Narcissism and entrepreneurship: Evidence from six datasets

Widespread attention is being paid to the alleged rise of narcissism in people in general and business leaders in particular. Surprisingly, hardly any studies have focused on the link between narcissism and entrepreneurship. Using self-reported data from 4798 respondents from three countries, we explore the associations between trait narcissism and six different entrepreneurial aspects that represent the entire entrepreneurial process. Overall, our findings suggest that a positive link exists between narcissism and entrepreneurship that is particularly salient in the early stage of the entrepreneurial process (e.g., entrepreneurial intention) and in the individual aspects of entrepreneurship (e.g., entrepreneurial orientation, well-being of the entrepreneur). Our additional analyses reveal that the adaptive aspect of narcissism (i.e., leadership/authority) is most consistently linked to entrepreneurship and that the links between narcissism and entrepreneurship are predominately linear. Finally, our findings are largely robust when different sets of controls are added. •We explore the link between narcissism and six different entrepreneurial aspects.•Narcissism is positively associated with entrepreneurship in general.•This association is most salient in the early stage of the entrepreneurial process.•This association is most salient in the individual aspect of entrepreneurship.•The adaptive aspect of narcissism is most consistently linked to entrepreneurship.