Me, Myself, and I: Influence of CEO Narcissism on Firms’ Innovation Proclivity and Likelihood of Marketing Controversies—An Abstract

Abstract

The strategic decisions of chief executive officers (CEOs) significantly impact firms’ key stakeholders and society at large. As a result, a plethora of research focuses on highlighting the economic, social, and environmental consequences of CEOs’ decisions (e.g., Mizik 2010; Swaminathan and Moorman 2009; Steenkamp and Fang 2011). Surprisingly, this research has mainly focused on the impact of CEOs’ demographic backgrounds such as age, functional background, education, and tenure (e.g., Palmer and Barber 2001; Jensen and Zajac 2004; Bertrand and Schoar 2003; Baker and Mueller 2002). However, research that investigates the impact of CEOs’ personality traits on their strategic choices remains scant, and the impact of personality on strategic marketing outcomes has not yet been investigated. This omission is surprising given that CEOs are directly involved in a number of strategic marketing decisions and are also likely to influence the decisions of marketing executives such as chief marketing officers (CMOs) through a top-down approach (Bower 1970). In response to this gap in existing research, the authors examine a segment of personality which has recently received attention in both the academic literature and public press: narcissism. In this research the authors investigate the relationship between narcissistic personality characteristics found in CEOs and firms’ strategic marketing behavior. The authors find that firms led by narcissistic CEOs exhibit higher degrees of competitive aggressiveness. Higher competitive aggressiveness in turn not only mediates these firms’ new product introductions but also increases the likelihood of these firms engaging in marketing controversies (deceptive advertising, pricing controversy, or product safety issues). A sample of 395 publicly listed US firms was observed between the years 2006 and 2010 to test the authors’ hypotheses. This article highlights the role of CEOs’ personal values in shaping marketing strategy and the risks and rewards to firms associated with high degrees of competitive aggressiveness.