Followership: Leader narcissism and follower work engagement

Purpose – Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to examine how leader narcissism influences follower work engagement. We develop a cross-level mediation and moderation model to investigate the mediating role of follower self-efficacy and the moderating role of follower locus of control, incorporating both leader self-ratings and follower perceptions of leader narcissism to capture perception distance. Design/methodology/approach – Multi-source, three-wave data were collected from 293 followers and their leaders in professional service firms. The model was tested using multilevel mixed-effects linear regression in R. Findings – Leader narcissism negatively affected follower work engagement only when rated by followers, not when self-rated by leaders, indicating a perception distance in how leader narcissism is interpreted. Follower self-efficacy mediated the relationship between follower-rated leader narcissism and follower work engagement, consistent with COR's resource-loss pathway. Additionally, follower locus of control moderated the negative effect of follower-rated leader narcissism on self-efficacy, with the effect being stronger for those with low internal (external locus of control). Originality/value – This study advances the narcissism and leadership literature by demonstrating that the consequences of leader narcissism are perception-driven and by identifying follower self-efficacy as a key psychological mechanism linking leader narcissism to engagement. It further highlights follower locus of control as a boundary resource shaping vulnerability to resource depletion, offering new insight into how followers internalise and respond to perceived leader narcissism.