Shady Strategic Behavior: Recognizing Strategic Followership of Dark Triad Followers

Schyns, B.; Wisse, B.M.; Sanders, S.

Abstract

The importance of strategic behavior in organizations has long been recognized. However, so far the literature has primarily focused on leaders’ strategic behavior, largely ignoring followers’ strategic behavior. In the present paper, we take a follower trait perspective to strategic follower behavior, specifically focusing on how followers’ Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) influence their strategic behavior. We argue that Dark Triad related strategic follower behavior is likely to have negative effects for fellow organizational members and the organization as a whole. We also present ‘red flag’ behaviors that may signal followers' tendencies to engage in shady strategic behaviors. Then, we put forward factors that may mitigate or increase the occurrence of shady strategic behaviors of followers scoring high on Dark Triad traits, focusing especially on leader attributes and specifics of the organizational context. Finally, we discuss if and how followers’ Dark Triad traits could benefit the organization, and highlight emerging issues in research on strategic follower behavior.

Citation

Schyns, B., Wisse, B., & Sanders, S. (2019). Shady Strategic Behavior: Recognizing Strategic Followership of Dark Triad Followers. Academy of Management Perspectives, 33(2), 234-249. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2017.0005

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 2, 2017
• Online Publication Date: May 31, 2018
• Publication Date: May 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jul 10, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: May 31, 2019
• Journal: Academy of Management Perspectives
• Print ISSN: 1558-9080
• Electronic ISSN: 1943-4529
• Publisher: Academy of Management
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 234-249
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2017.0005
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1321872