Narcissism and Learning from Entrepreneurial Failure

Abstract

Failure of a prior business provides an opportunity for an entrepreneur to learn in the subsequent entrepreneurial endeavor, but learning from failure is not guaranteed. Why do some entrepreneurs learn less from failure than others? In this study, we propose that a narcissistic personality can create cognitive and motivational obstacles to learning. We further posit that the inhibiting effect of narcissism will be more salient when the costs of failure, especially social costs, are higher. Our analysis with a survey sample of startups provides an initial empirical evidence about the negative impact of narcissism on learning from entrepreneurial failure. The study adds to research on learning from failure and narcissism in entrepreneurship.

Keywords: learning from failure, entrepreneurship, narcissism, failure costs