A personality approach to entrepreneurship

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The aim of this article is to review the personality approach on the basis of the theoretical framework, which assumes that the effects of a person's traits on his or her entrepreneurial behavior are mediated by specific traits and motivations, and moderated by environmental conditions. The article relies to a considerable extent on meta-analytical evidence. It argues that although the personality approach to entrepreneurship may help in explaining entrepreneurial behavior, it should be supplemented by sound and theoretically justified developments of modern personality psychology. The article also argues that it is essential to include a process view: Prime candidates for mediating processes are characteristics which are more proximal to the actions and the behavior of entrepreneurs. Although an individual's personality consists of stable trait components as well as of less stable ones, a personality approach also needs to consider the process dynamics of personality constructs.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Personnel Psychology
EditorsSusan Cartwright , Cary L. Cooper
Number of pages15
Place of PublicationOxford
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication date02.09.2009
Edition1
Pages121-136
ISBN (Print)978-0-19-923473-8
ISBN (Electronic)9780191577093
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 02.09.2009
Externally publishedYes

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© Oxford University Press, 2013.