Dr. Sheila Hanson, Assistant Professor in the School of Entrepreneurship & Management, presented research study at the 2021 Annual Southwest Academy of Management Virtual Conference
Dr. Sheila Hanson recently presented a study on “Vain or Villainous? How Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Entrepreneurial Fitness Influence the Entrepreneurial Intentions of Young Adults” at the 2021 Annual Southwest Academy of Management Virtual Conference, March 2 – 5, 2021. Authors include Sheila Hanson (University of North Dakota), Sean Valentine (University of North Dakota), and Patrick Schultz (University of North Dakota).
An abstract of their work is as follows:
This study builds on the literature investigating the antecedents of the entrepreneurial intentions and aspirations of young adults, the next generation of entrepreneurs. Using a large sample of college students with extensive work experience, we determine whether aspiring entrepreneurs’ “bright” or “dark” traits are related to their entrepreneurial intentions. The results indicated that entrepreneurial fitness, comprised of multiple bright traits, was positively related to entrepreneurial intention, while the darks traits Machiavellianism and narcissism were differentially related to entrepreneurial fitness and intention. Machiavellianism was negatively related to entrepreneurial fitness and negatively and indirectly related to intention; however, the direct relationship between Machiavellianism and intention was positive. Narcissism was positively related to entrepreneurial fitness and intention both directly and indirectly. These findings demonstrate that positive role of both bright and dark traits with considering entrepreneurial intention, implying that there are adaptive sides of both Machiavellianism and narcissism to a certain threshold, with Machiavellianism showing a somewhat maladaptive side in young adults determining their future vocation. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed, as are the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research.
