I have no idea what motivated Bernadotte on 14 October. However, his character flaws definitely contributed to it as far as I can ascertain. Perhaps because he just didn't like Davout was reason enough for him.
Whatever the cause, Bernadotte's actions on 14 October, or a lack of action indeed, were dishonorable and not the actions of what a commander is expected to do, especially in the Grande Armee. Bernadotte wasn't stupid, and his actions can only be classed as deliberate.

Kevin:
If you don't know his motivations, then how can you characterize his actions as deliberate and not just incompetent or simple error? I certainly am not questioning his character flaws or that he could and was duplicitous on a number of occasions. I just haven't seen anything to suggest, let alone support the idea that his failure to engage on October 14th was deliberate, even if he didn't like Davout. He had orders from Napoleon that could have been translated to justify his appearance at Jena and still snub Davout. He was closer to Jena during the day. Lots of French commanders didn't like each other [Soult and Lannes for example] during the Campaign, but they still engaged the enemy. Again, Bernadotte's behavior that day doesn't appear to be that of a self-promoter, and the French Marshals were masters at that game.

Bill

Bill