Narcissistic CEOs and Organisations: The Case of Ralph Hamers and ING

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Narcissistic CEOs and Organisations:

The Case of Ralph Hamers and ING

by

Marnix Modderman

University of Groningen Faculty of Economics and Business

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1 ABSTRACT

This article aims to determine whether Ralph Hamers, CEO of Dutch bank ING, is a narcissistic CEO and if Dutch bank ING is a narcissistic organisation. This paper uses a literature review in order to determine the narcissistic characteristics. Followed by a case study to measure the presence of these characteristics in CEO Ralph Hamers and Dutch bank ING. As a result of these studies hypotheses are formed that are tested by a quantitative analysis, using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and the Organisational Narcissism Scale. Based on the case study no conclusive evidence was found to determine the degree of narcissism in Ralph Hamers as a CEO and ING as an organisation. This paper shows how the narcissistic characteristics can be applied to a case study. The quantitative analysis has not yet been performed, but a research plan has been formulated and will be executed by a market research company.

Key words: Narcissism, CEO, Ralph Hamers, ING, CEO narcissism, Organizational Narcissism.

Research theme: Narcissistic CEOs and Organizations

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2 Table of contents

ABSTRACT ... 1

Chapter 1: Introduction and Central Research Question ... 4

1.1 Initial motive: ... 4

1.2 Central research question ... 5

1.3 Research questions ... 5

1.4 Methodology: ... 5

Chapter 2: Literature review ... 7

2.1 Narcissism ... 7

2.2 The characteristics and types of narcissism ... 7

2.3 Narcissistic leadership ... 8

2.4 Narcissistic organisation ... 9

2.5 Narcissistic leaders influence on the organization ... 10

2.6 The short- and long-term effects of a narcissistic leaders influence on strategy, performance and other parties ... 11

2.7 Identifying, diagnosing and measuring narcissistic leaders and narcissistic organisations ... 11

2.8 Case Analysis: ... 14

Chapter 3 Hypotheses: ... 19

3.1 Narcistic CEO hypotheses ... 19

3.2 Narcissistic organisation Hypotheses ... 20

Chapter 4 Research plan: ... 22

4.1 Sample ... 22

4.2 Measurement and measures ... 22

4.3 Research design ... 23

4.4 Analysis ... 23

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3

Chapter 6 Conclusion and recommendations: ... 25

6.1 Conclusions ... 25

6.2 Recommendations ... 25

6.3 Reflection ... 25

References ... 27

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4 Chapter 1: Introduction and Central Research Question

In this chapter the initial motive for this research paper will be discussed followed by the central research question and the derived research questions. After this the methodology will be discussed.

1.1 Initial motive:

What is narcissism and when can you say that a certain CEO or organisation is in fact narcissistic? Based on what attributes can you determine whether or not someone is

narcissistic and does this affect someone’s performance? Are narcissistic leaders more or less successful? Based on current literature we can say that there is a clear relationship between leadership behaviour and change success (Rowland & Higgs, 2008). Leadership behaviour can be affected by narcissism (Higgs, 2009) which can result in productive and

counterproductive leadership effects (Maccoby, 2004). Productive narcissism benefits organisations in terms of achieving performance outcomes (Maccoby, 2004). On the other hand, narcissistic leadership, in the longer term, deteriorates organizational performance (Benson & Hogan, 2008). Narcissistic leadership can have destructive effects on the

organisation’s strategy, culture and overall performance (Lubit, 2002). It can even cause an organisation to exhibit organisational narcissism (Duchon & Burns, 2008). The effect of narcissism shows the need for case studies to determine whether or nor a certain CEO shows narcissistic traits and to determine whether the organisation itself can be considered

narcissistic.

