Narcissists going above and beyond? The role of perceived negative inequity and self-enhancement motivation

Purpose Utilizing a self-regulatory perspective, the authors examine how narcissism influences perceived negative inequity and the downstream effects on self-enhancement motivation and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) over time. Design/methodology/approach A total of 689 useable three-wave panel data were obtained via Amazon Mechanical Turk during a three-month period. A latent growth curve modeling approach using EQS 6.4 for Windows was employed to test the hypothesized model. Findings Results illustrate that individuals with higher levels of narcissism perceive higher levels of perceived negative inequity and then form higher levels of self-enhancement motivation, which prompt more OCB directed toward the organization (OCBO) than OCB directed toward individuals (OCBI). When perceived negative inequity increases over time, narcissists experience a faster increase in self-enhancement motivation, which also leads to a faster increase in OCBO compared to the increase in OCBI. Originality/value Theoretically, this study provides theoretical and empirical insights into understanding the process through which narcissists' OCBs are motivated. Practically, this study offers several practical recommendations that help managers manage OCBs effectively in the organization.