An uncertainty management perspective on the antecedents of leader self-serving behavior

Babalola M.T. Qu Y. Ali M. Pathki C.S.R. Usman M. Muchiri M.
October 2023 John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Journal of Organizational Behavior
2023 #44 Issue 8 1164 - 1182 pp.

Leader self-serving behavior has been associated with a range of adverse outcomes in the workplace. However, much remains to be explored about why and when such leader behavior emerges in organizations. This research develops and tests a theoretical framework that delineates the emotional and cognitive states that give rise to leader self-serving behavior. Specifically, we draw on uncertainty management theory to theorize that job insecurity heightens leaders anxiety and self-serving cognitions that subsequently trigger leader self-serving behavior. We further argue that the overall justice of an organization effectively mitigates the indirect relationship between a leaders sense of job insecurity and leader self-serving behavior via leader anxiety and self-serving cognitions. Results from a three-wave field study involving 481 leader–follower dyads provide support for our hypothesized model. We discuss the implications of our findings for leadership theory and practice.

anxiety , leader job insecurity , leader self-serving behavior , overall justice , self-serving cognitions

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College of Business and Law, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Rohrer College of Business, Rowan University, NJ, United States
Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore, Pakistan
Graduate School of Business, Nazarbayev University, Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan
Rawls College of Business, Texas Tech University, TX, United States
Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom

College of Business and Law
Rohrer College of Business
Department of Management Sciences
Graduate School of Business
Rawls College of Business
Hertfordshire Business School

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