Founder Narcissism and Young Firm Performance: The Role of Innovative Ambidexterity

Prior studies have investigated that the personal characteristic of the leader can play a crucial role in firm performance and implementation of innovative strategies, but there is a lack of research about the influence of innovative ambidexterity. In this work, based on the resource-based view and strategic leadership theory, we examine how founder narcissism relates to young firm performance and provide evidence that innovative ambidexterity is an important mediator in this relationship. Also, we extend our research by considering gender as a moderator between founder narcissism and innovative ambidexterity. Using the sample of 153 young firms we demonstrate that founder narcissism positively influences young firm performance and innovative ambidexterity mediates this relationship. Furthermore, we find out that the founder’s gender and his/her pursuit for strategy of innovative ambidexterity intensify the effect of narcissism on young firm performance. In the post hoc analysis we examine the relationship considering the sample with another firm age threshold, and investigate that gender effect becomes insignificant, however, the mediation effect is presented. Additionally, we divide innovative ambidexterity into two strategies (exploration and exploitation) to see how founder narcissism affects each of them. In conclusion, we discuss our work's theoretical and practical implications.