Since the economic crisis in 2008 financial institutions and their CEOs have been portrayed as being immoral, narcissistic and selfish. This was mainly due to the fact that CEOs from big financial institutions where getting high bonusses and high salaries, while their companies where getting financial injections from local governments to prevent them from collapsing. Dutch ING CEO Ralph Hamers was both praised for being a digital innovator and repaying the Dutch loan that was giving during the 2008 economic crisis and scolded for his role in the money laundering affair of 2018. The intention of ING to give Hamers a bonus of 20% in 2015 with the banking crisis and subsequent bail-out of ING by the Dutch government also caused national outrage. Whether or not Ralph Hamers can be

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5 1.2 Central research question

The central research question of this paper will be: Is the former CEO of ING Ralph Hamers a narcissistic leader and ING itself a narcissistic organisation?

1.3 Research questions

In order to answer the central research question narcissism has to be defined. To

determine whether or not a CEO can be described as narcissistic the characteristics, symptoms and types of narcissism will have to be described. After this the definition of a narcissistic leader and organisation will have to be found. The effects of a narcissistic leader on an organisation and what the short- and long-term effects of a narcissistic leader on the

organisation’s strategy will have to defined. lastly in order to be able to see if a certain CEO and organisation fits the profile of narcissism it has to be determined how a narcissistic leader and organisation can be identified, diagnosed and measured. So, in order to answer the central research question, answers will need to be found to the following theory questions:

1. What is narcissism?

2. What are the characteristics, symptoms and types of narcissism? 3. What defines a narcissistic leader?

4. What defines a narcissistic organisation?

5. How does a narcissistic leader influence the organization?

6. What are the short-term and long-term effects of this influence on strategy, performance and other parties?

7. How can a narcissistic leader and narcissistic organisation be identified, diagnosed and measured?

The answers to the theory questions will help answer, combined with additional sources, the following case questions:

8. Is the former CEO of ING, Ralph Hamers, a narcissistic leader?

9. Is ING a narcissistic organisation (were the short-term and long-term effects of CEO narcissism present in ING)?

These case questions are abstracted from the central research question. 1.4 Methodology:

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7 Chapter 2: Literature review

In this chapter literature will be used to determine what narcissism is, what the characteristics and different types of narcissism are, what a narcissistic leader is and what a narcissistic organisation is. Furthermore, this chapter will use literature to see how a narcissistic leader influences an organisation, what the short- and long-term effects of this influence are on an organisation’s strategy, performance and other parties. Literature will also be used to seek an answer to the question how a narcissistic leader and narcissistic organisation can be identified, diagnosed and measured.

2.1 Narcissism

Freud described the manifestations of narcissism as being: Self-admiration, self-aggrandisement and a tendency to see other as an extreme of self (Freud 1957). This

definition of narcissism is founded in psychoanalytics and narcissism tended to be seen as a psychological disorder in early psychological literature (Higgs, 2009; Emmons, 1997; Raskin and Terry, 1988). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders (DSM) defines narcissism as a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts

(American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The DSM IV lists 9 specific symptoms of narcissism of which at least five need to be present to indicate a narcissistic personality disorder. In addition to these symptoms the narcissism also needs to cause distress or

impairment. This is known as clinical narcissism (Cambell et al, 2011). In addition to clinical narcissism, subclinical narcissism is the prevalence of narcissistic characteristics without the distress or impairment for the narcissism to be diagnosed a clinical disorder (Cambell et al, 2011). Seeing narcissism as a personality construct led to the development of 4 distinct elements of narcissism: Exploitativeness/entitlement, leadership/authority,

Superiority/arrogance and Self-absorption/self-admiration (Emmons, 1997). 2.2 The characteristics and types of narcissism

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8 1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents,

expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements).

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.

3. Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).

4. Requires excessive admiration.

5. Has a sense of entitlement (i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favourable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations).

6. Is interpersonally exploitative (i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends).

7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.

8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her. 9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes.

