Do self-esteem and ethical leadership dampens Machiavellianism–effectiveness relationship: a parallel mediation approach

PurposeThe present paper intends to study the relationship between Machiavellianism and effectiveness. It investigates the parallel mediating effects of self-esteem and ethical leadership on Machiavellianism and leader effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe study was administered to 260 managers from the banking sector. Statistical tools, like descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation, reliability analysis, validity analysis and parallel-mediated regression analysis, were used to analyze the data. Drawing from the conservation of resource (COR) theory, a parallel mediation model was empirically tested.FindingsThe study found a negative association between Machiavellianism and leader effectiveness, and the parallel mediating impact of self-esteem and ethical leadership reduced the impact of Machiavellianism on leader effectiveness.Practical implicationsThe work suggests that the banking sector leaders can adapt ethical behaviors to create positive leader–member relations contributing to increased organizational efficiency and productivity.Originality/valueThe unique contribution of the study includes determining the mediating roles of self-esteem and ethical leadership, especially in the Indian context. Despite the availability of past studies on the constructs, the studies on the parallel mediating relationship between Machiavellianism and effectiveness was limited.