Azazz, Alaa M. S. e al.
A icle
Ampli ying unhea d oices o ueling con lic ? Explo ing
he impac o leade na cissism and wo kplace bullying in
he ou ism indus y
Adminis a i e Sciences
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Sugges ed Ci a ion: Azazz, Alaa M. S. e al. (2024) : Ampli ying unhea d oices o ueling con lic ?
Explo ing he impac o leade na cissism and wo kplace bullying in he ou ism indus y,
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Ci a ion: Azazz, Alaa M. S., Ib ahim
A. Elshae , Mansou Alyahya, Tame
Ahmed Abdulaziz, Walaa Mous a a
Elwa dany, and Sameh Fayyad. 2024.
Ampli ying Unhea d Voices o
Fueling Con lic ? Explo ing he
Impac o Leade Na cissism and
Wo kplace Bullying in he Tou ism
Indus y. Adminis a i e Sciences 14:
344. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/
admsci14120344
Recei ed: 24 No embe 2024
Re ised: 16 Decembe 2024
Accep ed: 18 Decembe 2024
Published: 20 Decembe 2024
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A icle
Ampli ying Unhea d Voices o Fueling Con lic ? Explo ing he
Impac o Leade Na cissism and Wo kplace Bullying in he
Tou ism Indus y
Alaa M. S. Azazz 1,* , Ib ahim A. Elshae 2,* , Mansou Alyahya 2, Tame Ahmed Abdulaziz 3,
Walaa Mous a a Elwa dany 3and Sameh Fayyad 4
1Depa men o Social S udies, A s College, King Faisal Uni e si y, Al-Ho u 380, Al-Ahsaa, Saudi A abia
2Depa men o Managemen , College o Business Adminis a ion, King Faisal Uni e si y, Al-Ho u 380,
Al-Ahsaa, Saudi A abia; [email p o ec ed]
3Tou ism S udies Depa men , High Ins i u e o Tou ism and Ho els (6 Oc obe ), Giza 12573, Egyp ;
d [email p o ec ed] (T.A.A.); d [email p o ec ed] (W.M.E.)
4Ho el S udies Depa men , Facul y o Tou ism and Ho els, Suez Canal Uni e si y, Ismailia 41522, Egyp ;
[email p o ec ed]
*Co espondence: [email p o ec ed] (A.M.S.A.); [email p o ec ed] (I.A.E.)
Abs ac : The hospi ali y indus y, well-known o i s ene ge ic and people-in ensi e na u e, e-
quen ly depends on e ec i e leade ship o mo i a e eamwo k and sa egua d sus ainable ope a ional
success. Ne e heless, leade ship app oaches may signi ican ly in luence wo kplace dynamics and
leade na cissism appea s o be a p obable dis up o . This s udy explo es he dual-edged in luence
o leade na cissism in he hospi ali y indus y, speci ically in de e mining employee unhea d oice
beha io and bullying in he wo kplace. While leade na cissism can ampli y unhea d oices by
nu u ing an en i onmen whe e s a eel o ced o speak up, i can also uel wo kplace con lic
by gene a ing oxic in e ac ions and ad ancing bullying in he wo kplace. This esea ch u ilized a
sel -adminis a ed ques ionnai e, collec ing da a om employees in i e-s a ho els and ca ego y
(A) ou ism companies in Cai o, Egyp , om May o Augus 2024 h ough a con enience sampling
echnique. O he 425 dis ibu ed ques ionnai es, 394 alid esponses we e ecei ed, and Sma
PLS-3.0 was employed o hypo hesis es ing. The s udy’s indings indica e ha employee oice
beha io posi i ely in luences wo kplace bullying. The e exis s a a o able co ela ion be ween
employee oice beha io and leade na cissism. Mo eo e , leade na cissism is p o en o ha e a
posi i e ela ionship wi h wo kplace bullying. Leade na cissism was ecognized as a media ing
a iable in he connec ion be ween employee oice beha io and wo kplace bullying. While p e ious
esea ch has in es iga ed how hese ac o s in luence wo k- ela ed ou comes in b oade o ganiza-
ional se ings, his s udy ocuses on hei implica ions in ou ism and hospi ali y. Addi ionally, he
s udy del es in o how leade na cissism media es he connec ion be ween employee oice beha io
and wo kplace bullying in he ou ism indus y. By highligh ing and explo ing he complexi ies o
leade na cissism and i s in luence on wo kplace in e ela ionships, his esea ch pape may o e
aluable insigh s o op manage s, policymake s, and academics seeking o gene a e heal hie and
mo e p oduc i e wo kplace en i onmen s in he ou ism indus y.