These are the official diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder. The characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder can be used to see if a person exhibits narcissistic traits. No different types of narcissism are specified in the DSM V. Stein (2013) however argues that there are two types of narcissists: “Constructive narcissism”, when someone shows rare, mild and infrequent narcissistic tendencies and “reactive narcissism”, when someone shows pervasive, severe and frequent narcissistic tendencies. Cambell (2011) distinguishes 2 different primary forms of narcissism: “grandiose narcissism”, someone who overconfident, high in self-esteem, dominant, attention seeking, interpersonally skilled and charming, unwilling to take criticism, aggressive, high in psychological entitlement, lacking in true empathy, interpersonally exploitive and “vulnerable narcissism”, someone who is hostile, high in psychological entitlement, has low self-esteem, depressed, anxious and thinks the world is stacked unfairly against them.

2.3 Narcissistic leadership

Narcissistic leadership is described by Rosenthal and Pettinsky (2006) as:

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9 This description uses the characteristics of narcissism by the DSM IV. This definition implies that narcissistic leadership can occur without the leader being a narcissist. So non-narcissists can engage in narcissistic behaviour (Rosenthal & Pettinsky, 2006). This definition is in line with and based of the DSM V characteristics. The heroic management style as described by Mintzberg (2002) fits this description of narcissistic leadership. heroic management means managers are important people, the top CEO is the organisation, this top CEO takes dramatic steps to drive up the share price through his/her strategy which is clear, deliberate and bold. Implementation is the problem while most others resist change the Top CEO embraces change resulting in the organisation favouring outside consultants and managers over insiders.

Rewards for increasing the share price go largely to the leader since he is the risk taker. 2.4 Narcissistic organisation

Narcissistic organisations can be described as organisations that are void of empathy. These organisations see the opportunity of success in the exploitation of others. They put extreme emphasis on continued success, using people as resources that they can completely exploit, and act even at the expense of other organizational services (Hamedoglu & Potas, 2012). Narcissistic organisations tend to become preoccupied with themselves and its anxieties, they lose touch with clients and markets. Self-aggrandizement, entitlement and denial replace rational and reality-based decision-making an indicator for this behaviour can be that the organisation denies facts about itself through spokespersons, press releases and annual reports. It develops plausible and acceptable justifications through rationalization (Duchon & Burns, 2008). These definitions are very much in line with the definition of a narcissistic person based in the DSM IV scale. Godkin and Alcorn (2009) created a list of 11 criteria to determine an arrogant organizational disorder of which at least seven must be present for diagnosis:

1. Exceptional pride is held for the organisations, its accomplishments and great hope is held for future successes. Leaders see few limitations regarding what may be

accomplished and are nor inhibited as to how to accomplish goals.

2. Feelings of exceptional entitlement support exploitiveness of others, costumers and the public interest

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10 4. There is a history of firings and demotions and of non-supporters and resistors being

banished to internal organizational Siberia’s. Resistance is a threat and will not be tolerated.

5. Management by intimidation is common.

6. Fear suppresses accurate reality testing and creativity.

7. Filtered information flows alter organizational reality and magical thinking is present. Operating problems it may be seemingly thought will pass without taking action to resolve them. It is too dangerous to confront management behaviour that contributes to problem generation and perpetuation.

8. Others are frequently blamed and scapegoated.

9. The sense of mood within the organization is unpredictable where one day a great success is celebrated and a week later there exists despair over not achieving the smallest of goals.

10. Many in the organization are alienated from the organization and its leadership group preferring to hide out in their foxholes (offices and cubicles).

11. In and out group dynamics are polarized and there is considerable evidence of distressing and destructive internal competition and open warfare.

