionally, we contribute by examining this relationship in companies defined as small and medium sized enterprises.
11 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theory
In this section, elaboration will be on the relevant and important existing literature regarding the concept of leadership. In order to create a substantial basis for answering the previously stated research question, the concept of leadership will be thoroughly discussed. Firstly, leadership theory is explained. Secondly, two main streams of leadership will be discussed, elaborating on their characteristics and sub-categories. In this section, the concept of narcissistic leadership will be introduced. Furthermore, discussion will be on the consequences of narcissism in leadership. Lastly, a definition of narcissistic leadership will be provided, which will be used throughout the rest of the research.
12 2.1.2. Leadership styles. Two major styles of leadership are defined as transactional and transformational leadership. Already in early literature, Burns (1978) made a clear distinction between these two forms of leadership. He stated that transactional leaders are seen as leaders who are focused on building exchange relationships with their subordinates and call to their self- interest. The transactional style includes a more conventional approach regarding the clarification of the responsibilities of subordinates, in which they are rewarded for meeting objectives and corrected for not meeting the pre-set goals. Contrastingly, the transformational leadership style adopts a more relation-based approach (Bass, 1985). This means that transformational leaders are more focused on building trust with their subordinates and building confidence within them. By establishing relations, mentoring and empowering their subordinates, these leaders aim to develop their employees full potential and improve the value to the organization (Eagly, Johannesen-Smidt and Van Egen, 2003). Under a transformational leader future goals are shaped and plans are developed to efficiently achieve these goals. Eagly et all. (2003) mention that this type of leadership is often also referred to by others as charismatic leadership. Table 1 shows a clear distinction between the characteristics of both transactional and transformational leadership.
TABLE 1 Characteristics of Transactional and Transformational Leadership
Transactional leadership Transformational
leadership Contingent Reward Providing rewards for
satisfactory performance of followers
Idealized Influence (attribute)
Demonstrates qualities that motivate respect and pride from association with him/her M anagement by Exception
(active) Attends to followers' mistakes and failures to meet standards.
Idealized Influence (behaviour)
Communicates values, purpose, and importance of organization's mission M anagement by Exception
(passive) Waiting before problems become severe before intervening
Inspirational M otivation Exhibits optimism and excitement about goals and future states Intellectual Stimulation Examines new perspectives
for solving problems and completing tasks Individualized consideration Focuses on the development
13 As stated above, Eagly et al. (2003) argue that transformational leadership is considered as charismatic leadership. However, this charismatic leadership does not always turn out to be positive. House and Howell (1992) made a clear distinction between two types of charismatic leadership: personalized and socialized. The researchers conclude their analysis of both types of leadership by describing that ''the personality traits of the need for power, power inhibition, Machiavellianism, authoritarianism, narcissism, self esteem and locus of control are traits that are likely to differentiate personalized from socialized charismatic leaders.'' (House & Howell, 1992; p.81). Although the researchers describe two “pure” types of charismatic leadership, it is not claimed that these distinctive styles are mutually exclusive. It is possible that a leader will, at times, simultaneously display behavior that reflects some aspects of both personalized and socialized charismatic tendencies (House & Howell, 1992). In the same line of thought, Maccoby (2004) claims that narcissism can be surprisingly useful and possibly even necessary. Additionally, the need for power was described by Delua (1997) as a characteristic of narcissism as a desirable feature due to the fact that it might be used for social rather than personal objectives. Even Freud, often seen as the designer of the concept of narcissism, adapted his views over time, stating that we all inhabit some degree of narcissism. More often than not people view narcissism as a negative trait. Not surprising, considering that the concept is actually named after a man who died due to his extreme obsession with himself. However, Maccoby (2004) makes a clear distinction between productive narcissism and unproductive narcissism, referring to leaders such as Jack Welch and Bill Gates. These men have portrayed great creativity and persistence, making sense of the challenges of a changing world and taking necessary risks to leave behind a valuable legacy. Additionally, he claims that productive narcissists are not only risky, however able to convert the masses to engage in certain activities through vision and rhetorical skills (Maccoby, 2004). For the purpose of this research, we will elaborate on the concept of narcissism, both negative and positive in order to be able to develop a grounded definition for narcissistic leadership, that will be used throughout the rest of the research. Important to note is that narcissism will not be treated as a personality disorder, but rather as a distinctive type of leadership style.
14 (Lubit, 2002; Maccoby, 2004; Campbell et al., 2011). Lubit (2002) focuses on the healthy and destructive types of narcissism. Healthy narcissism is formulated as being supported by secure self-esteem. Lubit (2002) elaborates on this by explaining that a healthy narcissist might experience disappointment when confronted with others' success or when receiving criticism. However, healthy narcissists are not expected to overreact, causing outrageous frustration or damaged self-esteem. On the other hand, Lubit (2002) suggests destructive narcissism originates from low self- esteem and the tendency to diminish and show resentment towards others. A distinctive comparison between the two types of narcissism are suggested below (Lubit, 2002) (see table 2).
