We identify several needs for primary studies to correlate psycho-social impacts with entrepreneurship to create a healthy society. This study can play a vital role in the psycho-social perspective.

The core aim of this study involves the analysis of business models and strategies of narcissist-entrepreneurs among millennials in entrepreneurship and examines their implications for entrepreneurial performance.  This study is unique and essential because, traditionally, studies on entrepreneurs have primarily been focused on the macro-level analysis of the direct correlation between their characteristics and entrepreneurial achievements.

What is lacking in the literature is the micro-level analysis of the business models and strategies employed by narcissist-entrepreneurs among millennials of a particular industry to identify how exactly do their business models and strategies influence the entrepreneurial dynamics of that specific industry and how they operate to scrutinise their implication for entrepreneurial performance.

What is the problem?

Today’s world economy is consecrated with the young millionaires and their endless endeavours that influence a transition of a new revolutionised innovative edge, where business differentiation through ‘abstract competitive advantage’ has become imperative. In other words, the young and creative blood of entrepreneurship leads the world, organisations have become flat, and the distance between the authorities have declined, the societal need for job security has diminished, and the feeling of independence and an authoritative need for empowerment has risen drastically over the last few years.

Young people constantly seek ways to be independent, and the quench to find a job for safety purposes has declined. On the other hand, the internet and new forms of funding facilities, such as crowdfunding, angel investment, and venture capitalism have decreased the barriers to starting a new venture, and hence, such aspects have helped to promote the mentality of ‘being My boss is much better than being monitored by others; working for my pleasure is better than working for someone else’s needs, and most importantly, this transition of mentality among the 90’s children or millennials (the current young generation that leads the world) has moved the world towards an ‘ever flattering innovative edge’. 

However, on the other hand, many psychologists argue that such a mentality transition has led to a state where most of the young successful entrepreneurs have become sociopaths, which denotes narcissistic personality disorder (See Winslow and Solomon, 1987). A narcissist is someone who only loves themselves and manipulates based on the context, and craves perfectionism. Although some psychologists, Dr Sam Vaknin, who constantly write about narcissism, argue that narcissists love themselves, others demonstrate narcissism as those who perceive themselves as their ‘ideal self (what they want to become)’ and crave perfectionism at all the tasks they perform.

On the other hand, they lack empathy for others and are in constant need of attention from others. Further, they mirror others’ good characteristics and use others as objects for improvement (see Vaknin. S,2023). Their unhealed inner child seeks parental attention and care from their narcissistic supplies (the people who give attention to them). Vulnerable narcissists crave perfectionism and blame themselves for their faults. In In contrast, malignant narcissists tend to have arrogant behaviours towards all others who refuse to pay narcissistic supply to them (attention both positive and negative).

Further, magical thinking patterns influenced by the increased trend of LOA (Law of Attraction among the youth in the industrialised economies additionally stimulate this narcissistic tendencies among them (Vaknin, 2023). Narcissists are regarded as ‘spiritual abusers’ and ‘dark energy vampires’ by psychologists; however, in the business world, narcissists are deemed to be good leaders and entrepreneurs (ibid).

From an analytical view, narcissism massively influences the quench for entrepreneurship, and on the other hand, craving for entrepreneurship, perfectionism, massive success, and constant innovation have spread the poison of narcissism among young people. Some see it as a healthy indicator of unlimited innovation, business success, and entrepreneurial achievements. It denotes a social disaster to a generation that consists of more sociopaths/psychopaths ( See Berman et al., 2011).

It has been well proven that entrepreneurship has played an essential role in the media industry’s growth and innovation throughout its history because, as Schumpeter best emphasised, ‘entrepreneurship causes innovation’ (Cited ibid). More than any other industry, the media industry is subject to tremendous influence from entrepreneurial innovation, as entrepreneurship is a significant component of the media industry.

It is in this conceptual context that Hoag and Seo define media entrepreneurship as “the creation and ownership of a small enterprise or organisation whose activity adds at least one voice or innovation to the media marketplace” (See Bergman et al., 2011). The individual media entrepreneur or small partner entrepreneur groups are the central characters in that organisation’s formation, whether the innovator(s) or the owner(s).

Against this backdrop, narcissist entrepreneurs among millennials and Gen Z as owners and potential innovators tend to influence and impact the vastly entrepreneurial performance of the media industry. Therefore, critical research needs to be conducted to explore the business models and strategies of narcissist-entrepreneurs among millennials and Gen Z in media entrepreneurship and examine their implications for entrepreneurial performance, which can be an exciting and crucial scholarly study.

The ultimate purpose of the study, therefore, is to explore the business models and strategies of narcissist-entrepreneurs. In this premise, this study necessarily needs analysis to reveal how exactly the business models and strategies of narcissist entrepreneurs influence the entrepreneurial dynamics of the media industry and how they operate to scrutinise their implications for entrepreneurial performance.

 Research Questions 

As observed throughout the discussion, young people who have a constant quench for unlimited success somewhat influence’ narcissistic personality disorder’ or ‘Narcissistic Perfectionism Disorder’. This research tries to correlate Narcissistic characteristics among young entrepreneurs with their entrepreneurial achievement in the media industry. However, narcissistic traits may have positive or negative influences on entrepreneurial quenching and success.

In this premise, the the primary research question of this study is:

• How do the business models and strategies of narcissist-entrepreneurs among millennials and Gen Z in media entrepreneurship impact entrepreneurial performance and well-being?

