Profiling Dimensions for Executive Strategic Decision-Makers Personalities

Upper echelons theory describes that executives are influenced by their personalities in strategic decision- making. However there has been demand for more direct measures of strategic decision makers' personalities. In this paper, profiling dimensions for strategic decision-makers personalities are defined. Our central argument is that the grouping of the dimensions inherent in core self evaluation and narcissism combined with sensitivity to criticism capture those elements of personality especially relevant in strategic decision-making behavior of top executives. We contribute to research on strategic decision-making by defining the personality of top executive decision-makers as (1) self esteem, (2) generalized self efficacy, (3) emotional stability, (4) locus of control, (5) exploitativeness/entitlement, (6) leadership/authority, (7) superiority/arrogance, (8) self absorptions/self admiration and (9) sensitivity to criticism.