The Effect of Dark Leadership on Organizational Commitment: A Research in The Banking Sector

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of dark leadership on organizational commitment. As opposed to the positive leadership styles’ benefits, it is expected to see a negative impact of the negative leadership styles on organizational commitment. Dark leadership is a term to describe the leadership in a context where the leaders’ negative personality traits negatively affect the organizational decision-making and the public impression of the organization. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, there are 559 employees who work either in a bank branch or a general directorate of banking in Istanbul. To examine the impacts of the dark leadership on the bankers’ organizational commitment, “simple linear regression analysis” and “multiple linear regression analysis” are used. Findings – Study findings reveal a significant negative impact of the dark leadership on the bankers’ organizational commitment. Moreover, it is found that dark leadership has meaningful negative impacts on the bankers’ affective commitment and continuance commitment. Furthermore, findings show a positive impact of the dark leadership on the bankers’ normative commitment. There is limited empirical research related to the impacts of dark leadership on organizational commitment; therefore, this study aims to contribute to the gap in the human resources management, organizational behavior, and management and organizations literature. Discussion – It is possible to say that dark leadership should seek help from experts and/or institutions in order to prevent the negative effect of dark leadership on employees' organizational commitments. At this point, the human resources management unit plays an important role in identifying dark leaders.