Effect of personality styles on positive and negative innovation: the mediating role of emotional intelligence and abusive supervision using the structured equation model

PurposeFollowing the theory of emotional events, this paper aims to use the bright triad and the dark tetrad as representations to investigate the role of positive and negative personality patterns in achieving positive and negative innovation. The study also examines the mediating role of emotional intelligence and abusive supervision and the interactive role of emotional exhaustion in understanding the relationship between positive and negative personality patterns and positive and negative innovation. Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypotheses of the study model, a set of questionnaires was distributed to a sample of 500 medical officers working in different departments of public hospitals in southern Iraq. The data were analysed using the structured equation model. FindingsThe results of the current study confirm previous studies on emotional intelligence because the bright triad negatively associates with negative innovation and positively associates with positive innovation. Meanwhile, the dark tetrad positively associates with negative innovation through abusive supervision, and that emotional exhaustion reinforces the negative side and weakens the positive side of the relationships. Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by emphasising that the values represented by the bright triad have a strong readiness to show positive innovation and immunity to negative influence caused by abusive supervision. Meanwhile, the negative emotions of the dark tetrad pattern result in negative patterns because they correlate with negative innovation and the avoidance of positive behaviour, which is escalated by abusive supervision.