TABLE 2 Healthy and Destructive Narcissism Characteristic Healthy narcissism Destructive narcissism Self-confidence High outward self-confidence in line with
reality Grandiose Desire for power,
wealth and admiration M ay enjoy power Pursues power at all costs, lacks normal inhibitions in its pursuit Relationships Real concern for others and their ideas;
does not exploit or devalue others
Concerns limited to expressing socially appropriate response when convenient; devalues and exploits others without remorse Ability to follow a
consistent path Has values; follows through on plans Lacks values; easily bored; often changes course Foundation Healthy childhood with support for
self-esteem and appropriate limits on behavior towards others
Traumatic childhood undercutting true sense of self-esteem and/or learning that he/she doesn't need to be considerate of others Source: Lubit, 2002.
15 2.1.4. Narcissism in leadership. As shown above, narcissism is still more often than not viewed as a negative concept. However, research also states that narcissism is a necessary and logical trait when referring to leadership in general (Clemens & Washbush, 1999). These researchers claim that narcissistic leadership involves characteristics such as need for power, prestige and charisma, which draws this type of leader towards leadership positions. Additionally, Brunell et al. (2008) conducted research on the role of narcissism in the emergence of leaders in leaderless groups. The researchers found that narcissism indeed predicts the emergence of a specific leader in different types of groups: strangers consisting of both undergraduates and business executives (Brunell et al., 2008). Thus, it can be stated that narcissism is a trait and form of leadership style that is highly likely to be present in the majority of the organizational context.
However, due to this charisma and their often clear vision and confidence, leaders often first appear to be suitable for the position and only afterwards become harder to work with. Intolerance of criticism and unwillingness to compromise are not uncommon in this type of leadership style (Clemens & Washbush, 1999). Clemens and Washbush state that leaders with a narcissistic style of leadership ''...may fall victim to the distortions of their narcissistic tendencies that are reinforced by their position'' (1999, p.171). Maccoby (2004) states that well-known leaders are being perceived as CEO superheroes globally. He argues that these leaders are not only present in business contexts, however they hold high positions in multiple fields such as politics and education (Maccoby, 2004). Additionally, the researcher claims that there are several important reasons why these so-called superheroes arise. Maccoby (2004) claims that the increasing involvement of business in personal life and the need for charismatic and creative leaders, creates the need for new leadership personalities.
In conclusion, considering the different types of leadership styles and the characteristics of narcissism, we define narcissistic leadership as the following:
16 2.1.5. Employee job satisfaction. As mentioned by Kets de Vries and Miller (1985), turnover of employees under a narcissistic form of leadership is relatively high. Therefore, the importance of employee job satisfaction becomes even higher when the relationship with leadership is examined. Locke (1970) argues that job satisfaction is both important for the employees themselves, as well as for the company as a whole. The phrase A happy worker is a productive worker was introduced by him.
Leadership theory as well as employee satisfaction are concepts that become increasingly important as major changes are happening in the job market, according to the article about Generation Me by Anderson et al. (2016). The researchers claim that the work values between the earlier generations and the upcoming Millennial generation are significantly different. They state that there is a rising increase in for instance individualism and the need for improved support from managers (Anderson et al., 2016). The researchers suggest that changes such as these call for a different approach towards current leadership theory (Anderson et al., 2016).
17 3. RESEARCH METHODS In this chapter the research methods used to collect and analyze the data will be described. Firstly, elaboration will be on the choice of research method: exploratory multiple-case study. Secondly, the sample selection will be discussed. Furthermore, the third section of this chapter is dedicated to the data collection process. Additionally, the fourth section will describe how the data is analyzed. The fifth section of this chapter elaborates on the validity and reliability of the conducted research. Lastly, this chapter includes an extensive section on ethics, due to the sensitivity of the research topic.
3.1 Exploratory multiple-case study
In this research qualitative methods are used to aim to provide an extensive answer to the research question: How do narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership differ in terms of their influence on job satisfaction? The appropriate approach that is concerned with qualitative data, is the inductive method. Thomas (2006) refers to the concept of inductive analysis as using detailed readings of raw data to develop concepts or conceptual models through the interpretations of the researcher. Through the inductive approach, researchers have the ability to generate novel theories emerging from the raw data they collected (Eisenhardt, 1989). The primary objective is to understand a phenomenon and to clarify this due to lack of available literature (Yin, 2009), which makes it suitable for the current research on narcissistic leadership.
