The Role of Narcissistic Hypocrisy in the Development of Accounting Estimates

Matthew J. Hayes, Philip M.J. Reckers

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

In an experiment including experienced managers, we investigate how supervisor and subordinate narcissism influence a supervisor's review of a subordinate's accounting estimate. While narcissistic supervisors express greater liking for narcissistic subordinates (narcissistic tolerance), they nonetheless reject and revise the accounting estimates of narcissistic subordinates to a greater extent than they reject estimates of non-narcissistic subordinates (narcissistic hypocrisy), even when doing so inhibits the supervisor's ability to reach a profit target. Our findings contribute to extant research in accounting and psychology. We demonstrate that narcissistic hypocrisy extends beyond the evaluation of others and alters narcissists' willingness to rely on other narcissists in a meaningful financial reporting decision. We also find that narcissistic hypocrisy is robust across age, gender, and supervisory experience.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1199-1216
Number of pages18
JournalContemporary Accounting Research
Volume37
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Economics and Econometrics

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