How does narcissistic leadership influence change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior? Empirical evidence from China

The study investigates the complex link between narcissistic leadership and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior, focusing specifically on change-oriented OCB (COCB), a higher-risk, status-quo-challenging form of citizenship behavior. Prior research shows mixed effects of narcissistic leadership on OCB, with evidence of both suppression and facilitation via autonomy and admiration. To clarify how and when narcissistic leadership affects COCB, the authors build a moderated mediation model grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and the Work-Home Resources (W-HR) model. They argue narcissistic leaders may differentially relate to team members to conserve and gain resources, creating a team “chaxu climate” (insider–outsider circles) that discourages COCB among both insiders and outsiders due to relational risk and resource considerations. They also propose leaders’ family affective support moderates the extent to which narcissistic leadership fosters a chaxu climate. The study aims to reconcile contradictory findings in the literature and to extend boundary conditions by incorporating family-derived resources.

The paper reviews foundational and contemporary work on narcissism and leadership, outlining narcissism’s traits (grandiosity, entitlement, low empathy, self-enhancement) and its dual leadership outcomes (charisma and vision vs. exploitation and poor relationships). It traces OCB’s evolution from affiliative/helping to challenge-oriented forms (COCB), which seek change and carry relational risks. The chaxu concept, rooted in Chinese social structure, describes concentric relationship circles and leader-driven insider–outsider differentiation affecting resource distribution in teams. Prior studies indicate narcissistic leaders often fail to form broad high-quality relationships but may selectively establish close ties with admirers, consistent with COR theory’s resource acquisition and conservation logic. Team chaxu climate leads to unequal resource access and can reduce motivation and psychological safety necessary for COCB. The W-HR model suggests resources in one domain (family) spill over to influence behavior in another (work). Thus, leaders’ family affective support may buffer or exacerbate narcissists’ tendency to create insider cliques. Hypotheses: H1, narcissistic leadership negatively relates to COCB; H2, team chaxu climate mediates this relationship; H3, family affective support moderates the narcissistic leadership–chaxu climate link (stronger when family support is low); H4, moderated mediation—family support weakens the indirect effect on COCB via chaxu climate.

Design and sample: Three-wave, time-lagged survey in enterprises in central China, administered via SoJump through 84 in-service MBA student liaisons (eligible teams: formal, collaborative, and requiring innovation). Time 1: leader reports (narcissistic leadership and family affective support) from 74 leaders; Time 2 (two weeks later): team members’ reports of team chaxu climate (408 valid responses from 68 teams); Time 3 (two weeks later): team members’ COCB (363 valid responses from 61 teams). Leader demographics: 70.5% men; ages mainly 26–35 and 36–45; most in position 6–10 years; 98.4% bachelor’s or higher. Employee demographics: 51.8% men; ages mainly 26–35 and 36–45; average tenure 3–5 years; 78.5% bachelor’s or higher. Nonresponse checks (t-tests, chi-square) indicated no significant differences between respondents participating at T2 only versus T2 and T3. Measures: All Likert 1–5. Narcissistic leadership: Dirty Dozen narcissism subscale (Jonason & Webster, 2010), 4 items, Cronbach’s α=0.866. Team chaxu climate: Liu (2003) 10-item team-rated scale, α=0.838; aggregation supported (ICC1=0.415>0.12; ICC2=0.808>0.70; mean Rwg=0.966>0.70). COCB: Choi (2007) 4 items, α=0.797. Family affective support: Li & Zhao (2009) 6 items, α=0.919. Controls: leader gender, age, education, organizational tenure; team size and tenure means also reported in descriptive table. Analytic strategy: Common method bias checks via Harman’s one-factor test (first factor=24.133% <40%) and Unmeasured Latent Method Construct (no substantial fit improvement). Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (Mplus 7.4) supported discriminant validity; four-factor model fit: χ²=330.015, df=248, χ²/df=1.331, CFI=0.929, TLI=0.920, RMSEA=0.030, SRMRwithin=0.015, SRMRbetween=0.084. Hypotheses tested with multilevel structural equation modeling. Mediation and moderated mediation evaluated via Monte Carlo simulation (R, 100,000 replications).

- Narcissistic leadership increased team chaxu climate (β=0.317, p<0.001). - Team chaxu climate reduced employees’ COCB (β=-0.328, p<0.001). - Interaction (narcissistic leadership × family affective support) on team chaxu climate was significant (β=-0.645, p<0.001): stronger narcissism–chaxu linkage when family support is low; weaker when high. - Mediation: Indirect effect of narcissistic leadership on COCB via team chaxu climate was significant (effect=-0.104, 95% CI [-0.153, -0.061]). - Conditional indirect effects: High family affective support (Mean +1 SD): indirect effect not significant (0.019, 95% CI [-0.656, 0.001]); Low support (Mean −1 SD): indirect effect significant (-0.228, 95% CI [-0.145, -0.063]). Difference (High − Low)=0.247, 95% CI [0.057, 0.084]. - Total effect of narcissistic leadership on COCB: -0.306, 95% CI [-0.375, -0.239]. - Support for H1–H4.

Findings indicate narcissistic leaders foster a team chaxu climate through selective relationship investment consistent with COR theory, and this climate suppresses employees’ willingness to engage in higher-risk, change-oriented OCB. This mechanism clarifies why narcissistic leadership can reduce challenging forms of OCB despite occasional positive reports in other contexts. Family affective support attenuates the tendency of narcissistic leaders to create insider circles; when family-derived affective resources are sufficient, narcissistic leaders prioritize maintaining superiority without cultivating cronies, reducing chaxu climate and its negative downstream impact. The study extends understanding of narcissistic leadership by explaining deviant relational strategies as resource-driven, elucidates the role of chaxu climate in discouraging COCB, and validates the W-HR model by showing cross-domain resource effects on workplace behavior.

This study demonstrates that narcissistic leadership diminishes employees’ change-oriented OCB via the creation of a team chaxu climate, and that leaders’ family affective support weakens this indirect pathway. Contributions include: explaining narcissistic leaders’ selective relationship-building as a resource acquisition strategy (COR), identifying team chaxu climate as a key mediator for challenging OCBs, and establishing family affective support as a boundary condition (W-HR). Practically, organizations should screen for excessive narcissism in leadership selection, reduce chaxu climates through fair resource allocation and team-based systems, and monitor/support leaders’ relational resource needs. Future research should test causal designs, examine other OCB forms and outcomes (e.g., team performance, trust), explore extra-organizational boundary conditions, and conduct cross-cultural replications.

- Causality cannot be definitively inferred due to a time-lagged (not strictly longitudinal/experimental) design; reverse or reciprocal effects are possible. - Focus limited to COCB; other, lower-risk OCBs were not examined and may relate differently to narcissistic leadership. - Boundary conditions emphasized family affective support; other extra-organizational factors remain underexplored. - Outcomes beyond COCB (e.g., team trust, performance) were not assessed. - Sample drawn mainly from Chinese organizations; cultural context may limit generalizability; narcissism levels may differ across countries.