Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/273346 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 23-008
Publisher: 
ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, Mannheim
Abstract: 
Start-up subsidies play an important role in supporting start-up innovation and performance. However, what characteristics help and hinder start-ups to seek start-up subsidies remains unclear. We study whether and how founder personality, as captured by the big five personality traits and entrepreneurial orientation, impacts entrepreneurs' seeking of start-up subsidies. We argue that greater founder openness, extraversion and entrepreneurial orientation enhance seeking of start-up subsidies, while greater founder agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism inhibits it. Additionally, we argue that entrepreneurial orientation plays a mediating role in the relationship between big five personality traits and start-up subsidies. Drawing on a large multi-sector sample of German start-ups, we find strong evidence for a positive role of founder entrepreneurial orientation. While we find little evidence for a direct effect of a founder's big five personality, we find evidence of an indirect effect through its influence on entrepreneurial orientation.
Subjects: 
Start-up subsidies
start-up financing
entrepreneurship policy
entrepreneurial orientation
big five personality traits
venture capital
JEL: 
G24
L26
O25
O31
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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