Keywo ds: employee unhea d oice beha io ; wo kplace bullying; leade na cissism;
ou ism; hospi ali y
1. In oduc ion
The wo k o ce o an o ganiza ion is a guably i s mos aluable asse , speci ically in
he labo -in ensi e ou ism indus y (Elshae and Ma zouk 2019). Wo ke s in hese sec o s
o en encoun e e hical dilemmas such as hea y wo kloads, inadequa e compensa ion,
bullying, and na cissis ic leade ship, leading o high u no e and absen eeism a es
(
He ny 2021
;Abo amadan e al. 2021;Li e al. 2024). Reg e ably, wo kplace bullying
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/admsci14120344 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/admsci
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344 2 o 15
p esen s a key challenge in his ield, e oding collabo a ion and he o e all business clima e,
impac ing egions wo ldwide (Wahba e al. 2023). The ou ism and hospi ali y sec o
aces social isks due o equen epo s o mis ea men and bullying om employees
(S i as a a e al. 2024).
Wo kplace bullying can be desc ibed as a scena io whe e one o mul iple indi iduals
eel pe sis en ly subjec ed o nega i e ac ions o beha io om one o mo e indi iduals
o e an ex ended pe iod. In such si ua ions, he a ge encoun e s challenges in e ec i ely
de ending hemsel es agains hese beha io s (Xiang e al. 2023). Wo kplace bullying is
iden i ied by a se o de ining aspec s, which include endu ing ecu en and equen
undesi able o ensi e ac ions, p olonged du a ion o exposu e o such mis ea men , an
e iden powe inequali y be ween hose esponsible o he bullying and he indi iduals
a ge ed, as well as a p e ailing sense o pe secu ion esul ing om he ha assmen ex-
pe ienced (Reknes e al. 2020;K ishna e al. 2023). Schola s no ed ha employees in he
ou ism indus y a e mo e ulne able o su e om ecu en con lic s and bullying in he
wo kplace because o high p essu e a wo k and he inc eased job demands, schedules ha
dis up wo k–li e balance, o e whelming wo kloads, ime cons ain s ha c ea e in ense
wo k hy hms, epe i i e and mono onous asks ha es ic c ea i i y and indi idual
ini ia i e, equen in e ac ions wi h cus ome s ha can lead o ense si ua ions escala ing
o ha assmen o iolence, and inadequa e aining o expe ience in ce ain posi ions which
can a ec p oduc i i y and he quali y o se ices (Xiang e al. 2023). Almos 16% o em-
ployees we e subjec ed o undesi able beha io in he wo kplace in he ou ism indus y
(S i as a a e al. 2024). Nume ous esea ch s udies ha e de ailed he nega i e impac s
associa ed wi h wo kplace bullying. This phenomenon has been linked o heigh ened le els
o indi idual emo ional exhaus ion and an i-p oduc i e ac ions (S i as a a and Dey 2020;
Jung and Yoon 2018). Mo eo e , wi hin he ealm o o ganiza ional beha io , wo kplace
bullying was ound o ha e a de imen al in luence on job pe o mance, in en ions o lea e
employmen , absen eeism a es, as well as employee oice beha io (Khalique e al. 2018;
Khan e al. 2021b;Valen ine and Fleischman 2018).
Employee oice beha io unde sco es he endea o s o employees o p opose in-
no a i e ideas o change, e en in he ace o opposi ion o disag eemen om o he s
(Tab izi e al. 2023
). Employee oice holds conside able impo ance o wo ke s’ well-
being, job pe o mance, inno a ion and c ea i i y, and in e nal o ganiza ional cul u e
(Huang e al. 2023)
. P e ious e idence sugges s ha oice beha io can c ea e a o able ou -
comes such as imp o ed job pe o mance and wo kplace e iciency
(F azie and Bowle 2015
).
While he in en ion behind wo ke s oicing hei cons uc i e sugges ions is o suppo
o ganiza ions in applying posi i e p ocedu es, imp o ing o ganiza ional e iciency, and
os e ing job sa is ac ion, employee oice may also in luence he likelihood o bullying in
he wo kplace (Liang and Yeh 2019;Jung and Yoon 2018;Alzyoud e al. 2024). Con e sely,
employee oice beha io s ha e been explo ed h ough he lens o di e en leade ship
s yles, inco po a ing “ ans o ma ional leade ship” (TL) (Zhu e al. 2012) and “au hen ic
leade ship” (Hannah e al. 2011). The main indings om hese empi ical s udies sugges
ha hese leade ship s yles may posi i ely impac he employees’ oice beha io . In con-
as , o he esea ch inds ha na cissis ic leade ship is ad e sely connec ed o employee
oice beha io (Ca ne ale e al. 2018a;Liao e al. 2019).