18 As stated before, narcissism is an increasingly popular phenomenon in organizational and management research. Mainly, due to the rising sense of self in new generations, narcissism's robust relationship with organizational outcomes, and the current socio- historical context (Grijalva & Harms, 2014). In this research, a multiple-case study is conducted in four different small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in the Netherlands with an international character. The companies that were investigated have ties with countries within Europe, such as Germany, as well as oversees in the United States. This, in order to be able to contribute to international business, organizational and management literature. Each case is identified as the unique relationship between employee and their identified leader, and aims to find consistent as well as distinct patterns across the cases (Eisenhardt, 1989 ). This, in order to clarify the possible similarities and differences between narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership style influences on the job satisfaction of employees. The The results of the research will be generalizable in terms of their use for international SMEs based in the Netherlands. We aimed to explore an understudied relationship, rather than to test possible moderators or mediators on an existing relationship, and therefore the generalizability of the study will be limited to the scope of our multiple-case study setting. In the discussion section of the current research, the generalizability will be explained further. Moreover, Eisenhardt (1989) stresses the importance of the selection of appropriate cases and population in order to draw valid and generalizing conclusions on the findings. In this research, cases are selected within the range of SMEs in the field of business in the Netherlands, making the cases comparable and suitable for multiple-case study analysis. 3.2 Sample
19 are in that sense direct colleagues. We decided to look for these kinds of relationships, as the likelihood of the influence of the leader's leadership style on the job satisfaction of the employee is expected to be higher in these situations. In the situation of the absence of a leader or the invisible character of this side of the relationship, employees would not be interacting as much with the subject under study and consequently less influenced by his or her leadership behaviour.
Due to the sensitivity of the research topic and the primary focus on individual job satisfaction, we decided to solely focus on conducting interviews with employees rather than additionally with their identified leaders. Acquaintances from the University of Groningen that are currently working in international SMEs throughout the Netherlands provided me with the needed access to participants. Orientation interviews were held, in order to investigate the leadership style of the identified leader to make sure that a significant amount of the participants were dealing with more narcissistic leaders. As stated in the literature review, through thoroughly investigating leadership and narcissism literature, we developed a definition for narcissistic leadership which will be used through this research: Narcissistic leadership is a distinctive leadership style in which positive characteristics such as sense of entitlement and charisma are highly present. Additionally, this style of leadership is characterized by the leader's inability to emotionally connect with others, resulting in merely superficial relationships rather than good and friendly emotional bonds. Based on this definition, we will classify cases of narcissistic leadership by the presence of charisma in leadership, as well as by the absence of emotional connections between leader and employee. 3.3 Data collection
In order to collect the appropriate data to answer the previously stated research question, primary data collection through performing interviews is done. It is interesting to note that narcissistic persons repress or deny their more personally offensive characteristics (Emmons 1984; Raskin & Novacek, 1989; House & Howell, 1992). Therefore, asking people directly about their own style of leadership will likely result in biased outcomes. Assessment through questioning several others about that particular person will create a more objective and complete image of leadership and behaviour.
20 protection of both the employee and their identified leader (see 3.6, ethics). The concept of face-to-face interviews allows for personal interpretation and detailed elaboration on the questions asked. The interview questions are performed in an open-ended semi-structured way, meaning that the guidance of the interview is presented by the interviewer. Consequently, there is significant room for the interviewee to discuss their own interpretations about their leader's characteristics and behaviour and factors for their job satisfaction. The face-to-face interviews take approximately 40 minutes and are recorded on a mobile device (audio) if allowed by the interviewee. By doing so, the interviewer is able to focus on the conversation, ask follow- up questions and make the interviewee confident that the interviewers full attention is with them. In order to limit the bias of the interview, the interviewer does not engage in the actual answering of the questions, and intervenes the conversation as little as possible to ensure a natural way of answering. Due to the limited time frame of the current research and the sensitivity of the research topic, we were able to conduct ten in-depth interviews in total, four in more narcissistic leadership settings and six in non- narcissistic leadership settings. Seven out of the ten participants did not feel comfortable with recording of the interview, due to both the sensitivity of the subject under study and the fact that they have positions in their current job that they do not intend to leave for a longer period of time. These non-recorded interviews took significantly longer than the intended 40 minutes, as the transcribing of the interview took place during the interview itself. The answers were afterwards checked and approved by the participant, before being included in the interview transcription document. Importantly to note, due to the sensitivity of the research topic and the protection of both the employee and their identified leader, the full transcript document of the interviews will only be provided to the examiners and will not be included in the final thesis. We do intend to include a disguised coding document.
