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

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Highlights

  • We explore entrepreneurship as it is situated on a continuum of power and social influence, with motives for entrepreneurial action existing on a continuum from light (emancipation) to dark (domination).

  • A systematic review of the literature is conducted through exploratory meta-analysis, focusing on whether and how the Dark Triad traits impact individual behaviors at two distinct stages in the entrepreneurial process: intention and performance.

  • We propose that power acquired over others (domination) is likely to be as viable a predictor of entrepreneurial agency as power removed from others (emancipation).

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.

Section snippets

Executive summary

Entrepreneurs are believed to create new ventures as a means of emancipating themselves from the constraints of established organizations or professional environments. Willing to sacrifice the security of a traditional corporate environment, they are said to bear the uncertainty and risk of entrepreneurial action, presumably for greater autonomy. We propose that entrepreneurial action may be just as likely to find its roots in a ‘darker’, more complex power-based motive. Instead of seeking

Entrepreneurial agency as the will to power

Nietzsche (1886) posits that anything living will have an incarnate will to power, which manifests as an elemental drive for social influence. Will to power is an immutable force equivalent to life itself that is expressed, for better or worse, in every breath and thought and action, superseding even the will to live. Nietzsche (1886) envisions individuals as engaged in a perpetual process of self-creation and self-destruction as they seek to harness and direct their will to power, aiming to

Exploratory meta-analysis

Systematic reviews are conducted for a variety of reasons: to synthesize available evidence for a given question, to play a role in designing new research, or to give context to a body of evidence (Borenstein et al., 2009). Exploratory meta-analysis—one form of systematic review—is best suited when the research goal is to resolve conflicting controversy in the literature where directional, a priori hypotheses may not yet be appropriate.

Literature search

A literature search was conducted across three databases –

Results

A complete list of all studies included in the meta-analysis is provided in Table 1. The sample is primarily current and former business students (entrepreneurial intention) and entrepreneurs (entrepreneurial performance). Empirical examination of the Dark Triad traits in entrepreneurship is relatively new, with published studies only appearing after 2000. The average age of the sample was 28.57 years old (SD = 5.39) and the sample was 61% male.

Table 2 contains the observed and corrected effect

Discussion

We began this paper by asking whether entrepreneurship might be motivated by an individual's will to power, in that a darker desire for domination may sometimes be misinterpreted as a lighter desire for emancipation. Whereas the desire for emancipation is expected to abate once entrepreneurs overcome their structural disadvantages, a desire for domination is likely to intensify as individuals strive for ever more social influence in the context of entrepreneurship. Just as wealth and knowledge

Data quality concerns and the dark triad

The limitations for this review are primarily based upon the limitations of the data in our analysis. Data quality is a persistent concern in all academic research. However, examination of the Dark Triad of personality traits is exceptionally difficult owing to a multitude of challenges in research design and measurement that currently face personality researchers in entrepreneurship. The future of research on the Dark Triad in entrepreneurship is dependent on the ability to contribute to both

Conclusion

We sought to explore the relations between the Dark Triad personality traits and entrepreneurial intention and performance. By interpreting our findings through Nietzsche's will to power philosophy, we present a thorough explanation into how and why these personality traits relate to the initiation and performance of entrepreneurship. In doing so, we explore the presence of power and control in entrepreneurship and take the first step towards understanding how these darker motives may be

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Katrina Brownell: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing.

Jeffery McMullen: Supervision, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing.

Ernest O'Boyle: Supervision, Validation, Methodology, Formal Analysis.

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    References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis.

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