Na cissism means eeling impo an and supe io and ocusing on onesel (
Li e al. 2024
).
The signi icance o na cissism wi hin o ganiza ional con ex s canno be unde s a ed because
many leade s show na cissis ic beha io s (Owens e al. 2015). Consequen ly, esea che s
in he o ganiza ional domain ha e p og essi ely highligh ed he impac o leade na cis-
sism in wo k en i onmen s (Ca ne ale e al. 2018b;Zhang e al. 2022). Recen empi ical
s udies ha e highligh ed he associa ion be ween leade na cissism and nega i e esponses
om subo dina es, such as dec eased job engagemen , eluc ance o speak up, educed
willingness o assis o he s, and limi ed inno a i e beha io s (e.g.,
Ca ne ale e al. 2018a
;
Fehn and Schü z 2021;
No ouzinik e al. 2022). Al hough leade na cissism has been ex-
ensi ely s udied in managemen , i s impac s wi hin he ou ism indus y ha e no been
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344 3 o 15
adequa ely in es iga ed (Abo amadan e al. 2021). The ou ism indus y can be consid-
e ed as one o he sec o s whe e employees commonly encoun e signi ican job demands
and un a o able ea men om hei supe io s (Wang e al. 2021;
Shum 2020)
. Due o
he demanding wo k en i onmen and cen alized o ganiza ional s uc u es p e alen in
ou ism o ganiza ions, he e is a need o explo e he implica ions o leade na cissism in
his speci ic con ex .
E en hough he e is g owing schola ly a en ion owa ds in es iga ing he in e -
ela ionships be ween bullying in he wo kplace, employee oice beha io , and leade
na cissism, he e is cu en ly no comp ehensi e o e iew o his subjec wi hin he speci ic
con ex o ou ism and hospi ali y li e a u e. Consequen ly, he e is a need o a ho ough
and holis ic e iew o he nexus be ween leade na cissism and employee oice beha io
speci ically wi hin he ou ism indus y con ex . This is because he indings om exis ing
sys ema ic e iews conduc ed in gene al business se ings may no di ec ly apply o he
ou ism con ex ’s unique cha ac e is ics. Fo example, he ou ism indus y o en has
a mo e cen alized business s uc u e (Abo amadan e al. 2021) and expe iences highe
cus ome in e ac ion le els han o he business sec o s. These unique cha ac e is ics may
a ec he dynamics be ween leade ship ai s, such as na cissism, and employee oice
beha io in ways ha b oade business esea ch does no add ess. Consequen ly, a a ge ed
in es iga ion o his ela ionship wi hin he ou ism and hospi ali y sec o is essen ial o
yield insigh s speci ic o his con ex (Li e al. 2024). The mechanisms by which speci ic
ac o s in luence his co ela ion, and he s eng h o hei e ec s may a y om hose in
o he indus ies. Fu he mo e, some unique an eceden s o his ela ionship may no be
cap u ed in he sys ema ic e iews o esea ch conduc ed in b oade business li e a u e.
To b idge hese gaps, his s udy, ocusing on he ou ism indus y, in es iga es he
ela ionship be ween employee oice beha io and bullying in he wo kplace, examines he
impac be ween employee oice beha io and leade na cissism, analyses he co ela ion
be ween leade na cissism and bullying in he wo kplace, and explo es he media ing ole
o leade na cissism in he ela ionship be ween employee oice beha io and bullying in
he wo kplace.
Resea ching he co ela ion be ween employee oice beha io , leade na cissism, and
wo kplace bullying in he ou ism and hospi ali y indus y is c ucial o enhancing em-
ployee well-being and job sa is ac ion. Unde s anding how leade na cissism a ec s hese
dynamics can help c ea e a suppo i e wo k en i onmen . By unco e ing he in luence o
oxic leade ship on employee in e ac ions, o ganiza ions can implemen in e en ions o
p omo e a heal hie wo kplace cul u e. Explo ing his ela ionship p o ides insigh s in o
o ganiza ional cul u e, guiding he cul i a ion o a posi i e wo k en i onmen wi h open
communica ion and mu ual espec
This pape is s uc u ed as ollows: Sec ion 2p esen s he heo e ical amewo k
and hypo hesis de elopmen . Sec ions 3and 4de ail he esea ch me hodology and da a
analysis, espec i ely. The discussion and he heo e ical implica ions a e p esen ed in
Sec ion 5, while Sec ion 6add esses he p ac ical implica ions. The conclusion o he
s udy is p esen ed in Sec ion 7. Finally, he limi a ions and sugges ions o u u e esea ch
di ec ions a e p o ided in Sec ion 8.