The semi structured questions asked can be found in the appendix A. 3.4 Data analysis
21 throughout the interviews and comprising this to manageable amounts of overarching concepts. Although this can be of significant help in summarizing large quantities of data, the task of the analysis of the data still remains with the researcher. A two-stage method is used to analyse the leadership style characteristics influencing employee job satisfaction. Firstly, the interviews transcripts are analyzed and an initial coding framework is developed in order to make the data more concise. Secondly, the initial coding is used to check the different characteristics throughout the investigated cases. These are analyzed, combined and summarized to develop concise concepts that are able to be used as the main leadership style characteristics throughout the dataset. Besides this, fact rejection will be used to ensure the focus on the most important leadership style characteristics that influence employee job satisfaction. Hossack (1982) stated that this method removes the irrelevant or unimportant concepts that are developed through coding. A frequency analysis will be provided to show which leadership characteristics are most important in the two distinct situations of narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership. Lastly, cross-case analysis will be performed to show the comparability between the cases. 3.5 Validity and reliability
22 of transferability. This concept refers to the generalizability of the research findings (Morrow, 2005). We aimed to increase the generalizability of the findings through the usage of multiple-case study, as this approach is considered significantly more generalizable than single-case studies (Yin, 2009). The concept of reliability refers to the reliability of findings derived from the data collection. Both Thomas (2004) and Yin (2009) argue that in qualitative research including interviews, problems tend to arise. To counteract the prob lems of language, objectivity and formulation of the questions, in this research we designed a semi-structured interview that was used to ensure the researcher's ability to perform the interview and ask follow-up questions when appropriate, while still ensuring the optimal answering- freedom of the participant. As a final concept, the objectivity of the researcher needs to be ensured in order to preserve the authenticity of the obtained data. Participants were approached professionally with an invitation for participation in the research. 3.6 Ethics
This research discusses the concept of narcissistic leadership from a business management and leadership theory perspective. Due to the business background of the researcher and the absence of psychological classification, no assumptions will be made regarding the leader's actual personality. Consequently, assumptions will only be made about the characteristics of the type of leadership style the leader is portraying. Narcissism in this research is not treated as a personality disorder, however rather as a sub-form of leadership style within the leadership theory. The degree of narcissism portrayed by the leader will be derived from the answers employees will provide about his/her leadership behaviour. As stated before, narcissistic leadership style in this research is classified by the existence of charisma and the absence of emotional relationship between leader and employee.
Due to the sensitivity of the topic under investigation, it is necessary to ensure the protection of the participants and their leaders involved in the data-collection process.
23 and the answers they provide are shared between the researcher and the interviewee only. To ensure the anonymous character of the answers, quotes derived from the answers of the interviewees will be made unidentifiable by removing key-words in the final version of the research. For instance:
''In the meeting with me and four of my fellow colleagues from the marketing department about the new marketing strategy for 2017, our leader was solely focused on the mistakes we had made in the report and the fact that we forgot to include the section on our online strategy rather than providing us with useful feedback.''
This answer will be quoted as:
24 4. FINDINGS Due to the fact that ten face-to- face interviews are conducted, the amount of qualitative data gathered from these is significantly extensive. In this chapter, the data will be converted into a more concise amount of data to work with through a two-stage coding procedure. Firstly, unique patterns within the cases are identified. Secondly, a the factors between cases are summarized and analyzed using frequency analysis and cross-case analysis. The purpose of this twofold form is to examine unique findings within separate cases, before generalizing cross-case patterns. Consequently, this can increase the accuracy of cross-case comparison (Eisenhardt, 1989).
4.1 Factor identification within cases
In order to accurately analyze and code the raw data gathered from the interviews, transcripts are made of each unique case. As stated previously, the full interview transcripts will not be included to ensure the privacy and anonymous character of both the employee and their identified leader. In order to ensure the protection of privacy rights of the participant, the interview coding document will only be distributed to the examiners of this thesis, to provide transparency for the examination.
4.2 Summarizing and analyzing between cases
In this section the initially identified factors of the unique cases are combined and polished to provide accurate but concise information on the relationship between narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership and job satisfaction. As described earlier, firstly a frequency analysis will be carried out, after which a cross-case analysis is done using the most frequently used factors.
25 In the frequency table below (table 3) we indicated the most frequent scores for both types of leadership. When the factors (leadership characteristics) for narcissistic leadership cases score higher than three, they will be discussed in this research. Additionally, when the factors for non-narcissistic leadership cases score higher than four, they will be discussed further. For the narcissistic leadership cases these factors are ''charismatic'', ''inspirational'', ''use of emotions in decision-making'', ''demanding'', ''lack of/selective personal involvement'' and ''non-supportive environment''. In contrast, the non- narcissistic leadership cases identify ''authority'', ''support'' and ''ambition'' as the most frequently named characteristics next to ''charismatic'' and ''inspirational'', which are highly present in both situation.
