How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of destructive leadership and its outcomes

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How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of destructive leadership and its outcomes
The Leadership Quarterly

While the focus on constructive leadership still dominates leadership research an increasing number of studies investigate different forms of destructive leadership. This meta-analysis integrates different conceptualizations of destructive leadership and analyzes the relationship between destructive leadership and outcome variables. The search for articles yielded more than 200 studies of which 57 could be included in the meta-analysis. Results indicate the expected negative correlations with positive followers' outcomes and behaviors (e.g. attitudes towards the leader well-being and individual performance) and positive correlations with negative outcomes (e.g. turnover intention resistance towards the leader counterproductive work behavior). As expected the highest correlation arises between destructive leadership and attitudes towards the leader. Surprisingly the next highest correlation was found between destructive leadership and counterproductive work behavior. After discussing the results an agenda for future research is proposed. Given the negative impact of destructive leadership more knowledge is especially necessary regarding what triggers destructive leadership.

Citation: 
The Leadership Quarterly 24 (2013) 138 – 158

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