Core Self-Evaluations, Self-Leadership, and the Self-Serving Bias in Managerial Decision Making: A Laboratory Experiment

Abstract

The self-leadership construct has received great attention from scholars over the last 40 years due to its capacity to influence personal effectiveness. However, despite strongly influencing individuals’ self-efficacy, performed studies did not determine whether self-leadership is connected, and how, with the Core-Self Evaluation (CSE) trait—a complex personality disposition based on self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control, and emotional stability—that has been found impacting decision-making processes within organizations. Moreover, it has not been identified whether individuals with a high level of self-leadership are more prone to be victims of some cognitive biases in decision-making processes, such as the internal attribution of successes and external attribution of failures (i.e., Self-Serving Bias, SSB) that are usually led by the strong belief of individuals in their own capacities. The outlined gaps can be substantiated by the following two research questions: “How is self-leadership related with CSE?” and “How does self-leadership influence the attribution of successes/failures?”. To answer these questions, the following were identified and analyzed for 93 executives: (i) the tendency in the attribution of successes and failures, (ii) the CSE, and (iii) their self-leadership level. Results show that: (i) a high level of CSE is connected with high levels of self-leadership; (ii) high levels of self-leadership bring individuals to the internal attribution of successes and external attribution of failures. This work reinforces the stream of (the few) studies that considers a high level of CSE and self-leadership as not always being desirable for managerial decision-making processes and consequent performance. This paper aims to enrich the debate concerning the relations between, on the one hand, self-leadership and, on the other hand, personality traits between self-leadership and decision making.

Should I Stay or Should I Go (to the Office)?—Effects of Working from Home, Autonomy, and Core Self–Evaluations on Leader Health and Work–Life Balance

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The Challenges to Women’s Entrepreneurial Involvement in the Hospitality Industry

“…However, self-leadership is a necessary attribute to becoming a successful person. Personality characteristics commonly happen by the close to social and educational institutes and homes, enabling individuals to accept the qualities-based way to deal with self-lead improvement (Cristofaro and Giardino 2020). Therefore, this study has proposed that: H7: Work-family interference significantly influences self-leadership.…”

Self-serving bias among educational counsellors

“…The relationship between job duration and self-serving bias was discussed in studies conducted by (Cristofaro & Giardino, 2020), and they indicate that selfserving bias may appear in the job environment depending on the degree to which the individual feels self-efficacy, where self-efficacy is linked to a feeling of outstanding performance, more From its relationship to the length of service, the outstanding performance is the influence on the subjective aspects that reinforce the subjective beliefs of the effectiveness; Negative performance, rather than length of service, leads to low self-confidence. Thus, when people truly believe in their abilities -and thus exhibit a high level of self-efficacy -and achieve successful goals in their private and professional lives, they are more likely to experience a self-serving bias than people who have an average level of belief in their abilities.…”