TABLE 3 Frequency Table
27 TABLE 4
Cross-case findings narcissistic leadership
Factors Participant #1 Participant #2 Participant #3 Participant #4 Summary
Charismatic (+) Friendly - comes across as
wanting to create a bond with employees
Open - leader strikes as an open and charming personality
Friendly - comes across as a friendly and open personality The charismatic
characteristic of narcissistic leadership has a positive influence on job satisfaction, as employees perceive the leader as friendly, open and sympathetic. Determination - knows what
he/she wants Caring - leaders seems like a
person caring for others Sympathetic - strikes as a sympathetic person at first Inspirational
(+) M otivation - leader is able to inspire with motivational speeches
Enthusiasm - leader tries to motivate others with own enthusiasm
Enthusiasm - leader tries to motivate others with own enthusiasm
In the cases with a more narcissistic leadership style, the inspirational characteristic is an important determinant for job satisfaction. Employees are motivated and inspired by the enthusiasm and drive of their leaders. Enthusiasm - leader tries to
motivate others with own enthusiasm and positive attitude
Drive - leader drives people into new directions Improve - leader tries to make people better versions of themselves Use of emotions in decision-making (-)
Unreachable - leader does not always see sense when situations get out of hand
Opinion - leader is strongly opinionated and therefore difficult to persuade
Insensitive - leader can strike as an insensitive person
Click - when the leader does not have a click with someone, this person is going to have a hard time
The use of emotions in decision-making has a significantly negative effect on the job satisfaction of employees. Leaders tend to be unreachable, react with first instance and act insensitive towards employees. First instance - leader reacts
with a first instance (panic) Rudeness - leader can display signs of rude and direct behavior
Click - when the leader does not have a click with someone, this person is going to have a hard time Expectation - expects people to pick up implicit signs of distress Demanding (-)
Respect - indirectly the leader demands respect from the employees
Respect - indirectly the leader demands respect from the employees
Performance - leader has tendency to demand more from employees without providing necessary tools
Employees in narcissistic leadership situations explained the demanding character of their leaders to have a negative effect on their job satisfaction. The leaders tend to expect demand respect and to demand higher performance than employees are capable Performance - leader has
tendency to demand much from employees
28 of without providing them with necessary tools to cope with this new pressure. Lack of/selective
personal involvement (-)
Selective - leader is only able to establish good and trust-based relationships with employees he/she connects with
Selective - leader is only able to establish good and trust-based relationships with employees he/she connects with
Selective (professional)- leader displays selective personal involvement in the departments and preparation for reviews
Superficial - lack of personal interest or very superficial
One of the most important characteristics of narcissistic leadership, is that the leaders are usually not able to establish personal relationships with their employees, or with only a selective group of people. Consequently, the job satisfaction is negatively influenced as employees tend to feel excluded or mistreated when there is not an equal personal involvement from the leader among his/her employees. Superficial - the relationships
in the company remain superficial due to intended separation of management and employees
Selective (personal)- leader shows selective empathy and interest towards employees
Selective (professional) - leader displays selective granting of responsibilities based on emotions
Non-supportive environment (-)
Split culture - there is a clear distinction between managers and employees, both professional level and interaction level
Hierarchy - there is a hierarchical environment Inequality - there is inequality
on the work floor in terms of gender and salary
Fact-based focus - leader tends to focus on fact-based achievements rather than personal developments
The work environment of the employees is an important factor in job satisfaction. The leadership characteristic of creating a non-supportive environment has a negative effect on job satisfaction. Hierarchy, split culture and the lack of coaching of employees contribute to this significantly. Split culture - there is a clear
distinction between managers and employees
Lack of coaching - there is a lack of coaching
29 TABLE 5
Cross-case findings non-narcissistic leadership Factors Participant #5 Participant #6 Participant #7 Participant #8 Participant #9 Participant #10 Summary Charismatic
(+) Relationships - leader able to form good and friendly relationships with all employees
Relationships - leader is able to form good and friendly relationships with all employees
Relationships - leader is able to form good and friendly relationships with all employees
Relationships - leader is able to form good and friendly relationships with all employees
Relationships - leader is able to form good and friendly relationships with all employees
Relationships - leader is able to form good and friendly relationships with all employees The charismatic characteristic is also present in non-narcissistic leadership style, however it defers regarding the fact that non-narcissistic leaders are able to establish good and friendly long-term relationships with all their employees. It is positively related with job satisfaction as these leaders are perceived as considerate, understanding and familiar. Calm - leader is a
calm person that takes time for employees
Concern - leader shows concern for well-being of employees
Approachable - leader is a very approachable person with a sense of humor
Communication - leader is highly capable of good communication with both employees and clients Familiar - leader is able to provide feelings of familiarity to employees Considerate - leader can be described as a considered and open person
Trust - leader is able to establish trust-based relations with others
Understanding - leader is able to have understanding in both professional and private matters
Comfortable - leader is someone who tries to make employees feel comfortable in their environment
Inspirational (+) Goals - leader leads
the way and has clear goals to work towards as a company
Vision - leader has a clear vision Vision - leader has
professional and personal visions that inspire others
Comfort zone - leader inspires others to get out of their comfort zone
30 M otivation - leader
inspires employees with enthusiasm and passion
Goals - leader inspires others to become better professionals
M otivation - leader motivates others with enthusiasm and drive Performance - leader inspires others to perform their best
Leaders tend to inspire employees with their visions and goals and try to motivate them with their own enthusiasm and passion. Consequently, this has a positive effect on the job satisfaction. Authority
(-) Clear role - it is clear that he/she is the leader
Clear role - it is clear that he/she is the leader
Clear role - it is clear that he/she is the leader
Clear role - it is clear that he/she is the leader
Clear role - it is clear that he/she is the leader
