The Effect of Authoritarian Leadership on Silence and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Explaining The Mediator's Role of Representational Predicament

  The authoritarian leadership style is one of the negative and unethical styles of leadership and is guided by the dark side styles of leadership. Regarding the negative effects and consequences of this leadership style, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of authoritarian leadership on silence and counterproductive work behaviors, taking into account the mediator's role of representational predicament.  The research is descriptive – correlation. The statistical population of the study consisted of employees of one of the law enforcement agencies of Tehran. The sample size was 89 with regard to the rules for determining the sample size in the PLS method. The sampling method was randomly available.The instruments for collecting data were questionnaire. To analyze the collected data, Vertical Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling and Smart PLS software were used.
Research Based on the research results, the authoritarian leadership has a positive and significant impact on counterproductive work behaviors and representational predicament. The results showed that there is no significant relationship between authoritarian leadership with employees silence and the representational predicament with counterproductive work behaviors. Also, the mediator's role of representational predicament in the relationship between autocratic leadership and silence was confirmed but the mediator's role of representational predicament was not confirmed in the relationship between authoritarian leadership and counterproductive work behaviors. ndividuals are reluctant for a variety of reasons to express their true opinion about their leader and its characteristics and organizational conditions. Raising their awareness and ensuring that no negative consequences are made if they are genuinely honest can increase the level of confidence in the results.  Excessive and complex bureaucracies and the existence of some protective and information restrictions in the organization under study were the most important limitations of this study. Such restrictions reduce the amount of data to be analyzed. Future research in organizations with no limitations on data collection can increase the level of confidence and confidence in the results.  The article adds to managerial research, and particularly in the field of organizational leadership and the dark side of leadership, by examining the impact of authoritarian leadership on silent and counterproductive work behaviors given the mediating role of representational predicament.