A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF YOXIC LEADERSHIP: A MECHANISM BY WHICH AUTHORITARIAN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES PROMOTE ORGANISATIONAL CYNICISM AND NEGATIVE ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR (OCB)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.6168Keywords:
Toxic Leadership, Organisational Cynicism and Organisational Citizenship Behaviours (OCB), Destructive LeadershipAbstract
This systematic literature review, guided by PRISMA standards, synthesizes 38 peer-reviewed studies (from an initial pool of 502 records) to examine the adverse effects of toxic leadership—characterised by abusive supervision, authoritarianism, narcissism, self-promotion, and unpredictability on organisational cynicism and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB). Thematic analysis identified four primary themes: (1) toxic leadership is a strong predictor of organizational cynicism (found in 63% of studies; effect sizes r = 0.35–0.48), with emotional exhaustion and perceived injustice serving as mediators; (2) it significantly diminishes OCB (74% of studies; meta-analytic ρ = −0.28) and increases counterproductive work behaviours; (3) it negatively impacts employee well-being, notably causing a 2.3-fold increase in burnout and a distress correlation of ρ = 0.52, while also contributing to a 25–40% rise in turnover rates; (4) cynicism mediates approximately 45% of the relationship between toxic leadership and OCB. These findings hold across various sectors, including healthcare, corporate, tourism, education, and public organisations. To address this issue, recommendations include implementing zero-tolerance policies, utilizing 360-degree feedback, promoting ethical leadership training, and tying accountability measures to compensation.
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