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The glorification of greed beyond the business school: how popular wall street narratives relate to future work selves

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  • Brokerhof, Inge M.
  • Solinger, Omar N.
  • Bal, P. Matthijs
  • Jansen, P.G.W.

Abstract

Popular Wall Street narratives, such as The Wolf of Wall Street, have become large box-office successes, reaching wide audiences. In three exploratory mixed-method experiments, this study investigates how popular Wall Street narratives relate to students’ and sales employees’ future work selves – who they aspire to become in their future career. The findings indicate that characters in narratives glorifying greed are considered more desired future work selves in comparison to characters in critical or non-greed narratives. Morally ambiguous greedy characters were perceived through a “winner frame” of self-made success, and were associated with lower empathy levels, while narratives from a “victim perspective” – with characters suffering as a result of financial malpractice – were associated with higher empathy levels. This empirical study contributes to theory and practice on the appeal of greedy characters and how stories could perpetuate a culture of greed and dominant logic of shareholder-value maximization in Wall Street.

Suggested Citation

  • Brokerhof, Inge M. & Solinger, Omar N. & Bal, P. Matthijs & Jansen, P.G.W., 2025. "The glorification of greed beyond the business school: how popular wall street narratives relate to future work selves," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:201:y:2025:i:c:s014829632500503x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115680
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thomas Roulet, 2015. "“What Good is Wall Street?” Institutional Contradiction and the Diffusion of the Stigma over the Finance Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 389-402, August.
    2. Inge M Brokerhof & Jan Fekke Ybema & P Matthijs Bal, 2020. "Illness narratives and chronic patients’ sustainable employability: The impact of positive work stories," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-17, February.
    3. P Matthijs Bal & Martijn Veltkamp, 2013. "How Does Fiction Reading Influence Empathy? An Experimental Investigation on the Role of Emotional Transportation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, January.
    4. Gerardo Patriotta, 2003. "Sensemaking on the Shop Floor: Narratives of Knowledge in Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 349-375, March.
    5. Ernest Biktimirov & Don Cyr, 2013. "Using Inside Job to Teach Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 209-219, September.
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