Heros or Villains? Advancing the Understanding of Dark Personality Traits in Organizations

Closes:
Journal
Journal of Managerial Psychology
Guest editor(s)
Sandra J. Diller, Susanne Braun, Dritjon Gruda, Daniel Jones,

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Introduction

Research in work and organizational psychology shifted toward the ‘dark side’ of workplace experiences, moving away from idealizing workplace relationships. This shift involves the investigation of dark personality traits, their potential consequences, and interventions. Dark personality traits, such as the Dark Triad –a set of three dark personality traits, consisting of subclinical narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy– have detrimental effects on interpersonal work relationships and well-being, and they can fuel counterproductive work behavior (e.g., Uysal et al., 2023). Similarly, the Dark Tetrad with the addition of sadism has led to undesirable outcomes for organizations such as workplace deviance (Del Río et al., 2022). Particularly in positions of power, people with dark personalities exploit and emotionally exhaust others, resulting in increased tension, irritation, and decreased satisfaction and engagement at work (e.g., Schyns et al., 2023). Therefore, it is crucial to further investigate individuals’ dark personalities in organizations. 
Although research on the dark personality in the organizational context has gained increasing attention in recent years, there is still much to explore and clarify. On the one hand, research is needed to better understand the fluctuation of the impact of dark personality tendencies. For instance, daily work role stressors enhanced momentary expressions of the Dark Triad traits (Nübold et al., 2022). Furthermore, a leadership position might also shape one’s Dark Triad personality (Diller et al., 2022). Additionally, interventions targeting agreeableness or number of uplifts compared to hassles improved peoples’ Dark Triad tendencies or their counterproductive behavior (Hudson, 2022; Junca-Silva & Silva, 2022). On the other hand, research is needed to better grasp the dynamics between individuals with high levels of dark personality traits and their environment in order to, for example, better grasp their leader emergence or how they get their way (Diller et al., 2022; Jonason et al., 2012). More attention must be given to such dynamics beyond work (e.g., crossover and spillover), related individual difference constructs (e.g., attachment styles), and managerial cognitions (e.g., leader-follower identities, leader impostorism). 
It is essential to examine the role of external factors (e.g., electronic monitoring, distance, exogenous shocks, ecological factors) that can aggravate the risks of dark personality traits. For example, country-level differences between dark personality traits and their impact on organizations could be a fruitful avenue to explore (Jonason et al., 2020; Rogoza et al., 2020). Recent research has also highlighted potential benefits of certain dark triad traits, namely narcissism, for the individual (Gruda et al., 2021, 2023) and even on the population and societal level (Gruda et al., 2024). Therefore, it is crucial to further investigate dark personality traits in organizations in order to better understand the specific circumstances in which these traits present a liability vs. a benefit to the individual, team and/or the organization. 
Finally, new methodologies which go beyond self-report assessment of dark triad traits are needed to gain a more accurate understanding of the dark traits and their influence on individual, dyadic and organizational outcomes.

List of Topic Areas

  1. Effects of dark personality traits (e.g., narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) on interpersonal dynamics in organizations 
  2. Interpersonal dynamics at work and beyond (e.g., crossover, spillover in dual career couples) 
  3. Interventions at the intersection of dark traits, inclusion, well-being in organizations 
  4. External factors at individual, team, organizational and cultural levels that can affect the dark personality traits and their impact in organizations 
  5. New methodologies in dark personality research and their conceptual and practical implications including recent advances in qualitative and quantitative methodologies (e.g., generative AI, quasi natural experiments, simulation studies, temporal dynamics - episodes, events, daily interactions, lifespan perspectives)

Submissions Information

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Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Closing date for manuscripts submission: 16/02/2025

Guest Editors

Assist.-Prof. Dr. Sandra J. Diller, Seeburg Castle University, Austria, [email protected]
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Susanne Braun, Durham University, UK, [email protected] 
Assoc.-Prof. Dr. Dritjon Gruda, Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, Portugal, [email protected]
Assoc.-Prof. Dr. Daniel Jones, University of Nevada, USA, [email protected]

