Muhammad Qasim

Despotic leadership drain, dominates, and demoralizes, yet some employees resist through strategic adaptation. Drawing on Conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose that these coping responses to despotic leadership vary by individual differences, particularly Machiavellianism. We examine status striving as a resource-investment strategy through which employees can convert toxic contexts into opportunities for creativity and mobility. In Study-1 a multi-wave survey design (N=489) and an experimental study (2x2 factorial design N=276), show that varied despotic leadership context and adopted Machiavellian motives replicated the pattern; particularly in high despotic conditions reported higher status striving and status striving was positively associated with creativity. Across studies the indirect effects of despotic leadership on creativity via status striving were stronger among high Machiavellian employees. The results suggest that, under despotism, some employees deploy status-seeking efforts to protect themselves from threats and signal value through creative contributions. By integrating COR theory with dark leadership and motivation literatures, this study clarifies when and why employees might respond to destructive leaders in adaptive ways. We discuss implications for leadership development, personnel selection, and theoretical models of coping under despotic authorities.

The twenty-first century has seen an increase in ethical misconduct at the workplace, highlighting the need to stimulate discussion on the role of work ethics. The objective of the current study is to extend the literature on work ethics by examining the role of Islamic work ethic in enhancing the task performance of employees. The current study proposes that psychological capital mediates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and task performance. It is also proposed that ethical leadership might act as a boundary condition that boosts the positive relationship between Islamic work ethic and psychological capital. Data were collected in three-time lags from employees working in the service sector of Pakistan (N = 218) through the questionnaire. The results supported the mediation and moderation hypothesis, confirming that psychological capital mediates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and task performance. Ethical leadership moderates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and psychological capital. The results offer implications for theory and practice. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.