Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs: A Review of Recent Literature / Sari Pekkala Kerr, William R. Kerr, Tina Xu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pekkala Kerr, Sari.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Kerr, William R.

Xu, Tina.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w24097.

NBER working paper series no. w24097

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2017.

Summary:

We review the extensive literature since 2000 on the personality traits of entrepreneurs. We first consider baseline personality traits like the Big-5 model, self-efficacy and innovativeness, locus of control, and the need for achievement. We then consider risk attitudes and goals and aspirations of entrepreneurs. Within each area, we separate studies by the type of entrepreneurial behavior considered: entry into entrepreneurship, performance outcomes, and exit from entrepreneurship. This literature shows common results and many points of disagreement, reflective of the heterogeneous nature of entrepreneurship. We label studies by the type of entrepreneurial population studied (e.g., Main Street vs. those backed by venture capital) to identify interesting and irreducible parts of this heterogeneity, while also identifying places where we anticipate future large-scale research and the growing depth of the field are likely to clarify matters. There are many areas, like how firm performance connects to entrepreneurial personality, that are woefully understudied and ripe for major advances if the appropriate cross-disciplinary ingredients are assembled.

Notes:

Print version record

December 2017.