Exploring the nexus of leader dominance and prestige, trust and employee counterproductive work behaviors

Purpose Drawing on dual-strategies and social exchange perspectives, we examine the influence of leader dominance and prestige – two key strategies for attaining social rank – on followers' perceptions of trust in their leader, and their display of counterproductive work behavior. Design/methodology/approach Time-separated, multi-source survey data were collected from a police organization. Data from 281 employees and 130 supervisors were collected. Findings The findings confirm that perceived leader dominance was indirectly associated with higher counterproductive work behavior, whereas perceived leader prestige was indirectly associated with lower counterproductive work behavior, both via the mediating role of employees' trust in their leader. Practical implications The findings from this research suggest that organizations should consider limiting the hiring and promotion of leaders who rely on dominance strategies to gain power and social influence. Moreover, organizations may benefit from implementing commitment-based HR practices to enhance employee trust. Originality/value Despite a growing body of research on strategies individuals use to attain social rank and influence, there remains a limited understanding of how these strategies apply to leaders and, in turn, affect their followers' work performance. This study addresses this gap in the HRM literature and extends our understanding of research and theory relating to social rank and counterproductive work behavior.