Does the Narcissist (and Those Around Him/Her) Pay a Price for Being Narcissistic? An Empirical Study of Leaders’ Narcissism and Well-Being

Using a social exchange perspective of narcissism as the foundation for study hypotheses, this study explored the relationship between leaders’ narcissism (as rated by subordinates) and the well-being of both leaders and subordinates at the individual and group levels. Results from a sample of 1017 subordinates working under 424 leaders generally support the hypothesized models finding leaders’ narcissism negatively relates to leader-member exchange (LMX), and that LMX subsequently relates to subordinates’ job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. At the group level, leaders’ narcissism also negatively relates to three forms of leaders’ personal well-being (identification, job satisfaction, and perceived self-worth) but these relationships go through average LMX. Elaboration on theoretical and empirical implications for business ethics is offered to provide a clearer direction for future research in this area.