Personality Traits, Demographic Factors and Entrepreneurial Intentions: Improved Understanding from a Moderated Mediation Study

Studies with contradictory results have been published on the relationship between personality and entrepreneurial intentions. This paper examines the role of personality traits and demographic factors in the formation of business start-up intention, using a moderated mediation model derived from the theory of planned behaviour. Data were collected from 324 final year MBA students using a structured survey instrument and analysed with single and multi-group structural equation modelling (SEM). Innovativeness, risk propensity and stress tolerance had small but significant indirect effects on entrepreneurial intentions; these effects were mediated by attitudes to entrepreneurship and perceived behavioural control. Need for autonomy and stress tolerance were not significant, neither was family background nor work experience. Observation of small, indirect personality effects suggests some resolution to the contradictory results observed until now; helps career counsellors and university selection panels to identify candidates with the potential to become entrepreneurs; and provides support for calls for policy makers and university administrators to develop educational environments and socio-political infrastructure that provides opportunities for students to exploit their creative and risk-taking traits and develop positive attitudes to entrepreneurship.