2. Theo e ical F amewo k and Hypo hesis De elopmen
2.1. Employee Voice Beha io and Wo kplace Bullying
Employee oice can be concep ualized as “speaking ou and challenging he s a us
quo o imp o e he si ua ion” (Huang e al. 2023). I encompasses employees’ e o s
o gene a e c ea i e sugges ions o unexpec ed changes, e en i o he people disag ee
(Tab izi e al. 2023)
.Else ouhi e al. (2023) explained ha oice beha io is de i ed om
he employees’ deep desi e o change and a gue he cu en scena io o enhance egula o y
signals as hey equi e and no because o deep ea o p essu e. Lu and Gu soy (2024)
e e ed o employee oice as any olun a y beha io and ac ion shown by employees
o exp ess hei eelings, in e es s, and conce ns abou wo k- ela ed challenges o hei
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344 4 o 15
leade s. As pe Ghani and Malik (2023), employee oice (EV) has wo ypes. The i s
a ises when employees show dissa is ac ion a wo k and openly s a e hei opinions,
sugges ions, and p oblems wi hou ha being ela ed o hei esigna ion. The second
occu s when employees o e sugges ions and solu ions o ad ancing he o ganiza ion’s
p ac ices and ac i ely sha e hese sugges ions du ing decision-making mee ings. Acco ding
o
Liang and Yeh (2019),
employee oice is in ended o enhance cu en condi ions bu can
also c ea e nega i e pe cep ions ha a ec he ela ionships o hose who oice hei
conce ns. They no ed ha when employees ad oca e o changes o he s a us quo, hose
who disag ee wi h hese ac ions may eso o bullying and ha assmen agains hem.
Wo kplace bullying consis s o epe i i e ha assmen beha io s, including e bal abuse,
a powe inequali y be ween pe pe a o s and ic ims, equen nega i e ac ions, and
pe sis en hos ili y (Pa k and Ono 2017).
The In e na ional Labo O ganiza ion (ILO) de ines wo kplace bullying as “o en-
si e beha io cha ac e ized by indic i e, c uel, malicious, o humilia ing a emp s o
unde mine an indi idual o g oups o employees” (Wiese and Ma a-G eenwood 2013).
Schola s iew wo kplace bullying as “a si ua ion in which one o mo e indi iduals pe cei e
hemsel es o be con inually a ec ed by he nega i e beha io s o one o mo e indi iduals
o e a pe iod o ime, and in which he a ge has di icul y de ending hemsel es agains
hese beha io s” (Xiang e al. 2023). In hei s udy, Anaso i e al. (2023) a gued ha a
bullied indi idual is psychologically a ec ed, and his could nega i ely a ec hei si ua-
ion, wi h bullying conside ed an ou pu o ene gy leading o exhaus ion. Acco ding o
Wahba e al. (2023
), wo kplace bullying e e s o si ua ions in which an employee, wha e e
hei posi ion, is sys ema ically and equen ly ic imized o mis ea ed by pee s, subo di-
na es, o supe iso s. This nega i e beha io leads o se e al de imen al consequences,
including an in en ion o lea e he job, minimizing he sel -con idence o mis ea ed em-
ployees, maximizing absen eeism, educing p oduc i i y, and nega i ely a ec ing job
pe o mance. Bullying beha io s can mani es in di e en ways, such as by appoin ing
un easonable esponsibili ies; se ing in ole able schedules; wi hholding con iden ial in o -
ma ion; and pa icipa ing in mo e pe sonal un a o able ac ions like e bal and non- e bal
abuse, unjus i ied c i icism, and sp eading unpleasan umo s
(Caponecchia e al. 2020
).
Acco ding o Singh and S i as a a (2023), wo kplace bullying is desc ibed by he ollowing
ou key ea u es: “(1) being exposed o epe i i e and ecu en unwelcomed o ensi e be-
ha io s; (2) subjec ed o a long- ime ame; (3) powe disc epancy be ween he pe pe a o s
and he a ge ); and (4) eeling o being mis ea ed and ha assmen ” (K ishna e al. 2023;
Reknes e al. 2020;Nielsen and Eina sen 2018;Coe zee and an Dyk 2018).
