IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbvent/v36y2021i3s0883902621000161.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fatal attraction: A systematic review and research agenda of the dark triad in entrepreneurship

Author

Listed:
  • Brownell, Katrina M.
  • McMullen, Jeffery S.
  • O'Boyle, Ernest H.

Abstract

Using meta-analytic techniques, relations among the Dark Triad personality traits – Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy – were examined in relation to outcomes associated with two different stages of the entrepreneurial process: entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial performance. From 39 independent samples (N = 11,819), we found that Machiavellianism positively relates to entrepreneurial intention (rc = 0.16) and negatively relates to entrepreneurial performance (rc = −0.22), narcissism positively relates to entrepreneurial intention (rc = 0.24) and entrepreneurial performance (rc = 0.09), and psychopathy positively relates to entrepreneurial intention (rc = 0.17) and negatively relates to entrepreneurial performance (rc = −0.10). Amid conflicting empirical results and theoretical viewpoints, we leverage our findings to present an exploration into how and why the Dark Triad personality traits relate to the initiation and performance of entrepreneurship. We interpret the existing literature through the lens of Nietzsche's will to power and propose that power acquired over others (domination) is likely to be as viable a predictor of entrepreneurial agency as power removed from others (emancipation). Limitations to the primary studies included in our review are thoroughly examined, and we offer direction for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Brownell, Katrina M. & McMullen, Jeffery S. & O'Boyle, Ernest H., 2021. "Fatal attraction: A systematic review and research agenda of the dark triad in entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(3).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:36:y:2021:i:3:s0883902621000161
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2021.106106
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902621000161
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2021.106106?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Howard H. Stevenson & J. Carlos Jarillo, 2007. "A Paradigm of Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial Management," Springer Books, in: Álvaro Cuervo & Domingo Ribeiro & Salvador Roig (ed.), Entrepreneurship, pages 155-170, Springer.
    2. Mueller, Stephen L. & Thomas, Anisya S., 2001. "Culture and entrepreneurial potential: A nine country study of locus of control and innovativeness," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 51-75, January.
    3. Anthony C. Klotz & Donald O. Neubaum, 2016. "Article Commentary: Research on the Dark Side of Personality Traits in Entrepreneurship: Observations from an Organizational Behavior Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(1), pages 7-17, January.
    4. Croson, David C. & Minniti, Maria, 2012. "Slipping the surly bonds: The value of autonomy in self-employment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 355-365.
    5. Cooper, Arnold C., 1985. "The role of incubator organizations in the founding of growth-oriented firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 75-86.
    6. DeConinck, James B., 2010. "The influence of ethical climate on marketing employees' job attitudes and behaviors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 384-391, April.
    7. KruegerJR, Norris F. & Reilly, Michael D. & Carsrud, Alan L., 2000. "Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(5-6), pages 411-432.
    8. Edmund R. Thompson, 2009. "Individual Entrepreneurial Intent: Construct Clarification and Development of an Internationally Reliable Metric," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(3), pages 669-694, May.
    9. Chandler, Gaylen N. & Jansen, Erik, 1992. "The founder's self-assessed competence and venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 223-236, May.
    10. Antoinette Rijsenbilt & Harry Commandeur, 2013. "Narcissus Enters the Courtroom: CEO Narcissism and Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 413-429, October.
    11. Anglin, Aaron H. & Wolfe, Marcus T. & Short, Jeremy C. & McKenny, Aaron F. & Pidduck, Robert J., 2018. "Narcissistic rhetoric and crowdfunding performance: A social role theory perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 780-812.
    12. Lee, Lena & Wong, Poh Kam & Foo, Maw Der & Leung, Aegean, 2011. "Entrepreneurial intentions: The influence of organizational and individual factors," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 124-136, January.
    13. Clive Boddy & Richard Ladyshewsky & Peter Galvin, 2010. "The Influence of Corporate Psychopaths on Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Commitment to Employees," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 1-19, November.
    14. William J. Wales & Pankaj C. Patel & G. T. Lumpkin, 2013. "In Pursuit of Greatness: CEO Narcissism, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Firm Performance Variance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(6), pages 1041-1069, September.
    15. Viechtbauer, Wolfgang, 2010. "Conducting Meta-Analyses in R with the metafor Package," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 36(i03).
    16. Chen, Chao C. & Greene, Patricia Gene & Crick, Ann, 1998. "Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 295-316, July.
    17. Teemu Kautonen & Marco van Gelderen & Matthias Fink, 2015. "Robustness of the Theory of Planned Behavior in Predicting Entrepreneurial Intentions and Actions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(3), pages 655-674, May.
    18. Pankaj C. Patel & Danielle Cooper, 2014. "The harder they fall, the faster they rise: Approach and avoidance focus in narcissistic CEOs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(10), pages 1528-1540, October.
