Narcissism, workaholism, family support and new venture performance: a moderated mediation model

Prior studies have found that an entrepreneur's level of narcissism may correspond with higher firm performance in some contexts, but existing research has yet to fully explore all of the critical contingencies that shape these nuanced relationships. In this study, we examine how narcissistic traits of a new venture founder enhance firm performance and we extend the literature by revealing workaholism as a crucial mediator of this relationship. We also examine family support (both emotional and instrumental) as an important boundary condition that moderates the link between workaholism and new venture performance. Using a sample of 1,518 student entrepreneurs from 43 countries, we demonstrate that narcissism can enhance new venture performance through workaholism of the founder. Furthermore, we found that family emotional support diminishes the positive relationship between workaholism and performance. Finally, we discuss the implications of our work for both theory and practice. Narcissistic workaholics achieve high business performance, unless their families become too involved. Founders wield outsized influence over new venture creation and early development. For example, past research suggests that personality traits of the founder, like narcissism, may boost new venture performance or destroy it. However, there are no consistent results regarding the impact of narcissism on performance. To understand the mechanisms shaping the relationship between narcissism and venture performance, we investigate founder's workaholism as a possible mediator. At the same time, familial ties and relationships play important roles in many spheres of life, and we argue that family support may be beneficial to firm founders (or not), depending on the type of support and/or personal characteristics of the founder. In our study, we analyzed responses from active business founders about themselves and their businesses. We find that narcissism increases venture performance through workaholism, while family emotional support decreases the positive effect of workaholism. Thus, the main implication of our study for both researchers and practitioners is that workaholism may be a missing link between narcissism and performance. Furthermore, family support may augment the degree to which founders' addictive desire to work positively impacts venture performance.