In his con ex , i is con i med ha high unemploymen can g ea ly a ec wo kplace
bullying, as indi iduals o en eel compelled o endu e abusi e beha io s due o conce ns
abou job secu i y. Resea ch shows ha expe iencing wo kplace bullying is linked o an
inc eased isk o long- e m unemploymen . One s udy e ealed ha indi iduals who
aced bullying had an odds a io o 4.6 o being unemployed i e yea s la e , unde -
sco ing he nega i e consequences o bullying on job s abili y and ca ee ad ancemen
(
Glambek e al. 2015)
. Mo eo e , in en i onmen s whe e job oppo uni ies a e sca ce, em-
ploye s may exploi his ulne abili y, leading o a cul u e whe e bullying is ole a ed
o o e looked. This dynamic can c ea e a cycle whe e ic ims o bullying a e less likely
o epo hei expe iences due o ea o e alia ion o job loss, u he pe pe ua ing he
p oblem (Cowan e al. 2021).
In e p e ing he in e ela ionship be ween employee oice and wo kplace bullying
in he ou ism and hospi ali y indus y s ill shows a lo o mixed esul s, and he a ail-
able esea ch is ela i ely limi ed. Se e al s udies discussed he co ela ion be ween em-
ployee oice and i s po en ial ou comes, such as job sa is ac ion (Yuan e al. 2023); se ice
eco e y pe o mance (Alzyoud e al. 2024); coping s a egies, and coun e p oduc i e
beha io
(Jung and Yoon 2018);
job s ess; job pe o mance; o ganiza ional commi men
(Wahba e al. 2023
); employee emo ional exhaus ion (Said and Tano a 2021); and employ-
ees’ u no e in en ion (Biswaka ma e al. 2024). While hese s udies discussed he ela-
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344 5 o 15
ionship be ween employee oice and bullying in he wo kplace, hey a e s ill limi ed in
o he ields. Khan e al. (2021b) explo ed he link be ween employee oice and bullying
in he wo kplace and he s udy indings suppo a posi i e ela ionship. Liang’s (2021)
and
Liang and Yeh’s (2019)
s udy esul s we e also in line wi h he s udy conduc ed by
Khan e al. (2021b). In ligh o hese indings, he ollowing hypo hesis is p oposed:
Hypo hesis 1. Employee oice beha io is posi i ely co ela ed wi h wo kplace bullying.
2.2. Employee Voice Beha io and Leade Na cissism
The concep o “na cissism” o igina ed o m he wo d “na cissus”, which implies
he ollowing h ee main cha ac e is ics: “(1) in la ed sel -concep ; (2) in e pe sonal ex-
ploi a ion; and (3) ino dina e need o ibu e om o he s” (Liao e al. 2019). Na cissism
is explained by ollowing “a highly in la ed, excessi ely posi i e, and exagge a ed iew
o onesel ” (Neu eld and Johnson 2016). Na cissis s consis en ly display delusions o
g andeu , supe io i y, and anxious compe i i eness (Li e al. 2023). P e ious s udies
ha e con i med ha na cissism can ha e a con adic o y impac on wo kplace beha io s
(
G ijal a and Newman 2015
). Simila ly, na cissism is a main d i e o hos ile wo kplace
de ia ion, such as abusi e supe ision, which is connec ed wi h cha isma ic, asse i e,
and many o he seemingly posi i e beha io s (Waldman e al. 2018). When a leade
demons a es na cissis ic pe sonali y ai s, his mani es s in ou key ways as ollows
(Li e al. 2023
): (1) Cha isma: hey migh ha e s ong social communica ion skills, o esigh ,
and an appealing appea ance. (2) Egois ic mo i es: hey a e epea edly guided by sel -
se ing wan s a he han he company’s bene i s. (3) Decep i e mo i es: hey employ
manipula i e ac ics such as hough managemen o insince e issues o use o he s o
hei bene i . (4) Knowledge inhibi ion: hey a e e y sensi i e o o he s’ c i icism, eage
o p aise, and hos ile owa ds any nega i e eedback. Consequen ly, while na cissis ic
leade s can inspi e hei ollowe s and s imula e ini ia i e, hey also p esen a pe plexing
and po en ially ha m ul dynamic.
P e ious s udies show limi ed di ec empi ical e idence examining he in e ela ion-
ship among leade na cissism and he oice beha io o employees in he ou ism indus y.