    19. Daniel Hjorth, 2017. "Critique nouvelle – an essay on affirmative-performative entrepreneurship research," Revue de l'Entrepreneuriat, De Boeck Université, vol. 16(1), pages 47-54.
    20. Lars Kolvereid, 1996. "Prediction of Employment Status Choice Intentions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 21(1), pages 47-58, October.
    21. Mary Hogue & Julia Levashina & Hongli Hang, 2013. "Will I Fake It? The Interplay of Gender, Machiavellianism, and Self-monitoring on Strategies for Honesty in Job Interviews," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 399-411, October.
    22. Liu, Yiran & Li, Yong & Hao, Xiling & Zhang, Yuli, 2019. "Narcissism and learning from entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 496-512.
    23. Wiklund, Johan & Patzelt, Holger & Dimov, Dimo, 2016. "Entrepreneurship and psychological disorders: How ADHD can be productively harnessed," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 6(C), pages 14-20.
    24. Siegel, Robin & Siegel, Eric & MacMillan, Ian C., 1988. "Corporate venture capitalists: Autonomy, obstacles, and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 233-247.
    25. Urs Baldegger & Steffen H. Schroeder & Marco R. Furtner, 2017. "The self-loving entrepreneur: dual narcissism and entrepreneurial intention," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(4), pages 373-391.
    26. Ricarda Bouncken & Beate Cesinger & Victor Tiberius, 2020. "Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy of top managers: Can Entrepreneurial Orientation secure performance?," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(3), pages 273-302.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jeehan Awad & Rodrigo Martín‐Rojas, 2024. "Enhancing social responsibility and resilience through entrepreneurship and digital environment," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1688-1704, May.
    2. Gubik, Andrea S. & Vörös, Zsófia, 2023. "Why narcissists may be successful entrepreneurs: The role of entrepreneurial social identity and overwork," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    3. Katrina M. Brownell & Audra Quinn & Mark T. Bolinger, 2024. "The Triad Divided: A Curvilinear Mediation Model Linking Founder Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy to New Venture Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(1), pages 310-348, January.
    4. Soumaya Meddeb & Étienne St-Jean & Andreas Rauch, 2024. "The interaction of narcissism, agreeableness and conscientiousness in entrepreneurial mentoring: Implications for learning outcomes," Post-Print hal-04701307, HAL.
    5. Clark, Daniel R. & Crawford, G. Christopher & Pidduck, Robert J., 2023. "Exceptionality in entrepreneurship: Systematically investigating outlier outcomes," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    6. Hoang, Giang & Luu, Tuan Trong & Le, Thuy Thu Thi & Tran, Anh Kim Thi, 2022. "Dark Triad traits affecting entrepreneurial intentions: The roles of opportunity recognition and locus of control," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    7. García-Lillo, Francisco & Seva-Larrosa, Pedro & Sánchez-García, Eduardo, 2023. "What is going on in entrepreneurship research? A bibliometric and SNA analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    8. Harms, P.D. & White, Joshua V. & Fezzey, Tyler N.A., 2024. "Dark clouds on the horizon: Dark personality traits and the frontiers of the entrepreneurial economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    9. Galina Shirokova & Nailya Galieva & Joshua V. White & Diana Doktorova, 2024. "Narcissism, workaholism, family support and new venture performance: a moderated mediation model," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 379-419, June.
    10. Bacq, Sophie & Drover, Will & Kim, Phillip H., 2021. "Writing bold, broad, and rigorous review articles in entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    11. Shi, Xiaohua & Zhi, Mingxing, 2023. "Managerial overconfidence and enterprise shadow banking," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    12. Lien, Wan-Chien & Chen, Jianhong & Sohl, Jeffrey, 2022. "Do I have a big ego? Angel investors' narcissism and investment behaviors," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    13. Liridon Kryeziu & Mehmet Bağış & Mehmet Nurullah Kurutkan & Çağdaş Ateş, 2024. "Dark triad personality, motivational dynamics and nascent entrepreneurs entrepreneurial intentions: cross-country comparison," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 2669-2702, December.
    14. Rahul Yadav & Safal Batra, 2023. "Does Narcissism Influence Entrepreneurial Intentions? A Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 32(2), pages 449-478, July.
    15. Beate Cesinger & Katherine Gundolf & Mathew Hughes & Anis Khedhaouria & Francesco Montani, 2023. "The bright and dark sides of the Dark Triad traits among senior managers: effects on organizational commitment," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1731-1763, July.
    16. Shepherd, Dean A. & Seyb, Stella & Williams, Trenton A., 2023. "Empathy-driven entrepreneurial action: Well-being outcomes for entrepreneurs and target beneficiaries," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2).
    17. Granados, Maria L. & Rosli, Ainurul & Gotsi, Manto, 2022. "Staying poor: Unpacking the process of barefoot institutional entrepreneurship failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(3).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katrina M. Brownell & Audra Quinn & Mark T. Bolinger, 2024. "The Triad Divided: A Curvilinear Mediation Model Linking Founder Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy to New Venture Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(1), pages 310-348, January.
