98 Language and legitimacy dynamics
ventures, which may eventually be perceived as merely symbolic and ceremonial
(Zott & Huy, 2007) rather than substantial. The excessive use of narcissistic lan-
guage may instil in external audiences doubts as to whether the venture is not
truly oriented towards sustainability and environmental preservation but, rather,
is pursuing a greenwashing strategy (Marquis et al., 2016; O’Neil et al., 2022).
Hypothesis 2: The excessive use of narcissistic language in project descriptions triggers
a negative eect on the funding success of an entrepreneurial venture.
7.3 A language analysis of green-oriented campaigns
7.3.1 Empirical setting
To analyse the eect of narcissistic language on the success of entrepreneu ...