The Psychology of Entrepreneurship

In this review of the psychology of entrepreneurship, we first present meta-analytic findings showing that personality dimensions, such as (general) self-efficacy and need for achievement, and entrepreneurial orientation are highly associated with entrepreneurship (business creation and business success). We then discuss constructs that were developed within entrepreneurship research, such as entrepreneurial alertness, business planning, financial capital as resources, and entrepreneurial orientation, and how they can be better understood by taking a psychological perspective. Next, we elaborate how traditional psychological constructs have been utilized in entrepreneurship and how this may enhance our knowledge in industrial and organizational psychology (with respect to, for example, knowledge, practical intelligence, cognitive biases, goals and visions, personal initiative, passion, and positive and negative affect). Finally, we provide an overall framework useful for the psychology of entrepreneurship, and implications for future research.