Howe e , esea ch in o he ields sugges s ha leade na cissism can indi ec ly impac
employee oice. Fo ins ance, Yao e al. (2019) ound ha when subo dina es pe cei e
hei supe iso s as sel ish and p one o supp essing knowledge, hey a e less likely o
gi e ad e se eedback abou he company, p e en ing c i ical in o ma ion om eaching
leade ship. O he schola s no e ha leade na cissism lowe s employees’ us in hei
leade , which is in u n ela ed o inc eased employee silence (Hams a e al. 2021). Ad-
di ionally, Hooseini e al. (2023) a gue ha na cissis ic leade s’ ac ions and beha io s
emo ionally damage hose who ollow hem and s op hem by esponding des uc i ely
o hei c i icism. subo dina es who pe cei e hei supe iso s as na cissis ic a e mo e
likely o iew he manage ’s beha io as sel -se ing a he han p osocial. These di e ing
pe cep ions o he leade ’s imp ession managemen ac ics can impac he quali y o he
leade -membe exchange, in luencing employee oice beha io . While di ec e idence is
limi ed in he ou ism and hospi ali y con ex , hese indings om o he sec o s sugges
ha leade na cissism may indi ec ly hinde employee oice by e oding us , p omo ing
silence, and shaping pe cep ions o he leade ’s mo i a ions (Liao e al. 2019). In line wi h
p e ious discussion, he hypo hesis below is sugges ed:
Hypo hesis 2. Employee oice beha io is posi i ely co ela ed wi h leade na cissism.
2.3. Leade Na cissism and Bullying in he Wo kplace
The co ela ion be ween leade na cissism and wo kplace bullying is signi ican and
mul i ace ed, as e idenced by a ious esea ch indings. A s udy by Qayyum e al. (2020),
showed ha na cissism is posi i ely ela ed o coun e p oduc i e wo kplace beha io s,
including in e pe sonal agg ession and sabo age. Na cissis ic leade s a e hype sensi i e
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344 6 o 15
o h ea s o hei ego, leading hem o eac agg essi ely when hey eel challenged. This
agg ession can ake he o m o bullying, whe e he na cissis ic leade a ge s subo dina es
o asse dominance and con ol. Ano he s udy by Ja a e al. (2022) showed ha manage s’
na cissism is posi i ely linked wi h cynicism and wo kplace bullying. The p esence o
a na cissis ic leade can os e a cul u e o bullying wi hin an o ganiza ion. When such
leade s engage in bullying beha io s, i can no malize hese ac ions and encou age simila
beha io s among o he employees. This c ea es an en i onmen whe e bullying is ole a ed
o e en expec ed, u he pe pe ua ing he cycle o abuse and oxici y in he wo kplace.
Con e sely, Khan e al. (2021a) a gued ha nega i e wo k en i onmen (i.e., bullying in
he wo kplace) and na cissis ic manage s a e some an eceden s ha des uc i ely impac
he p oduc i i y o indi iduals in he banking business. The s udy o Khan e al. (2021a)
suppo ed he p e ious a gumen s in he banking and elecommunica ions sec o s and
ound a di ec posi i e co ela ion be ween na cissis ic leade s and wo kplace bullying,
which is exace ba ed by employee silence. The e o e, he ollowing hypo hesis is p oposed:
Hypo hesis 3. Leade na cissism is posi i ely co ela ed wi h bullying in he wo kplace.
2.4. Leade Na cissism as a Media o Be ween Employee Voice Beha io and Bullying in
he Wo kplace
In he con ex o leade na cissism, ac ing as a media o be ween he in es iga ed
a iables ( oice beha io and wo kplace bullying), esea ch is limi ed in he ield o ou ism
indus y. This ole can be be e unde s ood h ough se e al key indings. Fi s ly, p e ious
s udies by Hooseini e al. (2023) and Hams a e al. (2021) ha e emphasized he posi i e
in e ela ionship be ween employee oice beha io and bullying in he wo kplace. They
sugges ed ha employees who speak up, p o ide eedback, o aise conce ns may be
mo e ulne able o nega i e epe cussions like bullying i hei inpu is no well ecei ed.
Secondly, esea ch by Yao e al. (2019), Hams a e al. (2021), and Hooseini e al. (2023)
ha e highligh ed he posi i e impac be ween employee oice beha io and leade na cis-
sism. Employee oice beha io leads o inc eased in e ac ions wi h a na cissis ic leade .
Due o hei sel -cen e ed na u e, a na cissis ic leade may eac nega i ely o employee
oice beha io , pe cei ing i as a challenge o hei au ho i y o ego. Thi dly, s udies by
Ja a e al. (2022)
,Khan e al. (2021a), and Qayyum e al. (2020) showed a posi i e link
be ween leade na cissism and bullying in he wo kplace. When such leade s engage in
bullying beha io s, i can no malize hese ac ions and encou age simila beha io s among
o he employees. Building upon hese es ablished co ela ions, his s udy sugges s he
ollowing hypo hesis:
Hypo hesis 4. Leade na cissism media es he ela ionship be ween employee oice beha io and
bullying in he wo kplace.
