How entrepreneurs' dual narcissism affects new venture growth: the roles of personal initiative and learning from entrepreneurial failure

Abstract

Purpose

Based on a personality-behavior-outcome framework, this study analyzes how entrepreneurs' dual narcissism (i.e. narcissistic admiration and rivalry) affects new venture growth (NVG) through learning from entrepreneurial failure (LFEF) and discusses the moderating effect of personal initiative on the relationship between dual narcissism and LFEF.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 294 entrepreneurs from different cities and industries in China were selected as the research sample. The mediation effect was examined using the PROCESS macro, and the moderation effect was tested via hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

This study found that narcissistic admiration positively affected NVG, while narcissistic rivalry had the opposite effect. LFEF mediated the relationships between narcissistic admiration/rivalry and NVG. In addition, the effects of narcissistic admiration and rivalry on LFEF were moderated by personal initiative.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that entrepreneurs with narcissistic rivalry should deliberately regulate their cognition of failure and strengthen their learning from failure. Moreover, entrepreneurship education mentors should emphasize cultivating and guiding entrepreneurs' personal initiative in the context of frustration education. In addition, venture capitalists can consider incorporating the personality traits (i.e. dual narcissism and personal initiative) of entrepreneurs into the investment decision-making index system.

Originality/value

This study advances the relationship between narcissism and performance through the perspective of dual narcissism and provides a learning theory perspective for analyzing the narcissism–performance relationship. Moreover, by exploring the moderating role of personal initiative, this study enriches the understanding of the conditional factor that affects the ability to learn from failure.

Citation

Wang, H., Zheng, C., Wu, W. and Sui, F. (2022), "How entrepreneurs' dual narcissism affects new venture growth: the roles of personal initiative and learning from entrepreneurial failure", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 35 No. 7, pp. 1125-1146. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-10-2021-0313