Is Narcissism Really the Secret to Sales Success? Unraveling The Role of Effort in Salesperson Outcomes

Fylda Faleryna (Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia)
Siti Nuzulia (Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia)

Psikostudia : Jurnal Psikologi
Vol 15, No 3 (2026): Psikostudia : Jurnal Psikologi

Salesperson outcomes are influenced by various individual factors, including personality traits. Drawing on the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC), this study examined the relationships between narcissistic admiration, narcissistic rivalry, effort, and salesperson outcomes, with effort proposed as a mediator. This study used a quantitative cross-sectional design involving 231 motorcycle salespersons in Indonesia recruited through purposive sampling and analyzed using General Linear Model. The results indicated that narcissistic admiration positively predicted both effort (β = 0.608) and salesperson outcomes (β = 0.160 and β = 0.226), whereas narcissistic rivalry negatively predicted effort (β = −0.282), but did not significantly predict salesperson outcomes. The mediation analysis indicated that the indirect effects of narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry on salesperson performance through effort were not significant. This was indicated by the confidence intervals for the indirect effects crossing zero, suggesting that effort did not mediate the relationships between narcissistic admiration or narcissistic rivalry and salesperson performance. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how different dimensions of grandiose narcissism relate to salesperson outcomes and offer insights for organizations in identifying personality characteristics associated with sales performance.Hasil kerja tenaga penjual dipengaruhi oleh berbagai faktor individual, termasuk trait kepribadian. Dengan merujuk pada Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC), penelitian ini mengkaji hubungan antara narcissistic admiration, narcissistic rivalry, effort, dan hasil kerja tenaga penjual, dengan effort sebagai mediator. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain kuantitatif cross-sectional yang melibatkan 231 tenaga penjual sepeda motor di Indonesia, yang direkrut melalui teknik purposive sampling dan dianalisis menggunakan General Linear Model. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa narcissistic admiration secara positif memprediksi effort (β = 0,608) dan hasil kerja tenaga penjual (β = 0,160 dan β = 0,226), sedangkan narcissistic rivalry secara negatif memprediksi effort (β = −0,282), tetapi tidak secara signifikan memprediksi hasil kerja tenaga penjual. Hasil analisis mediasi menunjukkan bahwa indirect effects narcissistic admiration dan narcissistic rivalry terhadap hasil kerja tenaga penjual melalui effort tidak signifikan. Hal ini ditunjukkan oleh confidence interval dari indirect effects yang melintasi nol, sehingga effort tidak terbukti memediasi hubungan antara narcissistic admiration maupun narcissistic rivalry dengan hasil kerja tenaga penjual. Temuan ini memberikan pemahaman yang lebih bernuansa mengenai bagaimana dimensi-dimensi berbeda dari grandiose narcissism berkaitan dengan hasil kerja tenaga penjual, serta memberikan wawasan bagi organisasi dalam mengidentifikasi karakteristik kepribadian yang berhubungan dengan kinerja penjualan.