References

Del Río, E. F., Castro, Á., & Ramos-Villagrasa, P. J. (2022). Dark Tetrad and workplace deviance: Investigating the moderating role of organizational justice perceptions. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.968283
Diller, S. J., Czibor, A., Restas, P, Zolte, P., Jonas, E., & Frey, D. (2022). The positive connection between Dark Triad traits and leadership levels in self- and other-ratings. Leadership, Education, Personality: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 3, 117–131. https://doi.org/10.1365/s42681-021-00025-6 
Gruda, D., McCleskey, J., Karanatsiou, D., & Vakali, A. (2021). I'm simply the best, better than all the rest: Narcissistic leaders and corporate fundraising success. Personality and Individual Differences, 168, 110317.
Gruda, D., Karanatsiou, D., Hanges, P., Golbeck, J., & Vakali, A. (2023). Don’t go chasing narcissists: A relational-based and multiverse perspective on leader narcissism and follower engagement using a machine learning approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 49(7), 1130-1147.
Gruda, D., Hanges, P., & McCleskey, J. (2024). Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the healthiest of them all–The surprising role of narcissism in state-level health outcomes. Journal of Research in Personality, 109, 104465.
Hudson, N. W. (2022). Lighten the darkness: Personality interventions targeting agreeableness also reduce participants’ levels of the Dark Triad. Journal of Personality, 91(4), 901–916. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12714 
Jonason, P. K., Slomski, S., & Partyka, J. (2012). The Dark Triad at work: How toxic employees get their way. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(3), 449–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.11.008
Jonason, P. K., Żemojtel-Piotrowska, M., Piotrowski, J., Sedikides, C., Campbell, W. K., Gebauer, J. E., Maltby, J., Adamovic, M., Adams, B. G., Kadiyono, A. L., Atitsogbe, K. A., Bundhoo, H. Y., Baltatescu, S., Bilic, S., Brulin, J. G., Chobthamkit, P., Del Carmen Dominguez, A., Dragova-Koleva, S., El-Astal, S., . . .  & Yahiiaev, I. (2020). Country-level correlates of the Dark Triad traits in 49 countries. Journal of Personality, 88(6), 1252–1267. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12569
Junça-Silva, A., & Silva, D. V. (2022). The buffering effect of micro-daily events on the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and counterproductive work behavior. Management research review, 46(5), 667–681. https://doi.org/10.1108/mrr-12-2021-0864
Nübold, A., Van Gils, S., & Zacher, H. (2022). Daily work role stressors and Dark Triad states. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 230(4), 311–320. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000505 
Rogoza, R., Żemojtel-Piotrowska, M., Jonason, P. K., Piotrowski, J., Campbell, K. W., Gebauer, J. E., Maltby, J., Sedikides, C., Adamovic, M., Adams, B. G., Ang, R. P., Ardi, R., Atitsogbe, K. A., Baltatescu, S., Bilic, S., Bodroža, B., Brulin, J. G., Poonoosamy, H. Y. B., Chaleeraktrakoon, T., . . . Wlodarczyk, A. (2020). Structure of Dark Triad dirty dozen across eight world regions. Assessment, 28(4), 1125–1135. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191120922611
Uysal, H. T., Ak, M., & Koşar, A. (2023). Counterproductive work behaviors in organizations: A research on the effect of the dark triad. Agathos: An International Review of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 14(1), 247–259. https://www.agathos-international-review.com/issue14_1/21.Uysal%20et%20…
Schyns, B., Gauglitz, I. K., Gilmore, S., & Nieberle, K. (2023). Vulnerable narcissistic leadership meets Covid-19: the relationship between vulnerable narcissistic leader behaviour and subsequent follower irritation. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 32(6), 816-826.