2.5 Narcissistic leaders influence on the organization

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11 2.6 The short- and long-term effects of a narcissistic leaders influence on strategy,

performance and other parties

Narcissistic CEOs can be expected to favour strategic dynamism and there are also strong indications that narcissistic CEOs can be associated with large annual fluctuations in accounting returns (Chatterjee & Hambrick, 2007). Although Chatterjee & Hambrick found more extreme and irregular performance outcomes they found no systematic better or worse performance outcomes. Collins (2001) concluded that “humble” CEO’s were more succesfull. Narcissistic CEOs can damage their business unit’s long-term performance by driving away the most talented. They foster a problematic work culture and sometimes make reckless business decisions (Lubit, 2002). In the literature most negative effects of on performance occur in the longer term. Narcissism also effects substantive organizational outcomes, including strategic grandiosity and submissive top management teams. Narcissism can affect an executive’s choices in such areas as strategy, structure, and staffing (Chatterjee &

Hambrick, 2007). Narcissism predicts aggression and bullying and is also likely to be linked to an overly sexualized workplace which can have destructive consequences (Cambell et al, 2011).

2.7 Identifying, diagnosing and measuring narcissistic leaders and narcissistic organisations

In order to measure a CEO´s level of narcissism the Narcissistic personality Index (NPI) can be used. the NPI was designed to measure the presence of overt and covert narcissism (Motter, 2007). It consists of 40 questions that are used to measure the DSM characteristics in individuals it can be found in Appendix one. Supplementary to the NPI questionnaire the indicators Chatterjee And Hambrick (2007) used in their research to determine whether or not an CEO had a narcissistic personality can be used.

• The prominence of photographs of the CEO in the company’s annual report. • The CEOs prominence in the company’s press releases.

• The CEOs use of first-person singular pronouns in interviews.

• The CEOs cash compensation divided by that of the second-highest paid executive in the firm.

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12 These indicators were combined into a 5-item narcissism index. The research of Chatterjee and Hambrick (2007) also provides indicators to measure whether or not an organisation can be described as narcissistic or heavily influenced by a narcissistic CEO.

• A narcissistic organisation will show great dynamism of the company’s strategy. • A narcissistic organisation will show extreme and irregular company performance. • A narcissistic organisation will show a greater number and size of acquisitions. • A narcissistic organisation will show a greater fluctuation in the company’s

performance.

In order to identify if an organisation is a narcissistic organisation Godkin and Alcorn (2009) created a list of 11 criteria of which at least seven must be present for diagnosis:

1. Exceptional pride is held for the organisations, its accomplishments and great hope is held for future successes. Leaders see few limitations regarding what may be

accomplished and are nor inhibited as to how to accomplish goals.

2. Feelings of exceptional entitlement support exploitiveness of others, costumers and the public interest

3. When excessive pride is threatened and the pursuit of goals frustrated envy and rage arise. The leader or management group becomes hyper active and willing to expend limitless time and energy to succeed and win out over rivals including aggression often tinged with sadism and revenge.

4. There is a history of firings and demotions and of non-supporters and resistors being banished to internal organizational Siberia’s. Resistance is a threat and will not be tolerated.

5. Management by intimidation is common.

6. Fear suppresses accurate reality testing and creativity.

7. Filtered information flows alter organizational reality and magical thinking is present. Operating problems it may be seemingly thought will pass without taking action to resolve them. It is too dangerous to confront management behaviour that contributes to problem generation and perpetuation.

8. Others are frequently blamed and scapegoated.

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13 10. Many in the organization are alienated from the organization and its leadership group

preferring to hide out in their foxholes (offices and cubicles).

11. In and out group dynamics are polarized and there is considerable evidence of distressing and destructive internal competition and open warfare.

In order to measure the level of narcissism the questionnaire from the Organisational

Narcissism Scale (ONS) can be used. (Hamedoglu & Potas, 2012) this questionnaire measures the sublevels of leadership and authority, anticipation of recognition, grandiosity,

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14 2.8 Case Analysis:

CEO narcissism:

The theory from the literature review will now be applied to the case of Ralph Hamers and ING. In order to determine whether or not Ralph Hamers can be considered a Narcissistic CEO the DSM IV criteria will be used of which 5 need to be present in order to diagnose.

