Does Leadership Contain Dark Triad Traits in a Different Way in Public and Private Sector Settings?

In the contemporary organizational landscape, the interplay between personality traits and ethical behavior has garnered considerable attention, particularly within the realms of organizational behavior and ethics. Among the various personality frameworks analyzed, the Dark Triad—comprising Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—stands out due to its potential to illuminate the underpinnings of unethical behaviors in the workplace. Despite a growing body of research, there exists a significant gap in understanding the nuanced effects of Dark Triad traits on different forms of integrity infringements such as nepotism, cronyism, conflicts of interest, non-ethical behavior, and non-compliance. This research aims to bridge this gap by examining the extent to which these personality traits influence various integrity violations, and whether Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) moderates these relationships. We replicate our study in two distinct organizational settings—a private organization and a public sector organization in Belgium—which enhances the external validity and generalizability of the findings. The comparison between private and public sector organizations is particularly pertinent given the differing ethical climates and organizational cultures that characterize these settings (Brewer & Selden, 1998). This dual-context approach allows for a nuanced analysis of how organizational context may interact with individual personality traits to influence ethical behavior. Moreover, this research innovates by examining the moderating role of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) in the relationship between Dark Triad traits and integrity infringements. Investigating LMX as a moderating factor offers valuable insights into how the dynamics of leader-follower relationships may buffer or exacerbate the effects of Dark Triad traits on integrity violations. Incorporating Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) as a moderating variable, this study explores its potential to influence the relationship between Dark Triad traits and integrity violations within organizations in public and private sectors. LMX theory suggests the quality of leader-follower interactions plays a critical role in organizational outcomes, including ethical behavior . Given the ethical challenges posed by Dark Triad traits, examining how LMX can mitigate or exacerbate these effects is essential. The question this work aims to respond is: Are there differences in the effects of Dark Triad traits on integrity infringements between private and public sector organizations?