    2. Kim Hoe Looi, 2020. "Contextual Motivations for Undergraduates’ Entrepreneurial Intentions in Emerging Asian Economies," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 29(1), pages 53-87, March.
    3. Rahul Yadav & Safal Batra, 2023. "Does Narcissism Influence Entrepreneurial Intentions? A Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 32(2), pages 449-478, July.
    4. Zellweger, Thomas & Sieger, Philipp & Halter, Frank, 2011. "Should I stay or should I go? Career choice intentions of students with family business background," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 521-536, September.
    5. Galina Shirokova & Nailya Galieva & Joshua V. White & Diana Doktorova, 2024. "Narcissism, workaholism, family support and new venture performance: a moderated mediation model," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 379-419, June.
    6. Adnane MAALAOUI & Imen SAFRAOU & Judith PARTOUCHE & Celine Viala, 2019. "How Subjective Age Affects Entrepreneurship: The Effects of Rejuvenating Trend on Entrepreneurial Intention among Seniors," Working Papers 2019-002, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    7. Alessandro Arrighetti & Luca Caricati & Fabio Landini & Nadia Monacelli, 2013. "Explaining entrepreneurial orientation among university students: Evidence from italy," Working Papers 1301, c.MET-05 - Centro Interuniversitario di Economia Applicata alle Politiche per L'industria, lo Sviluppo locale e l'Internazionalizzazione.
    8. Rayenda Khresna Brahmana & Maria Kontesa, 2023. "‘No Better Fund Without Me!’ Do Narcissistic Start-up Entrepreneurs Succeed in Venture Funding?," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 32(3), pages 638-666, November.
    9. Martin Mabunda Baluku & Edward Bantu & Kathleen Otto, 2018. "Effect of Locus of Control on Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Self-Employment Intentions: The Moderating Role of Individualism," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 26(03), pages 251-283, September.
    10. Adnane Maalaoui & Judith Partouche & Imen Safraou & Celine Viala, 2023. "Senior entrepreneurship: how subjective age affects seniors’ entrepreneurial intentions," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 443-465, February.
    11. Anna Katharina Bachmann & Thomas Maran & Marco Furtner & Alexander Brem & Marius Welte, 2021. "Improving entrepreneurial self-efficacy and the attitude towards starting a business venture," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1707-1727, August.
    12. Carlos Bazan & Hannah Gaultois & Arifusalam Shaikh & Katie Gillespie & Sean Frederick & Ali Amjad & Simon Yap & Chantel Finn & James Rayner & Nafisa Belal, 2020. "A systematic literature review of the influence of the university’s environment and support system on the precursors of social entrepreneurial intention of students," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-28, December.
    13. Mohammad Tahlil Azim & Md. Mazharul Islam, 2022. "Role of religiosity, social factors, and perceived subjective norms on entrepreneurial intention: a study on tertiary level students," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 12(1), pages 341-356, December.
    14. Ben Youssef, Adel & Boubaker, Sabri & Dedaj, But & Carabregu-Vokshi, Mjellma, 2021. "Digitalization of the economy and entrepreneurship intention," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    15. Anca-Otilia Dodescu & Elena-Aurelia Botezat & Alexandru Constăngioară & Ioana-Crina Pop-Cohuţ, 2021. "A Partial Least-Square Mediation Analysis of the Contribution of Cross-Campus Entrepreneurship Education to Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-26, August.
    16. Cristian C. Popescu & Ionel Bostan & Ioan-Bogdan Robu & Andrei Maxim & Laura Diaconu (Maxim), 2016. "An Analysis of the Determinants of Entrepreneurial Intentions among Students: A Romanian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-22, August.
    17. Shirokova, Galina & Osiyevskyy, Oleksiy & Bogatyreva, Karina, 2016. "Exploring the intention–behavior link in student entrepreneurship: Moderating effects of individual and environmental characteristics," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 386-399.
    18. Carolin Palmer & Ulrike Fasbender & Sascha Kraus & Stephanie Birkner & Norbert Kailer, 2021. "A chip off the old block? The role of dominance and parental entrepreneurship for entrepreneurial intention," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 287-307, February.
    19. Jeffery S. McMullen & Katrina M. Brownell & Joel Adams, 2021. "What Makes an Entrepreneurship Study Entrepreneurial? Toward A Unified Theory of Entrepreneurial Agency," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(5), pages 1197-1238, September.
    20. Ingrid Verheul & Joern Block & Katrin Burmeister-Lamp & Roy Thurik & Henning Tiemeier & Roxana Turturea, 2015. "ADHD-like behavior and entrepreneurial intentions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 85-101, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:36:y:2021:i:3:s0883902621000161. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusvent .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.