Do I win, does the company win, or do we both win? Moderate traits of the Dark Triad and profit maximization

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between the maximization of personal and company gains and the moderate traits of the Dark Triad. The relevance of choosing this topic lies in investigating the attitude of executives who exhibit characteristics of a moderate intensity between the strong and weak traits. It is proven that the vision and charisma of narcissistic individuals, the strategy and tactics of Machiavellian individuals, and the creativity and good strategic thinking of psychopathic individuals are differentiating characteristics that enhance successful and integrative leadership and that are far from the more accentuated and opportunistic attitudes related to the strong traits, whose practices involve dishonest actions for personal gain. This evidence creates the possibility for strengthening the research in the accounting area, especially on the behavioral approach, in order to promote its interface with psychology and clarify how personality, values, and experiences influence managers’ choices when conducting business and how workers and companies are impacted by these decisions. The study is empirical-theoretical and involves 263 managers, adopting a survey as its data collection strategy and applying a self-reporting type questionnaire. The data analysis approaches included descriptive statistics, correlations, tests of means, and logistic regressions. In this study, managers with moderate psychopathic traits showed a lower tendency to maximize profit by manipulating results. An opposite tendency was revealed for those with moderate Machiavellian traits. The combined effect of the three Dark Triad traits was significant and positive, revealing opportunistic profit maximization. These findings contribute to future studies that aim to systematically analyze moderate levels of the triad and corroborate the findings that have revealed the common characteristics of manipulation, callousness, and dishonesty when investigating the interactive effect between the traits in question.

Narcissism, risk and uncertainties: analysis in the light of prospect and fuzzy-trace theories

“…Other Brazilian investigations included narcissism as a topic of study, but used other research instruments, with a different score to verify the disposition for the dark trait. D’Souza, Lima et al (2019) and D’Souza and Lima (2015) used the short dark triad (SD3; Jones and Paulhus, 2014) to collect nine Likert-type statements (1–5 points) regarding disposition to narcissistic traits. The authors found mean truex¯ = 2.8 with managers and truex¯ = 3.01 with Master in Business Administration (MBA) students, respectively.…”

“…As for the studies that discuss the narcissistic personality trait related to decision-making, the results show that individuals with high traits of narcissism demonstrate impulsiveness and overconfidence in their knowledge and performance by agreeing with risky bets that could result in victory and success, even though they know that the consequences can be harmful to the company (Lakey, Rose, W. K Campbell, & Goodie, 2008; W. K Campbell, Goodie, & Foster; 2004; WK, Campbell, Hoffman, SM Campbell, & Marchisio, 2011), because the courage for risky decisions comes from the need for praise when business performance is higher than expected (Chatterjee & Hambrick, 2011).…”

“…Individuals with nonpathological traits of narcissism are characterized by an excess of superiority, self-sufficiency, authority, vanity, exhibitionism, exploitation and a sense of entitlement (Raskin & Terry, 1988). Narcissism has been the subject of studies on marketing strategy (Reche, Bertolini, & Debona, 2020), the need for power (D’Souza, Oliveira, Almeida, & Natividade, 2019), profile analyses of accounting students (Lima Filho, de Souza, & D’Souza, 2019), cultural values of accounting students (D’Souza & Lima, 2019), career choices in accounting (D'Souza & de Lima, 2018), academic performance (Lima, Avelino, & Cunha, 2018), discourse analysis in administrative reports of companies involved in financial scandals (D’Souza, Aragão, & De Luca, 2018) and academic dishonesty (Avelino & de Lima, 2017).…”

“…Furthermore, studies on decision-making and narcissism that developed empirical applications in a national context have discussed opportunistic decisions, with manipulation or management of results (D’Souza, Lima, Jones, & Carre, 2019; Góis, 2017; D’Souza, 2016; D’Souza & Lima, 2015), analyzing, in addition to the narcissistic trait, other dark personality traits: Machiavellianism, psychopathy and sadism.…”

Responsabilidade Social Corporativa Modera a Relação Entre O Traço Maquiavélico E O Gerenciamento De Resultados?

“…Estudos no âmbito comportamental sugerem que a prática de manipular resultados é motivada pela personalidade dos indivíduos (Silva, 2019;D'Souza, Lima, Jones, & Carre, 2019;Góis, 2017;D'Souza, 2016;D'Souza & Lima, 2015) porque, como enuncia a teoria do Alto Escalão (Hambrick, 2007;Hambrick & Mason, 1984), as interpretações e escolhas de executivos estão relacionadas às características pessoais, aos valores e à personalidade.…”