Throughout business and political history, there is no shortage of leaders who deliver strong results yet prove ethically devastating. From executives who build success on systematic abuses to charismatic rulers who normalize inequality, rights violations or use power to weave networks of corruption. In a world where impunity for such behaviors is commonplace, it is worth asking whether these leaders’ actions are driven mainly by incentives and external pressures or whether they are better explained by personality traits.
Certain leadership styles share cold calculation, megalomania, and a lack of empathy for others. In personality psychology, this pattern is grouped under the so-called Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. While these traits do not necessarily imply illegal behavior, they do reflect ways of exercising power that prioritize self-interest, justify collateral damage, and erode responsibility toward others. In business settings, this pattern is often associated with “hard” leadership (e.g., hierarchical, coercive, or even authoritarian) along with excessive risk-taking or the pursuit of profits at any cost. When such behaviors dominate decision-making, what happens to the ethics and social responsibility that organizations are expected to uphold?
A recent study published in the Journal of Business Ethics (2025) offers solid empirical evidence to address this question. Drawing on data from more than 2,850 individuals across nine Latin American countries, the research shows that Dark Triad traits not only weaken orientation toward the common good, but do so through a specific psychological mechanism: how people interpret justice and the belief that “everyone gets what they deserve.”
Prosociality and business: more than goodwill
Prosociality refers to the set of motivations and intentions aimed at benefiting others, as well as the concrete behaviors that give effect to that impulse. In business contexts, this translates into practices such as social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, ethical treatment of stakeholders, and long-term value creation.
In regions like Latin America that face structural challenges such as poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation, business prosociality is not a reputational luxury but a condition for sustainability. This helps explain the growing interest in understanding which individual factors enable or hinder such behaviors within organizations.
While prior research has identified traits that promote prosocial conduct, such as empathy, honesty, or an orientation toward the common good, far less attention has been paid to personality traits that, without being pathological, systematically erode ethical commitment.
The Dark Triad as an obstacle on ethical action
The study analyzed responses from 2,880 individuals across nine Latin American countries to examine how Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy relate to two key forms of business prosociality: intentions to pursue social entrepreneurship and socially responsible behaviors.
The findings are clear. Machiavellianism, marked by strategic calculation, manipulation, and an instrumental view of relationships, is negatively associated with the intention to create social ventures. By contrast, narcissism and psychopathy are linked to a lower willingness to act fairly toward employees, customers, or communities.
In other words, some leadership profiles may appear ambitious, self-confident, and goal-oriented, yet be less inclined to assume ethical responsibilities when these do not yield direct benefits.
Justice as a rationalization for moral disengagement
One of the article’s central contributions is showing that these effects do not operate solely through lack of empathy or excessive self-interest, but through a subtler cognitive mechanism: belief in a just world. This belief rests on the idea that people generally get what they deserve. In its moderate form, it can help sustain moral consistency and a sense of personal control. When applied rigidly to others, however, it can become a powerful justification for inequality: “if someone is suffering, it’s because they did something wrong.”
The research shows that Dark Triad traits weaken belief in a just world for oneself while strengthening the belief that others get what they deserve. The result is a rationalization of ethical disengagement: inaction in the face of social problems is not perceived as immoral, but as neutral or even fair.
Under this logic, “helping” ceases to be an ethical obligation and becomes an optional choice. For organizations, this insight is critical: some decisions that appear cold or insensitive are not driven solely by market pressures, but by deeply rooted cognitive frames.
Gender differences and cultural norms
The study also finds that the negative effects of Dark Triad traits on prosociality are stronger for men than for women. This pattern does not mean that women are “free” of these traits, but rather that Latin American cultural norms tend to shape how they are expressed.
Values associated with care, community responsibility, and interdependence act as social constraints that limit the translation of antisocial traits into concrete behaviors. By contrast, men, socialized with greater emphasis on agency, control, and individual achievement, face fewer cultural barriers to turning these dispositions into ethically problematic actions.
For companies, this suggests that ethics cannot be addressed without considering cultural context and the gender dynamics that shape leadership and decision-making.
Implications for management and leadership
The study’s findings carry important practical implications. First, they underscore the need to incorporate ethical and psychological criteria into leadership selection and development processes. Evaluating only technical skills or short-term results can obscure dispositions that gradually erode organizational culture.
Second, they suggest that ethics and compliance programs should go beyond rules and sanctions. Interventions that explicitly work on moral reasoning, empathy, and perceptions of justice can help counteract these cognitive distortions.
Finally, the study invites a rethink of incentive design. Systems that reward individual performance alone, without considering social impacts, may amplify the effects of the Dark Triad. By contrast, schemes that recognize shared value creation and responsibility toward stakeholders can strengthen more prosocial decision-making frameworks.
A business agenda for Latin America
In a region where social gaps remain deep, understanding why some leaders and organizations disengage from the consequences of their decisions is as important as celebrating responsible success stories. This article shows that business ethics is not only a matter of external rules, but also of internal dispositions and cognitive frames.
Recognizing the role of personality, perceived justice, and cultural norms enables a more realistic understanding of ethical behavior in business. For Latin America, this perspective is not only analytically relevant—it is strategically urgent.
Autora
Distinguished Professor in Social Entrepreneurship in the Undergraduate Business School and EGADE Business School