Shady Strategic Behavior: Recognizing Strategic Followership of Dark Triad Followers

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

doi:10.5465/amp.2017.0005

Shady Strategic Behavior: Recognizing Strategic Followership of Dark Triad Followers

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

Authors

Professor Birgit Schyns birgit.schyns@durham.ac.uk
Professor

B.M. Wisse

S. Sanders

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