A new study from the Cornell Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations in the US found that people with narcissistic tendencies are more likely to support hierarchies.

The research by assistant professor Emily M. Zitek studied 200 to 400 people who answered questions in five separate studies, using data from online surveys. It showed that people with narcissistic tendencies supported hierarchical businesses and organisations when they were either at the top of the hierarchy or when they expected to get there.

But if those people were told there were no top positions available, they were even less likely than non-narcissistic personalities to support the hierarchy.

The researchers said narcissistic people prefer hierarchies because of the potential to rise to the top, rather than other reasons, including a "desire for order".

"Our research underscores the need for leaders to thoughtfully consider the effects that company structure can have – not only on employees' performance and satisfaction, but also on the very types of people those employees will be," the study said.

The research also found evidence narcissistic people tended to overestimate their performance and might also overestimate their ability to rise to the top of a hierarchy when performance was the basis for promotion.

The researchers said the study has implications for what type of staff a business would attract. Professor Zitek said if a business advertises itself as a place where people can rise through the ranks, it might attract a disproportionate number of people with narcissistic tendencies.

The study published this week by Social Psychological and Personality Science was co-authored by Alexander H. Jordan, an assistant research professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and adjunct assistant professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.