The majority of the participants claimed that the leader making clear that he/she has that position can reflect negatively on job satisfaction. They described it as indirectly demanding respect form employees or leaders being determinants for the mood in the company (positive or negative). This makes employees highly dependent on their leaders moods. Respect - indirectly leader demands respect from employees M ood in company - leader is the one that determines the mood in the company (positive and negative)
M ood in company - leader is the one that determines the mood in the company (positive and negative)
Support (+) Trust - leader is able
to establish trust-based relations with employees
Helpful - leader is willing to offer help and time when needed
Understanding - leader makes sure employees understand what he/she means
Helpful - leader is willing to offer help and time when needed
31 Courage - leader
provides employees with courage and makes them feel comfortable
Helpful - leader is willing to offer help and time when needed
positive influence on job satisfaction. There is a trust-based relation between leader and employee, the helpfulness and understanding of the leader contributes to the satisfaction of the employees and how supported they feel in their jobs: feeling comfortable and having courage. Understanding -
leader makes sure others understand what he/she means
Feeling - leader makes sure that employees feel comfortable and secure in their environment Ambition (+) Ambitious - leader is ambitious about the goals and achievements
Determined - leader is determined to make the company thrive
Dedication - leader is dedicated to work and eager to make the company thrive
Heart - leader has heart for the work he/she does and tries to motivate others
32 5. ANALYSIS In this chapter the key findings that are derived from the data analysis will be described. The objective of the current research is to examine the possible similarities and differences between narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership influence on job satisfaction. Therefore, a comparison will be made between the cases of employee job satisfaction in narcissistic leadership style (NLS) and determinants for the job satisfaction of employees in non-narcissistic leadership style (NNLS). A conceptual model will be developed for the NLS situation, with the leadership style characteristics as independent variables and job satisfaction as a dependent variable. Lastly, the main characteristics that derive from the data collection for both NLS and NNLS situation will be compared. Due to the fact that the relationship between employee job satisfaction and narcissistic leadership is currently absent to our knowledge, we decided for this research to focus on the development of propositions and a conceptual model for this style of leadership solely. Additionally, because the range of leadership styles described in leadership theory is relatively large, we classify the non-narcissistic leadership style solely as non- narcissistic rather than giving this style a distinctive name based on leadership theory. As this research is conducted in the form of a multiple-case study consisting of ten individual cases, the conclusions regarding the research question will be based on these cases and their comparative outcome.
5.1 Narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership characte ristics influencing job satisfaction
In the following section we will discuss the narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership characteristics that were identified as most important in their influence on employee job satisfaction. Due to the main focus of the current research to examine the relationship of narcissistic leadership on job satisfaction, we will only discuss the main characteristics derived from the interviews regarding this leadership style in detail. In the second part of this section, a comparison will be made between the influence o f the characteristics of both NLS and NNSL on job satisfaction. Illustrative quotes and propositions will be provided for each of the identified characteristics.
33 them. When they first arrive on the job, employees experience a sense of satisfaction with the charismatic attitudes of their identified leader. The leaders are said to come across as friendly, caring and sympathetic persons that are willing to create a bond with the employees. Employees expect them to be able to have open and friendly relationships with them and create a personal bond. However, in the data derived from the interviews, there is a striking difference that arises. In the case of NLS, the interviewees tend to say ''comes across as..'', ''seems like..'' and ''strikes as..''. Whereas in the NNLS situations employees start seem to state the actual behaviour of the leader: ''leader is capable of good communication..'', '' leader shows concern for well-being of employees..'' and ''leader is a calm person..''. These differences in describing the leader are backed up by the fact that the employees in NNLS situations, state that their charismatic leaders are able to establish good and friendly relationships with all employees in the company. Whereas in the former situation these relationships are not mentioned. Illustrative quotes regarding this characteristics are shown below (see, table 6).
TABLE 6 Charac teristic Charismatic: Illustrati ve Quotes Charismatic Illustrative Quotes
Participant #1 ''My leader co mes across as someone that really knows what he is doing, and is a charis matic person in the beginning in the sense that he makes you feel good by showing he wants to create a bond with you.'' Pa rtic ipant #4 ''When I first ca me to the company to apply for a job, my leader ca me across
as someone that was friendly and open. A charis matic person who knew what he wanted and what kind of people he wants in his team.'' Pa rtic ipant #8 ''My leader is charis matic in the sense that he is a person that inspire others
and communicates well with clients and employees.'' Pa rtic ipant #9 This participant has established a good relationship with the leader and even
tends to forget their professional relationship at times.
34 5.2.2. Inspirational. The characteristic of being able to inspire is second most frequently named characteristic, both present in N LS and NNSL situations. Also nine out of ten employees that participated in the research characterized their leaders as inspiring and motivational, with a positive effect on their satisfaction in the job. In NLS situations the participants named concepts such as motivation and enthusiasm, describing that their leaders are inspirational in terms of how they try to motivate and drive others with their passion for the job and/or company. This has a significantly positive effect on the employees, as they are inspired to perform better and make them achieve better versions of themselves. Additionally, in NNSL situations named concepts such as a leader providing clear goals and visions that inspires both employees and others within or outside of the company. Furthermore, some leaders in this situation inspire employees to step out of their comfort zones, perform their best and inspire to become better professionals. Illustrative quotes collected from the interviews are presented in table 7.
TABLE 7 Charac teristic Ins pirational: Illustrati ve Quotes Inspirational Illustrative Quotes Participant #1 '' Leader inspires people with speeches, both to customers and to
colleagues.''
Pa rtic ipant #2 ''My leader did often drive me into directions that I would norma lly not have dared to take.''