Building on he li e a u e discussed in he p eceding sec ions, his s udy in oduces a
concep ual model (Figu e 1) ha ou lines he hypo hesized ela ionships among he s udy
a iables.
Adm. Sci. 2024, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 o 16
Figu e 1. The esea ch model.
3. Resea ch Me hodology
A quan i a i e esea ch pa adigm was employed o explo e he impac o leade na -
cissism and wo kplace bullying in he ou ism indus y. In his pa adigm, he ela ed li -
e a u e was c i ically e iewed o design he concep ual amewo k and jus i y he e-
sea ch hypo heses, and hen, alid and eliable measu es we e de i ed om p e ious li -
e a u e o de elop he s udy ques ionnai e. Acco dingly, a s uc u ed ques ionnai e was
designed and deli e ed o he a ge ed sample. Finally, he da a collec ed we e analyzed
wi h PLS-SEM.
3.1. Scale Ad ancemen
A su ey was c ea ed o e alua e he esea ch hypo heses, and he s udy’s me ics
we e de i ed om p e ious s udies. The employee oice beha io (EVB) was assessed
using i e i ems de i ed om Maynes and Podsakoff (2014). The wo kplace bullying a -
iable was measu ed using a se en-i em scale de eloped by Eina sen e al. (2009). Finally,
six i ems om Hochwa e and Thompson (2012) we e used o measu e pe cei ed supe -
iso na cissism (PSN). A 5-poin Like -s yle esponse o ma was employed, wi h one
signi ying “s ongly disag ee” and i e ep esen ing “s ongly ag ee.”
3.2. Responden s and Da a Acquisi ion P ocedu e
The ques ionnai es we e di ec ed a employees o i e-s a ho els (20 ho els) and ca -
ego y (A) ou ism companies (19 companies) loca ed in Cai o, Egyp , du ing he pe iod
om May o Augus 2024 using con enience sampling echniques. The esea ch eam
sha ed he online ques ionnai es wi h ho el and ou ism company manage s o help us
collec da a. A o al o 31 o he 425 ques ionnai es collec ed we e dis ega ded due o in-
adequa e esponses. As a esul , 394 ques ionnai es om 243 employees o ho els and 151
employees o ou ism companies we e ound o be alid. Pa icipan s we e in o med ha
hei ag eemen o pa icipa e in he su ey mean ha hey had ag eed o an in o med
consen p ocess and had he op ion o engage in he s udy o decline. Pa icipan s we e
in o med ha hei answe s would be analyzed s a is ically and kep in s ic con iden i-
ali y. Addi ionally, an independen sample es was conduc ed o check whe he he e
we e any diffe ences be ween he s udy samples (samples collec ed om ho els and ou -
ism companies), and i was ound ha he e we e no signi ican diffe ences, so he samples
we e ea ed as one sample.
4. Da a Analysis
The sugges ed hypo heses o he model we e es ed using Pa ial Leas Squa es S uc-
u al Equa ion Modeling (PLS-SEM). This me hod e alua es he ela ionships be ween
cons uc s in he inne model as well as hei in e ac ions wi h la en a iables in he ou e
model. I is pa icula ly well-sui ed o complex esea ch models ha in ol e in e ac ion
Figu e 1. The esea ch model.
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344 7 o 15
3. Resea ch Me hodology
A quan i a i e esea ch pa adigm was employed o explo e he impac o leade
na cissism and wo kplace bullying in he ou ism indus y. In his pa adigm, he ela ed
li e a u e was c i ically e iewed o design he concep ual amewo k and jus i y he
esea ch hypo heses, and hen, alid and eliable measu es we e de i ed om p e ious
li e a u e o de elop he s udy ques ionnai e. Acco dingly, a s uc u ed ques ionnai e was
designed and deli e ed o he a ge ed sample. Finally, he da a collec ed we e analyzed
wi h PLS-SEM.
3.1. Scale Ad ancemen
A su ey was c ea ed o e alua e he esea ch hypo heses, and he s udy’s me ics
we e de i ed om p e ious s udies. The employee oice beha io (EVB) was assessed
using i e i ems de i ed om Maynes and Podsako (2014). The wo kplace bullying
a iable was measu ed using a se en-i em scale de eloped by Eina sen e al. (2009).
Finally, six i ems om Hochwa e and Thompson (2012) we e used o measu e pe cei ed
supe iso na cissism (PSN). A 5-poin Like -s yle esponse o ma was employed, wi h
one signi ying “s ongly disag ee” and i e ep esen ing “s ongly ag ee”.
