Ceo Machiavellianism And Startup Performance: Upper Echelons Theory's Perspective: Sajjad Ahmad, Dr. Aneel Salman

Startups are important for economic growth and prosperity. Since they are led by their chief executive officers (CEOs) and particularly the tech-startups deal in a dynamic environment which asks for strategic flexibility and consideration of environmental changes for superior firm performance. Considering the importance of the issue, the present study attempted to examine the role of CEO's Machiavellian personality trait in determining firm performance. Additionally, the mediating role of strategic flexibility between the association of CEO Machiavellianism and firm performance was also tested. Moreover, the moderating role of environmental dynamism was also tested between the relationship of CEO Machiavellianism and strategic flexibility. Data were collected from CEOs of startups and subjected to PLS-SEM for data analysis. The results of the study revealed that CEO Machiavellianism is not significantly associated with firm performance, however, the relationship between Machiavellianism and firm performance was significantly mediated by strategic flexibility. Additionally, results also revealed that environmental dynamism is a significant moderator between the relationship of Machiavellianism and strategic flexibility