Narcissistic Traits and Counterproductive Work Behaviours: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

Although past research has consistently shown that narcissism predicts increases in counter-productive work behaviours (CWBs), much of this research takes place in individualist cultures. A literature review of the narcissism-CWB relationship suggests that collectivism could act as a moderator of the relationship. However, as only two studies assessed this link in collectivist cultures, the goal of this thesis was to replicate the moderation of collectivism on the narcissism-CWB relationship. In addition, a measure of personal cultural orientations was integrated in the study, unlike other studies of the same nature, in order to more accurately conceptualize participants’ cultural orientations. 226 participants residing in either Canada, the United States, or India, completed the Narcissism Personality Inventory (NPI), the CWB-32 and the Personal Cultural Orientation Scale (PCOS). These measures were used to assess their level of narcissism, CWB engagement, and internalization of cultural constructs respectively. Results of the study indicated that neither collectivism nor personal orientations of culture moderated the relationship between narcissism and CWBs. Further research in the area is needed for a more complete understanding of the narcissism-CWB relationship, with an emphasis on in-person data collection, and sampling from multiple countries