How CEO narcissism, organizational identification, and performance feedback shape middle managers’ strategic behavior

IF 9.8 1区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Journal of Business Research Pub Date : 2025-08-27 DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115664

Xiaoxuan Li , Miles M. Yang , Yue Wang , Yanzhao Tang

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Abstract

Grounded in strategic leadership and organizational identification theories, this study investigates the mechanisms through which CEO narcissism influences middle managers’ divergent strategic behavior. We propose a moderated mediation model in which CEO narcissism negatively affects middle managers’ divergent strategic behavior by diminishing their organizational identification. Furthermore, we examine how performance feedback moderates this mediated relationship. We conducted two experimental studies involving 70 practitioners (Study 1) and 156 middle managers (Study 2) to empirically support the proposed model. The findings reveal that CEO narcissism undermines middle managers’ organizational identification, reducing their capacity for divergent strategic behavior. However, the negative relationship between CEO narcissism and organizational identification is weak when an organization’s performance feedback is positive and strong when it is negative. This study contributes to the literature on CEO personality and middle managers’ strategic behavior by highlighting the complex interplay of leadership traits, organizational dynamics, and feedback mechanisms.

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CEO自恋、组织认同和绩效反馈如何塑造中层管理者的战略行为

本研究以战略领导理论和组织认同理论为基础，探讨了CEO自恋对中层管理者发散性战略行为的影响机制。本文提出了一个有调节的中介模型，在该模型中，CEO自恋通过降低中层管理者的组织认同而对其发散性战略行为产生负向影响。此外，我们研究绩效反馈如何调节这种中介关系。我们对70名从业人员（研究1）和156名中层管理人员（研究2）进行了两项实验研究，以实证支持所提出的模型。研究发现，CEO自恋破坏了中层管理者的组织认同，降低了他们发散战略行为的能力。然而，CEO自恋与组织认同的负向关系在组织绩效反馈为正时较弱，在组织绩效反馈为负时较强。本研究通过强调领导特质、组织动力学和反馈机制之间复杂的相互作用，为CEO人格与中层管理者战略行为的研究贡献了文献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Business Research BUSINESS-

CiteScore

20.30

自引率

10.60%

发文量

956

期刊介绍： The Journal of Business Research aims to publish research that is rigorous, relevant, and potentially impactful. It examines a wide variety of business decision contexts, processes, and activities, developing insights that are meaningful for theory, practice, and/or society at large. The research is intended to generate meaningful debates in academia and practice, that are thought provoking and have the potential to make a difference to conceptual thinking and/or practice. The Journal is published for a broad range of stakeholders, including scholars, researchers, executives, and policy makers. It aids the application of its research to practical situations and theoretical findings to the reality of the business world as well as to society. The Journal is abstracted and indexed in several databases, including Social Sciences Citation Index, ANBAR, Current Contents, Management Contents, Management Literature in Brief, PsycINFO, Information Service, RePEc, Academic Journal Guide, ABI/Inform, INSPEC, etc.