3.2. Responden s and Da a Acquisi ion P ocedu e
The ques ionnai es we e di ec ed a employees o i e-s a ho els (20 ho els) and
ca ego y (A) ou ism companies (19 companies) loca ed in Cai o, Egyp , du ing he pe iod
om May o Augus 2024 using con enience sampling echniques. The esea ch eam
sha ed he online ques ionnai es wi h ho el and ou ism company manage s o help us
collec da a. A o al o 31 o he 425 ques ionnai es collec ed we e dis ega ded due o
inadequa e esponses. As a esul , 394 ques ionnai es om 243 employees o ho els and
151 employees o ou ism companies we e ound o be alid. Pa icipan s we e in o med
ha hei ag eemen o pa icipa e in he su ey mean ha hey had ag eed o an in o med
consen p ocess and had he op ion o engage in he s udy o decline. Pa icipan s we e
in o med ha hei answe s would be analyzed s a is ically and kep in s ic con iden iali y.
Addi ionally, an independen sample es was conduc ed o check whe he he e we e
any di e ences be ween he s udy samples (samples collec ed om ho els and ou ism
companies), and i was ound ha he e we e no signi ican di e ences, so he samples
we e ea ed as one sample.
4. Da a Analysis
The sugges ed hypo heses o he model we e es ed using Pa ial Leas Squa es S uc-
u al Equa ion Modeling (PLS-SEM). This me hod e alua es he ela ionships be ween
cons uc s in he inne model as well as hei in e ac ions wi h la en a iables in he
ou e model. I is pa icula ly well-sui ed o complex esea ch models ha in ol e in-
e ac ion e ec s (mode a ion) and indi ec e ec s (media ion). Addi ionally, he Sma
PLS-3.0 so wa e p o ides a use - iendly g aphical in e ace, making i mo e accessible
compa ed o ools like AMOS. This app oach has also been widely adop ed in p io esea ch
s udies. The model was assessed h ough a wo-s ep sequen ial me hod ecommended
by Leguina (2015).
4.1. Assessmen o Ou e Measu emen Model
The esea ch examined con e gen (CV) and disc iminan alidi y (DV) o assess he
ou e model. Table 1displays C onbach’s alpha (
α
) ( anging om 0.863 o 0.920), composi e
eliabili y (CR) alues ( a ying be ween 0.901 and 0.937), and ac o loading (SFL) sco es
(spanning om 0.715 o 0.891), indica ing sa is ac o y cu -o le els (>0.70) (Hai e al. 2019).
Addi ionally, he a e age a iance ex ac ed (AVE) sco es we e abo e 0.50, and in u n, CV
was p o ed (Hensele e al. 2009).
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344 8 o 15
Table 1. Ex e nal model assessmen me ics.
Pa ame e s Loading VIF αC_R AVE
Employee Voice Beha io (EVB)
0.863 0.901 0.646
EVB_1 0.749 1.805
EVB_2 0.829 2.226
EVB_3 0.825 2.139
EVB_4 0.793 2.015
EVB_5 0.821 2.155
Wo kplace Bullying (WB) 0.900 0.921 0.625
WB1 0.715 1.655
WB2 0.831 2.572
WB3 0.815 2.353
WB4 0.805 2.207
WB5 0.785 2.242
WB6 0.792 2.309
WB7 0.784 2.129
Pe cei ed Supe iso Na cissism (PSN) 0.920 0.937 0.714
PSN_1 0.854 3.134
PSN_2 0.841 2.618
PSN_3 0.891 3.698
PSN_4 0.829 2.794
PSN_5 0.870 3.260
PSN_6 0.779 2.110
Rega ding he e alua ion o DV, h ee c i e ia we e adop ed as ollows: “c oss-loading
analysis”, he “Fo nell-La cke c i e ion”, and he “He e o ai –Mono ai a io o co ela-
ion (HTMT)” (Leguina 2015). As shown in Table 2, he ac o loading (ou e loading) o
each ac o (emphasized in bold) exceeded i s co esponding c oss-loading alues.
Table 2. C oss-load ou comes.
EVB PSN WB
EVB_1 0.749 0.365 0.517
EVB_2 0.829 0.315 0.531
EVB_3 0.825 0.411 0.546
EVB_4 0.793 0.406 0.581
EVB_5 0.821 0.428 0.588
PSN_1 0.507 0.854 0.599
PSN_2 0.497 0.841 0.568
PSN_3 0.378 0.891 0.580
PSN_4 0.344 0.829 0.561
PSN_5 0.383 0.870 0.547
PSN_6 0.295 0.779 0.516
WB_1 0.620 0.456 0.715
Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 344 15 o 15
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