Identifying the Effects of Narcissistic Leadership On
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Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 8-2014 Identifying the Effects of Narcissistic Leadership on Employee Job Satisfaction: A Study within the Accounting Profession Susan Shurden Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Part of the Accounting Commons, and the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Shurden, Susan, "Identifying the Effects of Narcissistic Leadership on Employee Job Satisfaction: A Study within the Accounting Profession" (2014). All Dissertations. 1329. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1329 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Identifying the Effects of Narcissistic Leadership on Employee Job Satisfaction: A Study within the Accounting Profession ________________________________________________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University ________________________________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Educational Leadership ________________________________________________________________________ by Susan Braswell Shurden August 2014 ________________________________________________________________________ Accepted by: Dr. Russell Marion, Committee Chair Dr. Leslie Gonzales Dr. Daryl Guffey Dr. William Hanson ABSTRACT Narcissism is a personality disorder now identified in professionals in both education and business. The disorder is diagnosed when an individual possesses five of nine characteristics listed in their American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition, text revision version). Narcissism is prevalent in most successful leaders and is both destructive and constructive. The focus of this dissertation is on the destructive characteristics and how narcissistic leadership affects job satisfaction among employees within the accounting profession. The theories associated with this dissertation were leader-member exchange and locus of control. Leader-member exchange relates to the dyadic relationship between a leader (employer) and subordinate (employee) and can be either high or low quality. Locus of control refers to the amount of control an individual believes they have over their circumstances or environment. The primary research question guiding this study was: Do leader-member exchange (LMX), locus of control (LOC), and narcissistic leadership affect employee job satisfaction in the accounting profession? An additional five secondary questions were analyzed. This research used a quantitative design with a random sample of 152 accountants, nationwide. The data was analyzed using SmartPLS data software, and the method of analysis was a causal modeling technique called Partial Least Squares, Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). ii Findings from the study were that locus of control had neither an indirect or direct effect on employee job satisfaction. Additionally, narcissistic leadership did not have a direct effect on employee job satisfaction. However, narcissism had a negative, indirect effect through the mediating variable leader-member exchange which had a positive, direct effect on job satisfaction. Suggestions for controlling narcissism and recommendations for future research concluded the dissertation. Maintaining a professional attitude is of paramount importance when dealing with narcissistic individuals. Likewise, future research may involve extending the data to a gender or age study or identifying the effects of narcissism on employee turnover or client retention. A mixed method study might be considered to eliminate potential same source bias which was a limitation in this study. iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my dear mom, Modelle Braswell, who passed away on Wednesday, August 12, 2009. Her passing was unexpected and occurred two years after I had begun the program. Although tremendously sad at the time, I did not feel a desire to give up but rather felt a renewed desire to complete this PhD program, as I can still remember her words of encouragement throughout the previous two years. She was a role model to me with her perseverance and strength throughout insurmountable difficulties in her life. I wish she could have been here on August 8, 2014, as I graduated. I believe she would have been most pleased. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with winds as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) I knew from the beginning that God, through various circumstances and people, orchestrated this entire process of getting my PhD. Therefore, I initially give full acknowledgment and credit to Him and my belief in His Son, Jesus Christ, as the catalyst which allowed me to complete the program. Secondly, I acknowledge the tremendous contribution and sacrifice of my husband, Dr. Mike Shurden, and children, Jonathan and his wife Jess, as well as my daughters, Mandy, Amy, and Kelly. Mike was a constant encouragement and believed in me from the beginning. He was my statistician, without whom I would not have gotten through my Chapter 4 in a timely manner. My children have been my reason for persevering for it is because of my desire to leave them a legacy through education that I have continued when at times, I may have chosen an easier route. Additionally, I acknowledge my appreciation for my chair, Dr. Russ Marion, Professor of Educational Leadership at Clemson. His expertise was evident, and his calmness in the midst of the chaos that I often felt was soothing. In retrospect, I can see how Dr. Marion guided me throughout the entire process, fitting together the pieces when I could not see the entire picture. He is a brilliant individual to whom I am most indebted. My committee was fabulous! Dr. Leslie Gonzales was always so gracious, kind, and encouraging, providing me with an initial article which was the cornerstone of a major portion of my comprehensive exam and dissertation. Dr. Bill Hanson could see v more in depth than I and provided me with suggestions and insight that I did not have. Dr. James Guffey is a former accounting professor of mine who was instrumental in providing one of the articles which had a job satisfaction questionnaire that I needed in completing my survey tool. I could not have asked for a better committee, and I do indeed thank all of them! I would be remiss to neglect to thank two professors who are no longer at Clemson. Dr. Frankie Keels Williams, former Program Coordinator of the Educational Leadership program, was instrumental in getting me accepted into the program. I also acknowledge Dr. Larry Grimes, Professor of Statistics at Clemson, who served on my committee prior to his retirement and was an outstanding professor who taught me statistics in such an understandable way, that even I could grasp the concepts. Thank you to my colleagues and friends whom I have met during the program. Tim Dupont and I have taken numerous classes together. Tim provided support during both my proposal defense and dissertation defense. I hope to be able to do the same for him when the time comes. Dr. Lorraine Angelino completed the program shortly after I entered; however, she has given me numerous suggestions and was always available to provide answers to my questions. Lorraine was also there when I defended my dissertation, and I was most happy she was willing to join me on that special day. Additionally, Dr. Penny Vasser, Dr. Tony Franklin, Dr. Anthony Olalere, and Tiger are students whom I consider friends, and who have gone before me down the graduation aisle. I will never forget the classes we had together and the encouragement I received from them. vi And a special thank you and acknowledgement to my editor, Dr. Beverly Little. With her help I had minimal changes to be made at the end. I still remember a gift I gave her many years ago when she began the PhD program at another university…a needlework…that said “I know I’m gonna make it cause God don’t sponsor no flops”…how appropriate! vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1. NATURE OF THE PROBLEM........................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................... 1 Purpose ........................................................................................................... 3 Research Questions