Impaired Financial Reporting Through Rationalizations: Narcissism as a Moderator of the Ethical Effects of Construal Mindset and Moral Disengagement

Abstract

This study examines how stable personality traits influence ethical rationalization and behavioral intent among professional accountants. Drawing on a value–behavior correspondence framework, we investigate whether narcissism—a self-focused, entitlement-oriented trait—moderates the ethical consequences of construal mindset and moral disengagement. Based on a survey of 83 licensed CPAs, we find that narcissism changes how these traits operate. High-level construal mindset is associated with less rationalization only among individuals low in narcissism, while moral disengagement predicts rationalization only when narcissism is high. Rationalization, in turn, strongly predicts unethical action intentions in accounting scenarios. Structural equation modeling confirms a moderated mediation model: narcissism increases the likelihood that abstract thinking and disengagement tendencies lead to rationalization, which then predicts unethical intent. These findings challenge the assumption that abstract thinking or moral disengagement have consistent ethical effects. By placing narcissism at the center of our framework, we offer a more nuanced view of how personality traits interact in ethically ambiguous accounting settings. The study highlights the importance of tailoring ethics interventions to account for individual differences in personality.

Keywords

rationalizations construal mindset morally disengagement construal level theory auditor mindset

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