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate

achievements).

When Ralph Hamers accepted the global performance award for best bank in the world, he did not mention himself but thanked his colleagues that worked hard every day to give the costumers the best possible experience (Electronic News Publishing, 2017). Hamer’s is described by his loved ones as humble, serious and discreet (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018, September).

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.

Ralph Hamers is certainly ambitious in his plans to transform ING from a regular bank to a technological company with a banking license (ING Annual report, 2018).

However, this does not provide enough evidence to state that Hamers is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success.

3. Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).

During the 2018 bonus scandal Hamers defended his bonus by comparing his salary to that of other (foreign) bank CEO’s (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018, March). Hamers stated that his Salary raise in 2015 shows courage since it was 20% less than what he was once promised (NOS, 2015, April).

4. Requires excessive admiration.

Ralph Hamers is known to be very protective of his personal life (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018, September). In the ING annual reports their does not seem to be extensive coverage of Ralph Hamers besides the CEO statement. In the CEO statement Hamers does not mention himself but focusses on the success and challenges of the bank. 5. Has a sense of entitlement (i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially

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15 During ralph Hamers time as CEO of ING Belgium Hamers got angry at the work council when they didn’t comply with his plan for performance bonus (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018, September). During the money laundering affair in 2008, In which ING and the prosecuting signed a deal, Not Ralph Hamers the CEO of ING but his second in Command Koos Timmermans (CFO) was sacrificed by ING (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018, September). No further evidence to support this characteristic has been found.

6. Is interpersonally exploitative (i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends).

It is stated, by an anonymous source that knows Hamers personally, that Hamers kindness (although sincere) is just a “layer of varnish”. Hamers main focus is according to this source benefitting his own career (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018, September).

7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.

During Hamers time as the CEO of ING Belgium he was not popular due to his inability to speak French and extensive reorganisation by firing employees (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018, September). In 2006, during a mass ensemble, Hamers reportedly called the manager of the worst performing division on stage and handed him a red lantern (Algemeen Dagblad, 2018, September). Hamers stated that he understands that bonusses are a sensitive subject but he still advocates in favour of a more liberal bonus reward system in the Netherlands (Trouw, 2019, March).

8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her. No evidence was found that Ralph Hamers exhibits this behaviour or not. 9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes.

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16 Organisational narcissism

In order to determine whether or not ING is a narcissistic organisation the 11 criteria from Godkin and Alcorn (2009) will be used of which at least 7 need to be present to diagnose.

1. Exceptional pride is held for the organisations, its accomplishments and great hope is held for future successes. Leaders see few limitations regarding what may be accomplished and are nor inhibited as to how to accomplish goals.

Despite the observation by the Dutch National Bank that the time of “super-profits” in the banking sector are over Hamers promised his shareholders that starting 2020 their dividend returns would see a yearly increase (Trouw, 2016, October). In order to accomplish this ING does however explain how they are meant to achieve this goal (scale benefits, focus on clients with higher margins, cuts in the number of workers). These sources only partially support this characteristic. They infer great hope for ING´s future successes but Hamers does also states on how these goals are to be accomplished.

2. Feelings of exceptional entitlement support exploitiveness of others, costumers and the public interest

No evidence was found to support this characteristic.

3. When excessive pride is threatened and the pursuit of goals frustrated envy and rage arise. The leader or management group becomes hyper active and willing to expend limitless time and energy to succeed and win out over rivals including aggression often tinged with sadism and revenge.

4. There is a history of firings and demotions and of non-supporters and resistors being banished to internal organizational Siberia’s. Resistance is a threat and will not be tolerated.

Although ING has fired many employees during the period Ralph Hamers was CEO of ING, there was no evidence found to support the characteristic that these employees were fired because they were resistors or non-supporters.

5. Management by intimidation is common.

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17 cutting 3000 jobs in ING Belgium (ACV, 2020, February). No additional sources were found to support or deny this claim.