Pa rtic ipant #6 ''...when I a m working I fee l mot ivated due to his passion and motivation for the work.''
Pa rtic ipant #8 ''My leader has characteristics that inspire me and that ma ke me want to be better professional.''
It can be concluded that the characteristic of inspiration is has a positive effect on job satisfaction. Both employees in NLS and NNSL situations experience higher job satisfaction when their leaders possess the inspirational leadership characteristic. This leads to the following proposition:
35 As the two characteristics discussed above were present in both leadership situations, we discussed these in a combined way. We will now continue to elaborate on the most important characteristics of the N LS situations that have been derived from the interview data.
5.1.3. Uses emotions in decision-making. One of the distinct characteristics that appeared in the data derived from the interviews done with employees in NLS situations, is where the leadership includes the use of emotions in decision- making. All four cases that were investigated in the NLS situation displayed this characteristic as important. Employees describe the leadership as rude and insensitive, where leaders act upon first instances and primary emotions that arise from certain situations. Additionally, they describe the leadership as selective, where the leader acts differently towards employees, based on the existence or absence of personal bonds between them. Illustrative quotes on this characteristic can be seen in table 8.
TABLE 8 Charac teristic Emotions in decision-making: Illustrati ve Quotes
Emotions Illustrative Quotes
Participant #1 ''When my leader does not oversee all the details any more, the tends to react irrationally'' The partic ipants states that in some of these cases employees were not so kindly told to stay until everything was s olved, even though it could take longer than their norma l office hours. Participant #3 ''When my leader doesn't have a clic k with someone, this person is going to
have a hard time''
It can be concluded that the use of emotions in decision- making negatively influences the job satisfaction of employees in NLS situations. The fact that some of these leaders tend to make selections in how they act towards employees will in most cases create a sense of inequality on the work floor. Additionally, the acting on first instance can create both hostile behavior and confusion among the employees, which is indicated by participants as ''stressing people out''. Therefore, we can state that:
Proposition 3: The more a leadership style uses emotions in decision-making, the less job satisfaction there will be among employees.
36 were not personally affected by the emotions of their leader: ''I just try to not take it personally when my leader has an outburst'', ''I personally am not affected by the sometimes direct communication of my leader'' and ''My leader influences me as a person significantly little''.
5.1.4. Demanding. An additional characteristic that came up as important in determining the job satisfaction of employees in NLS situations, is demand. Leaders that display a more narcissistic style of leadership tend to demand more from their employees than in non-narcissistic leadership styles. They have high expectations from their employees to perform to a certain standard, however often seem to fail to support them in the right way to actually accomplish this performance. Three out of the four cases of NLS described this to be of influence on their job satisfaction, focusing on the fact that the pressure that is put on employees stresses them out and makes them feel uncomfortable at times. Additionally, participants state that their leaders do not provide them with the necessary tools to cope with the intensified work pressures when they demand more from their employees. Illustrative quotes are provided in table 9.
TABLE 9 Charac teristic Demanding: Illustrati ve Quotes Demanding Illustrative Quotes
Participant #1 ''My leader tends to push people to their performance limit which sometimes stresses people out, and in other situations it pushes people to go a little further than usual and might make them fee l uncomfortable'' Participant #4 '' My leader does not provide employees with the necessary means to cope
with pressures or to do the work that he/she expects us to do'' We can conclude that the leadership characteristic demand negatively contributes to job satisfaction. Participants described this characteristic to be of negative influence on their feeling of security and they reported to have higher levels of stress. Therefore, we state that: Proposition 4: The more the demanding leadership characteristic is present in leadership style, the less job satisfaction there will be.
37 throughout the interview. They describe concepts such as no, low or significantly superficial interest in personal matters. Additionally, a number of participants stated that their identified leader portrays a leadership style in which he/she is selective towards granting responsibilities to employees or regarding the development of good and informal relationships with employees. Furthermore, one of the participants described a particular feature of the company culture in which he/she explains that the culture is split between management and employees. The level of personal involvement therefore is relatively low or even absent. This effect the job satisfaction of employees in the sense that they feel left out or not heard by their leader. Moreover, another participant pointed out that his/her leader displays different degrees of involvement in different departments of the company and consequently displays differences in involvement with the particular employees. This makes that this leader is not alwa ys prepared for meetings and reviews and does not come across as structured. Ultimately this causes the processes in the department to not go efficiently and employees to feel left out. Illustrative quotes can be found in table 10.
TABLE 10 Charac teristic Lack of/Selecti ve Personal Invol ve me nt: Illustrati ve Quotes Lack of/selective personal involvement Illustrative Quotes Participant #3 ''My leader needs reminder for certain things and the follow up when it
comes to things that were discussed could be mo re consistent'' Participant #4 '' My leader is not personally involved with the emp loyees and the
conversations we do have are mostly one-sided or very superficia l'', ''My leader is not that much involved in the diffe rent activities in our department, but rather focuses on the bigger and more fact-based achievements only'' Concluding, we can state that the lack of/selective personal involvement negatively influences job satisfaction of employees. Therefore, we propose: Proposition 5: The higher the lack of/selective personal involvement, the lower the job satisfaction of the employees.
