Exploring moderated mediation effects between the Big Five personality traits and entrepreneurial intentions

Research on the Big Five personality traits—Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism—and entrepreneurial intentions seems to have reached some consensus. In an effort to move... [ view full abstract ]

Research on the Big Five personality traits—Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism—and entrepreneurial intentions seems to have reached some consensus. In an effort to move beyond established relationships, this paper investigates the mediating role of self-efficacy in these relationships, and the moderating role of the entrepreneurial process in the relationships mediated by self-efficacy. Using structural equation modelling to analyse the responses of potential and existing entrepreneurs in an efficiency-driven economy, it established that Extraversion has a positive effect—and Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness a negative effect—on entrepreneurial intentions. Self-efficacy mediated all of these effects, particularly creating a positive mediated relationship between Neuroticism and entrepreneurial intentions. A moderated mediation effect was observed such that the negative mediated effect of Openness to Experience on entrepreneurial intentions was stronger for potential entrepreneurs. The results supplement existing theory on the entrepreneurial personality and bear important implications for theory and practice.