Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/311459 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Citation: 
[Journal:] Small Business Economics [ISSN:] 1573-0913 [Volume:] 61 [Issue:] 1 [Publisher:] Springer US [Place:] New York, NY [Year:] 2022 [Pages:] 417-443
Publisher: 
Springer US, New York, NY
Abstract: 
The Big Five personality traits and their influence on entrepreneurial action have been repeatedly studied using a trait-based approach. The present paper partly deviates from this perspective by analysing the role of personality prototypes in relation to entrepreneurship. This person-centred approach suggests that combinations of Big Five traits form individual personalities. By using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we show that at least three prototypes can be identified, one of which — the resilient type — can be hypothesized to significantly increase the likelihood of entrepreneurial action. Our regression results provide evidence of a positive impact of this prototype on the likelihood of and transitioning into self-employment but not the likelihood of exit. We also show that the prototyping approach explains individual self-employment decisions over and above what can already be explained by the profiling approach, another person-centred Big Five approach. The paper concludes with implications for policy and research.
Subjects: 
Entrepreneurship
Self-employment
Big Five
Personality
Prototypes
Profiles
JEL: 
D91
L26
M13
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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