38 were named as creating the feeling of a split culture. Moreover, the lack of coaching and lack of interest of personal and professional development was named multiple times by different employees throughout the interviews as having a negative influence on their job satisfaction. Illustrative quotes can be found in table 11.
TABLE 11 Charac teristic Non-supporti ve Environment: Illustr ati ve Quotes Non-supportive environment Illustrative Quotes Part icipant #2 ''I fee l as if my leader uses working pressure as a tool to ensure ruling, rather
than focus on support''
Part icipant #3 ''Also, my leader does not coach or support people. If people are looking for help, they can get the feeling of being lost and on their own'', ''My leader is not always able to use different styles or styles necessary in certain situations or for ce rtain individuals'' Participant #4 ''My leader is not open to conversation about my aspirations and visions
for personal development'' In conclusion, non-supportive environment as a characteristic of leadership style has a negative effect on the job satisfaction of employees. The facilitation of the leader regarding support in both professional and personal sense is an important factor for employees to feel comfortable in their work environment and consequently satisfied with their job. We therefore state:
Proposition 6: The less supportive an environment is, the less the degree of job satisfaction of employees will be.
5.2 Conceptual Model
39 FIGURE 1 Conceptual Model
5.3 NLS and NNLS situations: Comparing Characteristics For this current research we conducted interviews in narcissistic and non- narcissistic leadership style situations. As described earlier, the organizational and managerial literature regarding narcissistic leadership and the influence on employee job satisfaction is to our knowledge currently absent and therefore highly understudied. In this section we aim to compare the differences in the most important characteristics of both NLS and NNLS situations, based on the outcomes resulting from the multiple-case study. As already stated in the previous section and as can be seen from the final coding document in the findings section of this research, two leadership style characteristics seemed to be present in both NLS and NNSL situations: charismatic and inspirational. Both of these characteristics have a positive influence on employee job satisfaction. Although, as discussed before, we do conclude that there is a significant difference in the perception of charisma between the NLS and NNLS situation, regarding the duration of the positive relationship of leadership characteristic with job satisfaction.
40 emotions in decision- making and lack of/selective personal involvement. These can therefore be seen as distinctive for the NLS situation according to the data collected in the current research. In turn, ambition is exclusively named as an important leadership characteristic in NNSL situations. Contrastingly, some of the other leadership style characteristics identified as being of influence on employee job satisfaction do suggest that there are similarities between NLS and NNLS situations. Support and authority, as well as demanding and non-supportive environment were mentioned by different participants in both leadership style situations.
TABLE 12 Comparing NLS and NNLS Most Important Factors
NLS NNLS
Charismatic Charismatic
Inspirational Inspirational
Use of emotions in decision- making Authority
Demanding Support
Lack of/selective personal involvement Ambition Non-supportive environment
41 6. DISCUSSION This final chapter discusses the results of the case study and the meaning of the proposed conceptual model.
The conceptual model proposed in the previous section states the leadership characteristics in narcissistic leadership style that are expected to have an influence on job satisfaction of employees. From the findings we can see that the charismatic and inspirational leadership characteristic are proposed to positively influence job satisfaction of employees in narcissistic leadership situations. This proposition about charisma is in line with the research done by Shamir, House and Arthur (1992), where they propose charisma to include concepts such as leaders communicating to their followers that they have a high degree of confidence in the ability of these follower to meet goals and expectations. Additionally, the charismatic leadership style characteristic includes behaviours that focus on stimulating the abilities of followers, either directly or indirectly. Consequently, employees will be more motivated to perform which in turn can contribute significantly to job satisfaction. The same argument goes for the inspirational characteristic. By motivating employees and by d isplaying clear goals and visions, leaders can have a significant positive influence on the job satisfaction of their employees.
42 7. CONCLUSION In this last section of the research, the conclusion of the research will be formulated, limitations regarding the results and assumptions are provided, as well as interesting suggestions for future research are discussed.
43 7.2 Managerial and practical implications. The managerial implications of this research are mainly focused on the value it will add to the field of human resources management. The hiring process of companies has a tendency to focus on practical and capability oriented assessments. In case of CEOs, managers and other leaders personal assessment tests are included additionally. However, as can be seen from the derived findings in this research, both narcissistic and non-narcissistic leadership styles include the characteristics of charisma and inspiration. Thus, assessing people based on these criteria could have distinctively different outcomes. Additionally, as proposed in the literature review, Anderson et al. (2016) developed a theory that suggests that what worked in the past in terms of leadership theory, might not work in the current context of Generation Me. This group is soon to be the highest representative in the work force globally. Anderson et al. (2016) suggest changes such as a rise in individualism and a need for more support from managers. Furthermore, they suggest that the Millennials have a higher tendency to quite their job if their personal needs are not met. Thus, this stresses the need for more thorough understanding regarding preferable leadership styles and their effect on employee satisfaction. 7.3 Limitations and Future Research
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