The Dark Lord Needs a Dark Space: The Influence of an Unethical Culture on the Relationship Between Dark Triad Traits...

Prior research has identified that individuals characterized by traits like psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism (i.e., the Dark Triad) are seen to more likely engage in unethical behavior and hold less pro-organizational work attitudes. Yet, behavior and attitudes are shaped not by individual traits alone but by their interaction with the environment - a factor frequently overlooked in Dark Triad research. In two studies, we therefore explored how an unethical organizational culture influences the relationship between Dark Triad traits and their organizational behavior and attitudes: A field study with German-speaking employees from various companies (N₁ = 1,077) and a scenario-based experiment with German-speaking employees and students (N₂ = 275), in which the participants were randomly assigned to either an unethical (n = 138) or an ethical (n = 137) organizational culture. Across both studies, perceptions of an unethical organizational culture amplified the link between the Dark Triad traits and unethical behavior as well as primarily influenced pro-organizational attitudes, with the traits proving relatively unimportant for the latter. Our findings highlight the importance of assessing organizational context when examining the "dark side" of organizational psychology. In addition, this research underlines the relevance of improving unethical organizational cultures.