6. Fear suppresses accurate reality testing and creativity. No evidence was found to support this characteristic.

7. Filtered information flows alter organizational reality and magical thinking is present. Operating problems it may be seemingly thought will pass without taking action to resolve them. It is too dangerous to confront management behaviour that contributes to problem generation and perpetuation. No evidence was found to support this characteristic.

8. Others are frequently blamed and scapegoated.

During the aftermath of the 2018 money laundering scandal ING stated in their

respond that they take full responsibility for what happened (ING annual report 2018). He also apologised during a public hearing (NRC Next, 2018, December). No sources were found showed that ING tried to blame or scapegoat others in this case or other cases.

9. The sense of mood within the organization is unpredictable where one day a great success is celebrated and a week later there exists despair over not achieving the smallest of goals.

10. Many in the organization are alienated from the organization and its leadership group preferring to hide out in their foxholes (offices and cubicles).

Glassdoor.nl and Indeed.nl are recruitment agencies that have both posted reviews and experiences of former and current employees of ING. Both of the sites show around

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18 1800 reviews. At glassdoor.nl ING scores an overall 3.8 out of 5 stars as employer as can be seen in figure 1. It also shows an 81% approval rate of the ING director Ralph Hamers. Indeed.nl scores ING an overall 4 out of 5 stars as employer. ING

management scores a 3.5 and the business culture scores a 3.8.

These reviews of current and former employees appear to indicate that the employees seem happy about the organisation and their management/CEO. No additional

evidence was found to support this characteristic.

11. In and out group dynamics are polarized and there is considerable evidence of distressing and destructive internal competition and open warfare.

Preliminary conclusion:

Based on the outcomes of the case-study ING CEO Ralph Hamers shows very little characteristics of a narcissistic CEO. No conclusive evidence was found to state that Hamers showed any of the characteristics although it does show some indications that some of the narcissistic characteristics could be present in Ralph Hamers such as the lack of empathy and interpersonally exploitive behaviour characteristics. Based on the outcomes of the case-study for ING no conclusive evidence was found to determine the presence of any of the

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19 Chapter 3 Hypotheses:

In this chapter the hypothesis will be formulated based on the outcomes of the literature and case study. The first 9 hypotheses are based on the DSM-IV criteria and help determine whether or not a CEO can be considered narcissistic. The next set of hypotheses are (hypotheses 10 to 20) are based on Godkin and Alcorn’s 11 criteria to determine whether or not a organisation can be considered Narcissistic.

3.1 Narcistic CEO hypotheses Hypothesis 1:

H1: the CEO’s behaviour is characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance.

H0: CEO does not exhibit this characteristic.

Hypothesis 2:

H1: the CEO exhibits a strong belief that he is "special" and unique

Hypothesis 3:

H1: the CEO exhibits a strong fixation on fantasies of power.

Hypothesis 4:

H1: the CEO shows a need for constant admiration from others.

Hypothesis 5:

H1: the CEO portrays a sense of entitlement to special treatment and obedience from others.

Hypothesis 6:

H1: the CEO exploits others for personal gain.

Hypothesis 7:

H1: the CEO shows unwillingness to emphasize with the feelings, wishes and needs of other

people.

Hypothesis 8:

H1: the CEO portrays intense envy of others and believes that others are equally envious of

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20 H0: CEO does not exhibit this characteristic.

Hypothesis 9:

H1: the CEO has a pompous and arrogant demeanour.

3.2 Narcissistic organisation Hypotheses Hypothesis 10:

H1: The organisation shows exceptional pride for the organisation.

H0: The organisation does not exhibit this characteristic.

Hypothesis 11:

H1: The organisation has feelings of exceptional entitlement.

Hypothesis 12:

H1: The organisation shows envy and anger when the pursuit of goals is threatened.

Hypothesis 13:

H1: The organisation has a history of firing and demotions of non-supporters and resistors.

