How CEO narcissism, organizational identification, and performance feedback shape middle managers’ strategic behavior
研究CEO自恋如何通过削弱中层管理者的组织认同来抑制其发散性战略行为，并发现组织绩效反馈会调节这一关系：正面反馈减弱负面影响，负面反馈则加剧。
Grounded in strategic leadership and organizational identification theories, this study investigates the mechanisms through which CEO narcissism influences middle managers’ divergent strategic behavior. We propose a moderated mediation model in which CEO narcissism negatively affects middle managers’ divergent strategic behavior by diminishing their organizational identification. Furthermore, we examine how performance feedback moderates this mediated relationship. We conducted two experimental studies involving 70 practitioners (Study 1) and 156 middle managers (Study 2) to empirically support the proposed model. The findings reveal that CEO narcissism undermines middle managers’ organizational identification, reducing their capacity for divergent strategic behavior. However, the negative relationship between CEO narcissism and organizational identification is weak when an organization’s performance feedback is positive and strong when it is negative. This study contributes to the literature on CEO personality and middle managers’ strategic behavior by highlighting the complex interplay of leadership traits, organizational dynamics, and feedback mechanisms.