Destructive leadership in organizational research: a bibliometric approach

Abstract

The dark side leadership literature remains a highly relevant yet fragmented and ambiguous literature stream. Therefore, we conduct a bibliometric analysis using co-citation and pathfinder analysis to describe and visualize the intellectual origins of the field by combining predefined word lists with expert validation. Our results suggest that there are key authors as well as other distinctive characteristics of research that also guides future research. Thematic clusters of the dark side literature suggest heightened emphasis on single dark traits such as narcissism while other constructs such as psychopathy receive little attention. Articles by Tepper can be linked to a central position in the network. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.