Hypothesis 14:

H1: The organisation commonly uses management of intimidation.

Hypothesis 15:

H1: The organisation suppresses accurate reality testing and creativity.

Hypothesis 16:

H1: The organisation has filtered information flows which alters the organizational reality.

Hypothesis 17:

H1: The organisation frequently blames and scapegoats others.

Hypothesis 18:

H1: The organisation has an unpredictable mood within the organization.

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21 Hypothesis 19:

H1: Many in the organisation feel alienated from the organisation.

Hypothesis 20:

H1: The organisation has a polarized in and out group dynamics and shows considerable

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22 Chapter 4 Research plan:

In this Chapter a research plan for quantitative research will be formulated. First the sample will be described. Secondly the way of measurement will be described. Thirdly the research design will be discussed and last the matter of analysis will be described. This plan will not be executed in this research paper and the plan is developed under the assumption that both the CEO and the organisation fully cooperate in the research and will pay for the research to be done by a market research company.

4.1 Sample

In order to test the hypotheses, data will be collected from ING. Data within ING will be collected from a large sample of people with experience with the organisation and/or it’s CEO. This means people who are currently working in the organisation, board members and the CEO Ralph Hamers. For employees of the company’s 2300 employees will have to be randomly selected as a sample since this is the recommended sample size for a 5% margin of error, a 95% confidence level, a 50% response distribution and a population size of 55000 (total number of ING employees). Board members should all be part of the sample. In order to create representativeness, the sample of employees needs to be as much like the population of ING in as many ways as possible concerning age, gender and department. Information about the age and gender per department is not available online but should be obtained from ING in order to create a representative sample. The most effective way to achieve representativeness is through randomization.

4.2 Measurement and measures

In order to test the hypotheses about the narcissistic CEO an existing survey about the level of narcissism based on the DSM IV criteria, namely the Narcissistic Personality Index (NPI) (Motter 2009), will be used. The questionnaire from the Organisational Narcissism Scale (ONS) (Hamedoglu & Potas, 2012) can be used to measure the level of organisational narcissism on leadership and authority, anticipation of recognition, grandiosity,

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23 4.3 Research design

This is non-experimental design since there is no random assignment and there is no control group or multiple measurements. This research consists of a one-shot survey or interview with a single observation.

4.4 Analysis

The data that is obtained from the surveys and interviews will be stored and logged and eventually processed and analysed using SPSS. To check whether or not the data is accurate the data will be screened on readability, whether or not the data is complete and whether or not all the relevant contextual information is included. Descriptive statistics will be used to test the hypotheses since it will simply describe what the data shows, to determine whether or not an organisation and/or CEO are narcissistic. The Narcissistic Personality Inventory consists of 40 items that are answered in a forced choice dichotomous scale (True/ False). The questionnaire is designed to measure narcissism on a continuum from dependent being at the lower scoring end and narcissistic personality disorder on the higher scoring end (Motter, 2009). One point is given each time participants select the narcissistic statement. Total scores on the NPI can range from zero to 40.

TABLE 1 Research plan

What How Where When Who

Determining representative random sample.

Based on age, gender, function and department. Internal documentation of ING. Before selecting random sample. Researchers Determining organisations narcissism The questionnaire from the ONS scale.

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24 Chapter 5 Analysis discussion:

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25 Chapter 6 Conclusion and recommendations:

In this chapter the conclusions based on the literature and the hypotheses will be drawn. Based on these conclusions recommendations will be formulated and lastly a reflection will be made in which the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of this research will be mentioned.

