Seductive Language for Narcissists in Job Postings

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gay, Jonathan; Jackson, Scott B.; Seybert, Nicholas
• 署名单位: University of Mississippi; University of South Carolina System; University of South Carolina Columbia; University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2024.05254
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: narcissism; job postings; earnings management; Accounting; financial officers; bending rules; executive recruitment; Recruiters; hiring practices; language

摘要

Prior research indicates that narcissistic executives engage in earnings management and other negative organizational behaviors, and many studies ponder why firms hire such individuals, especially into corporate accounting positions. Utilizing a selection of terms from real-world job postings that we characterize as describing either a RuleBender or Rule-Follower candidate, we first conduct several validation studies which reveal that these terms vary predictably across types of job postings, that people generally agree with our categorization of these terms, and that Rule-Benders are viewed as possessing worse managerial skills but a higher proclivity for unethical behavior. We then demonstrate that narcissistic job seekers are more attracted to job postings that describe the ideal candidate using Rule-Bender terms for both general positions (Experiment 1) and senior accounting positions (Experiment 2). Finally, we examine firm characteristics that might lead professional recruiters to incorporate Rule-Bender language into Chief Accounting Officer job postings and find that Rule-Bender terms are preferred for highergrowth, higher-innovation firms (Experiment 3), and when more aggressive reporting would benefit the firm (Experiment 4). Our results suggest that recruiters' language choices can attract Rule narcissists to even in unintended circumstances.