MGNT 4510

CHINA BUSINESS

• Spring 2019
• Dr. Wendong Li
• Feb. 27/28, 2019
 謙受益，滿招損
《尚書﹒ 大禹謨》

The modest receive benefit, while the

conceited reap failure
Book of Documents

三人行，必有我師焉
《論語﹒述而》

If three walk together, one of them can

teach me something
Analects of Confucius
 A Narcissism Epidemic?

 Google Insights search for “narcissism” and

“narcissistic”
 What is Narcissism?
 “Noxious self-esteem”
 A pattern of characteristics (Brunell et al., 2008)
 Positive and inflated views of self
 Pervasive pattern of self-regulation that maintains positive self views –
often at the expense of others
 Interpersonal relationships that lack warmth and intimacy
 One of the dark triad: narcissism, Machiavellianism,
and Psychopathy
 Would you date this person?

 A double-edged sword:
 Good at short-term relationships, but poor at long-term
relationships

 Positive impression deteriorates over time (Paulhus,

1998)
 Week 1: “confident, entertaining, and physically attractive”
 Week 7: “hostile, arrogant, and cold”
 Narcissism and Leadership:
Low to Middle Level Leaders
 Narcissists display “leaderlike” traits that
get others to nominate them, but…
 Narcissists also exhibit characteristics that
are self-destructive and interpersonally
aversive
 Exploitativeness (Emmons, 1987)
 Lacking empathy (Pincus et al., 2009)
 Reacting aggressively to negative feedback
(Bushman & Baumeister, 1998)

 Acting unethically (Brunell et al., 2011)

 Impulsivity (Vazire & Funder, 2006)
 Preference for submissive followers
 Narcissism and Leadership:
Low to Middle Level Leaders
 Results?
 Across 18 studies, narcissists were somewhat more likely to
become group leaders
 This appeared to be largely a function of them being more sociable

 Narcissists rated themselves as excellent leaders

 However, their coworkers did not
 Non-Linear Narcissism with
Performance
 Could it be that some narcissism is good, but too much is
bad?

 Needed new primary data to answer

Cues to spot narcissistic CEOs

1. Size of photo in annual report

2. Relative salary
3. Use of words: me and I

Adam Grant,
Professor of Management,
Wharton School
The Top 25 Most Narcissistic CEOs In
Tech

Professor of Management,
Penn State
 CEO Narcissism
 Chatterjee & Hambrick (2007): positively related to the
number and size of firm acquisitions
 Chatterjee & Hambrick (2011): positively related to spending
on R&D, capital expenditures, and mergers and acquisitions
 Meta analysis by Wang et al. (2016): positively related to firm
risk taking (.18) and product innovation (.10)
 O'Reilly et al. (2014): More narcissistic and Longer-tenured
CEOs receive more total direct compensation (salary, bonus,
and stock options), have more money in their total
shareholdings, and have larger discrepancies between their
own (higher) compensation and the other members of the
TMT
 CEO Narcissism: Why?
 Resick et al. (2009): negative relationship between CEO
narcissism and contingent reward leadership

 Peterson et al., (2012): negatively with servant leadership, an

other-oriented form of leadership: mediated by CEO's
organizational identification

 Chatterjee & Hambrick (2007): fluctuation of performance in

the form of return on assets (ROA)
• perception of national character (PNC): how
people of a country as a whole are perceived in
terms of narcissism and related constructs.
 citizens of 4 other world regions rated members of their own region as more
narcissistic than they perceived themselves, but the effect sizes were smaller
than those found in the case of Americans’ perceptions of Americans.

Individuals from other regions rated Americans as more narcissistic than
members of their own region
 participants from around the world rated Americans as more narcissistic,
extraverted, and antagonistic than members of their own countries
 Humble Narcissist:
Another Way Out?
Narcissists believe they’re special and
superior; humble leaders know they’re
fallible and flawed.

Humble narcissists bring the best of both

worlds: they have bold visions, but they’re
also willing to acknowledge their
weaknesses and learn from their mistakes.

Humble narcissists have grand ambitions, Adam Grant,

Professor of Management,
but they don’t feel entitled to them. They Wharton School
don’t deny their weaknesses; they work to
overcome them.