6.1 Conclusions

The outcomes of the case-study ING CEO Ralph Hamers shows very little

characteristics of a narcissistic CEO. No conclusive evidence was found to state that Hamers showed any of the characteristics although it does show some indications that some of the narcissistic characteristics could be present in Ralph Hamers, such as the lack of empathy and interpersonally exploitive behaviour characteristics. Based on the outcomes of the case-study for ING no conclusive evidence was found to determine the presence of any of the

characteristics of a narcissistic organisation. The lack of findings however does not

necessarily mean that the answer to the central research question, whether Ralph Hamers is a narcissistic CEO and ING is narcissistic organisation, is that both are not narcissistic. The answer for the central research question that can be derived from this case study is that there is not enough evidence to conclusively determine the presence of any of the narcissistic characteristics. In order to determine the presence and extend of the narcissistic characteristics within Ralph Hamers as CEO and ING as an organisation and which type of narcissism is showcased quantitively research such as described in the research plan is needed.

6.2 Recommendations

Further research as described in the research plan is needed to determine presence and level of narcissistic characteristics in Ralph Hamers and ING.

6.3 Reflection

The literature review created some clear indication on how to determine and

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26 A limitation in this study is that the sources used for the case study vary in quality. There was not a lot of information available about Ralph Hamers, not about his personal life as well as his management styles etc. There were no direct sources about his behaviours as CEO, only hearsay. Preferably direct and more trustworthy sourced would have been used, such as interviews with Ralph himself or people directly involved with him and research papers about his behaviours as a CEO of ING.

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27 References

Theory references:

American Psychiatric Association – DSM V. 2012.

https://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/courses/materials/Narc.Pers.DSM.pdf.

Benson, M.J. & Hogan, R.S. 2008. How dark side leadership personality destroys trust and degrades organisational effectiveness. Organisations and People, 15(3): 10–18. Chatterjee, A., & Hambrick, D. C. 2007. It's all about me: Narcissistic chief executive

officers and their effects on company strategy and performance. Administrative

Science Quarterly, 52(3): 351-386.

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Case references:

ACV – CEO Ralph Hamers slaat deur dicht bij ING en kiest weer voor eigen profijt. 2020

https://www.hetacv.be/het-acv/sectoren/financien-en-verzekeringen/sectoren/310.00--- banken/2020/02/20/ceo-ralph-hamers-slaat-deur-dicht-bij-ing-en-kiest-weer-voor-eigen-profijt. February 20.

Algemeen Dagblad – ING baas Ralph Hamers: een nette katholiek met scherpe randjes. 2018. https://www.ad.nl/economie/ing-baas-ralph-hamers-een-nette-katholiek-met-scherpe-randjes~a5d0e093/?referrer=https://www.google.com/. September 15. Algemeen Dagblad – Politiek woest over salarisverhoging topman ING: ‘Arrogant en

schaamteloos’. 2018. https://www.ad.nl/politiek/politiek-woest-over-salarisverhoging-topman-ing-arrogant-en-schaamteloos~a7e182c8/. March 8.

BNR Webredactie - Jaar met dubbel gevoel voor ING. BNR nieuwsradio. 2019,

https://advance-lexis-com.proxy- ub.rug.nl/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=dd5bf186-2cb5-400c-8806-ce97583dbe01&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fnews%2Furn%3Aconte ntItem%3A5VC3-YM81-DYWB-S1D0-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=413083&pdteaserkey=sr20&pditab=allpods&ecomp=kb6 3k&earg=sr20&prid=faf4fc85-a1bf-4586-ae23-50b009b305f9. February 19. Glassdoor. 2020. https://www.glassdoor.nl/Overzicht/Werken-bij-ING-EI_IE4264.11,14.htm May 5.

Indeed. 2020. https://www.indeed.nl/cmp/Ing/reviews. May 5. Joop.nl – Graaiende ING Bankier: ik ben moedig. 2015.

https://joop.bnnvara.nl/nieuws/graaiende-ing-bankier-ik-ben-moedig. May 7. The Banker - ING’s Disruptive Model. 2017.

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29 Trouw – ING beste werkgever van Nederland. 2006.

https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/ing-beste-werkgever-van-nederland~b67d3640/. November 11.

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