Does owner CEO narcissism promote exporting SMEs' market spreading strategy? Joint effects of asset-specific investments and firm exporting experience

This study explores the influence of owner chief executive officer (CEO) narcissism on the market spreading strategy of exporting small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). Combining insights from the literature on CEO narcissism and trait activation theory, it is argued that SMEs with narcissistic owner CEOs are more likely to prefer a market spreading strategy, depending on firm-level asset-specific investments and exporting experience. The empirical analysis of a sample of 248 exporting SMEs in China supports the theoretical prediction that owner CEO narcissism has a positive impact on the preference toward a market spreading strategy. In addition, the results show that asset-specific investments weaken the positive influence of owner CEO narcissism on the preference of a market spreading strategy, but this negative moderating effect becomes less significant as SMEs gain more exporting experience. This paper contributes to the emerging research on the role of owner CEO narcissism in firm internationalization decisions, offering a more complete understanding of the extent to which owner CEO narcissism can influence exporting SMEs' tendency toward market spreading, and delineating how such influence may be dependent on organizational-level situational factors.