This dissertation focuses on a possible dark side of charismatic leadership and its behavioral consequences from a social exchange perspective. By revealing the positive correlations between charismatic leadership and the Dark Triad personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, this study provides empirical evidence for the possibility of charismatic leaders with negative personality traits generating harm. Based on a sample of 99 leader-follower dyads recruited from a Chinese work organization, the findings suggest that more charismatic leaders are more likely to behave in autocratic ways and the followers of such leaders will more likely enact pro-leader unethical behaviors. These findings provide new insights for the charismatic leadership literature and contribute to a more complete understanding of charismatic leadership theory. By highlighting the possible negative consequences of an often favorably viewed leadership style, the findings of this dissertation also provide practical implications for leaders, employees, and work organizations.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation focuses on a possible dark side of charismatic leadership and its behavioral consequences from a social exchange perspective. By revealing the positive correlations between charismatic leadership and the Dark Triad personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, this study provides empirical evidence for the possibility of charismatic leaders with negative personality traits generating harm. Based on a sample of 99 leader-follower dyads recruited from a Chinese work organization, the findings suggest that more charismatic leaders are more likely to behave in autocratic ways and the followers of such leaders will more likely enact pro-leader unethical behaviors. These findings provide new insights for the charismatic leadership literature and contribute to a more complete understanding of charismatic leadership theory. By highlighting the possible negative consequences of an often favorably viewed leadership style, the findings of this dissertation also provide practical implications for leaders, employees, and work organizations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ma, Bin"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Business","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Donald Vredenburgh"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Stephan Dilchert","C. Justice Tillman","Yu Yue"],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:05Z","subjects":["Organizational Behavior and Theory","Charismatic Leadership","Dark Triad","Social Exchange Theory"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2777","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Donald Vredenburgh"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Stephan Dilchert","C. Justice Tillman","Yu Yue"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ma, Bin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-09-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Business"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Organizational Behavior and Theory","Charismatic Leadership","Dark Triad","Social Exchange Theory"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2777"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation focuses on a possible dark side of charismatic leadership and its behavioral consequences from a social exchange perspective. By revealing the positive correlations between charismatic leadership and the Dark Triad personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, this study provides empirical evidence for the possibility of charismatic leaders with negative personality traits generating harm. Based on a sample of 99 leader-follower dyads recruited from a Chinese work organization, the findings suggest that more charismatic leaders are more likely to behave in autocratic ways and the followers of such leaders will more likely enact pro-leader unethical behaviors. These findings provide new insights for the charismatic leadership literature and contribute to a more complete understanding of charismatic leadership theory. By highlighting the possible negative consequences of an often favorably viewed leadership style, the findings of this dissertation also provide practical implications for leaders, employees, and work organizations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Dark Side of Charismatic Leadership: A Social Exchange Perspective"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Donald Vredenburgh"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Stephan Dilchert","C. Justice Tillman","Yu Yue"],"dc:creator":["Ma, Bin"],"dc:date.available":["2020-09-30T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation focuses on a possible dark side of charismatic leadership and its behavioral consequences from a social exchange perspective. By revealing the positive correlations between charismatic leadership and the Dark Triad personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, this study provides empirical evidence for the possibility of charismatic leaders with negative personality traits generating harm. Based on a sample of 99 leader-follower dyads recruited from a Chinese work organization, the findings suggest that more charismatic leaders are more likely to behave in autocratic ways and the followers of such leaders will more likely enact pro-leader unethical behaviors. These findings provide new insights for the charismatic leadership literature and contribute to a more complete understanding of charismatic leadership theory. By highlighting the possible negative consequences of an often favorably viewed leadership style, the findings of this dissertation also provide practical implications for leaders, employees, and work organizations.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2777"],"dc:subject":["Organizational Behavior and Theory","Charismatic Leadership","Dark Triad","Social Exchange Theory"],"dc:title":["The Dark Side of Charismatic Leadership: A Social Exchange Perspective"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Business"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:05Z"}