When and why narcissism leads to taking charge? The roles of coworker narcissism and employee comparative identity

When and why do narcissists take charge in the workplace? Integrating the narcissism literature and self-identity theory, we argue that coworker narcissism is a key contingency that triggers narcissistic employees' comparative identity, which subsequently facilitates their taking charge behaviours. The results of two studies (Study 1: a two-wave survey study of 351 frontline employees and 67 team leaders; Study 2: a scenario-based experimental study of 190 workers) provide evidence that coworker narcissism moderates the relationship between employee narcissism and employee comparative identity, such that the relationship is strengthened when coworker narcissism is high rather than low. Employee comparative identity is positively related to employee taking charge behaviour. Furthermore, coworker narcissism moderates the indirect effect of employee narcissism on employee taking charge behaviour through employee comparative identity, such that the indirect effect is strengthened when coworker narcissism is high rather than low. These results contribute to the growing literature on the interpersonal dynamics of narcissists in the workplace and the impacts of narcissism on proactive behaviours.