Where (and Why) do Narcissists Emerge as Leaders? Cultural Perspective: Best Paper Proceedings

Although narcissists often emerge as leaders, how and why the relationship may vary across cultures is unexplored. Drawing on implicit leadership theory, four experiments (N = 2911) explained why the effect of narcissism on leadership emergence is more positive in China compared with the US. While perceived agency (e.g., dominance, confidence) facilitated narcissists' way to the top in both countries, in China, narcissists were less perceived as lacking communion (e.g., warmth, forgiveness), so that such deficiency was less strongly punished. Study 4 further showed that paradoxical thinking and typical leadership prototype explained why Chinese were more likely than Americans to associate narcissism with communion. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.