Leaders' power construal influences malevolent creativity: The mediating role of organizational conspiracy beliefs

Abstract

How employees perceive their leaders' power can influence their view and treatment of organizations. This study examines how employees' perceptions of their leaders' power construal—primarily as responsibility (PaR) or primarily as opportunity (PaO)—influence employee malevolent creativity towards the organization, with organizational conspiracy beliefs mediating this relationship. We hypothesized that when leaders' power is perceived primarily as responsibility, it diminishes employee endorsement of conspiracy beliefs and, in turn, reduces malevolent creativity. Conversely, perceiving leaders' power mainly as opportunity was expected to amplify conspiracy beliefs and subsequently malevolent creativity. Study 1, a three-wave study among employees, showed that increased PaO was positively related to employee malevolent creativity through increased organizational conspiracy beliefs. Moreover, PaR was negatively related to malevolent creativity through organizational conspiracy beliefs. Study 2 (preregistered) experimentally tested these relationships and provided support for all hypotheses. Study 3 (also preregistered) manipulated exposure to organizational conspiracy theories (the mediator) to address the ‘measurement-of-mediation’ issue and found that conspiracy theories increase malevolent creativity. This study demonstrates the adverse consequences of leader's power construal as opportunity through employee's organizational conspiracy beliefs.