The impact of narcissistic leadership on organizational support: A study based on a sample of strategic emerging industries

Abstract

With the development of new science and technology, more and more strategic emerging industries have grown up close to the development of science and technology. Companies in these industries no longer emphasize the unilateral loyalty and commitment of employees to the organization but focus on building mutual loyalty and trust between the organizations and employees. Based on the leadership‐member exchange theory and organizational support theory, the study establishes a model of the influence mechanism of narcissistic leadership on organizational support and puts forward hypotheses. Using the questionnaire survey method, from the eight major fields involved in high and new technologies: electronic information, biology and new medicine, aerospace, new materials, high‐tech services, new energy and energy saving, resources and environment, advanced manufacturing and automation, and conducts empirical research on the 228 valid questionnaires recovered in a group manner. The relationship between narcissistic leadership and organizational support is explored at different power distance levels. Empirical results show that at low power distances, narcissistic leadership is negatively correlated with leadership identification. At high power shifts, narcissistic leadership is positively correlated with leadership identification. Regardless of the level of power distance, leadership identification will positively affect organizational support, and leadership identification mediates the relationship between narcissistic leadership and organizational support. This study has contributed to the study of narcissistic leadership and organizational support and has given relevant recommendations in combination with management practices. This study can help to understand the internal operation mode of the organization and provide theoretical support for system science. Besides, it guides the development of intelligent systems to evaluate the impact of leaders' behaviours accurately.