To answer this primary research question, it is necessary to identify and understand the function and innovativeness of the business models and strategies employed by entrepreneurs in media entrepreneurship and their impact on entrepreneurial outcomes. Therefore, the secondary research questions would potentially be:

• How do these business models and strategies influence the entrepreneurial process and overall social eco-system for entrepreneurship?

The answers to these secondary questions provide a broad context to engage the primary research question.

What would be the methodology? 

The primary research question underlines the necessity of a two-step investigative process to accomplish this study. That is, this research necessarily demands the researcher to first identify the narcissist-entrepreneurs among millennials and Gen Z in media entrepreneurship so that only the recognised entrepreneurs with narcissistic tendencies can be put under inspection to scrutinise their business models and strategies to see their implications for entrepreneurial performance. Therefore, this research primarily correlates psychological characteristics with entrepreneurial outcomes.

Hence, it might be a challenging task to undertake such a psychological research; however, the growing trends of discussions about narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) underlines the significance of undertaking such study from a business perspective. Nevertheless, it is not a scientific psychological analysis; instead, it is an assessment to identify NPD from a business perspective.

Hence, it can be accomplished by preparing a set of questionnaires based on the psychological characteristics that apply to personnel who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder. This preliminary research survey should enable the researcher to identify the extent of NPD among young entrepreneurs and rate them accordingly. Among them, the top ten personnel identified with high NPD will be selected for the second and comprehensive investigative process to answer the research questions.

A qualitative descriptive survey is the best methodological option in this study to articulate the first investigative process of this study because, a descriptive survey is the best research design for obtaining social facts, beliefs and attitudes. Such a descriptive approach can enable the study of millennials and Gen Z in the entrepreneurship field to discover the influence of NPD within the context of sociological and psychological variables.

On the other hand, Grounded Theory is an essential method for studying topics of a social nature. It focuses on contextual explanations rather than concentrating on the description. Grounded Theory was primarily applied in the sociology of nursing; however, it is relevant to other areas for making meaning out of political, educational, economic or industrial phenomenon.

It is not just abstract theorising, but Theory needs to be grounded or rooted in observation -hence, the group of people can be ‘observed’ from the material they provide about their work. A set of relationships between variables that propose a reasonable explanation of the phenomenon under study can emerge. Against this backdrop, Grounded Theory is proposed to be used in the second-level investigative process to examine the models and strategies of narcissist-entrepreneurs among millennials in media entrepreneurship and their implications for entrepreneurial performance.

Both descriptive research and grounded Theory rely on asking questions of people to get information and gather data among the millennials and Gen Z in the media industry. Therefore, an interview is the primary method that will be employed in this study to collect data and insights.

Why is this research interesting and important? 

Unlike the other research projects, this research correlates psychology, a social science, with business achievement. Hence, this research can be considered an investigation that sees beyond the general boundaries of research with blindness. Regardless of whether the study suggests that NPD has a positive perspective on entrepreneurial achievement or not, it is a known fact that NPD is a social disaster, as argued by famous psychologists such as Dr. Sam Vaknin.

In this premise, this study is an interdisciplinary undertaking, drawing from business management, social science, and psychology. Such a multidisciplinary approach involving these disciplines regarding the entrepreneurial performance of the media industry will be an essential contribution to the literature on economic, managerial, and social conditions within which media organisations and industries operate.

On the other hand, this kind of interdisciplinary research concerning the media industry is significant because the media is a powerful social institution and is considered the fourth pillar of democracy. In this premise, the studies on the business models and strategies of narcissist-entrepreneurs among millennials and Gen Z in media entrepreneurship carry enormous social value and importance.

Given the increased tendency of the entrepreneurial media industry, such interdisciplinary research is essential within the context of social responsibility. Earlier, media entrepreneurship did not have much significance; however, nowadays, media entrepreneurship has become a new trend due to the massive influence of digital media platforms such as podcasting, blogging, and contemporary mechanisms. Although psychologists such as Dr. Sam Vaknin argue that narcissism is a social disaster, the impacts of narcissism on business achievement remain an untouched area. Therefore, this research would be very innovative.

It would help to discover creative and unique means of business differentiation, strategies, and revenue models that the stakeholders of the entrepreneurship world are employing from different perspectives. This research will also catch up on variables such as discriminative, cost cutting, and ‘I am the only man.’ strategies that narcissistic bosses may employ as to the facts concluded by famous psychologists in this field, such as Dr.Sam Vaknin (Vaknin. S, 2023).

We would like to hear your views. Contact us via info@theresearchpreneur.com.

References

Bergman, Davenport, S. Bergman, J, Z. (2011). ‘Millennials, narcissism, and social networking: What narcissists do on social networking sites and why’. [Online]. Available from: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=e0aad8c095048494c4eacebec2f0ce4a5bc63aad [last accessed on 7th November 2023].

Vatkin, S. (2023). ‘Journal entries about narcissism’. [Online]. Available from: https://samvak.tripod.com/journal1.html#Entries [last accessed on 7th November 2023].

Vatkin, S. (2023). ‘The magic of narcissistic thinking’. [Online]. Available from: https://samvak.tripod.com/magicalthinking.html [last accessed on 7th November 2023].

Winslow, E. Solomon, G T. (1987). ‘Further development of the descriptive profile of entrepreneurs. Vol 23 (3). P 151-161.