Personality traits in entrepreneurs and self-employed

Abstract

The paper presents the results of exploratory research conducted on a population of 250 entrepreneurs and self-employed persons using the Entrepreneurial Personality Inventory (Luca & Cazan, 2011), the Locus of Control Scale (Levenson, 1981), and The Proactivity Scale (Bateman & Crant, 1993). The results show a strong association between proactivity and other traits considered entrepreneurial: risk propensity, social skills, business skills, creativity, achievement motivation, resource organization, and internal locus of control. Several group differences were explored based on demographic variables, but few significant differences were found. In our population, the gender differences in risk propensity are contradicting the literature of the field – women are more risk-prone than men. Those who have a family tradition in business are more proactive than those who are the first in their family to start a business. The results of the research will be used to refine the Entrepreneurial Personality Inventory and also to explore new relationships between personality traits, demographics, and entrepreneurial behavior.