proactive personality and entrepreneurship

8/13/2019 Proactive Personality and Entrepreneurship

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Title: The proactive personality scale as a predictor of entrepreneurial intentions.

Source: Journal of Small Business Management, Jul 96, Vol. 3 !ssue 3, p", #p, " charts

Author(s): $rant, J. Michael

Subject(s): %&T'%('%&%)'S*!(B)S!&%SSM%& ++ ttitudes

Abstract: Studies the relationship -eteen individual differences and -ehavioral intentions

toard entrepreneurial careers. (roactive dimension of personality/ *ypotheses on

the e0pression of entrepreneurial intentions for people ith parents ho areentrepreneurs.

THE PROACTIVE PERSONALITY SCALE AS A

PREICTOR O! ENTREPRENE"RIAL INTENTIONS

Abstract

This study e0plored the relationship -eteen individual differences and -ehavioralintentions toard entrepreneurial careers, defined here as oning one1s on -usiness. 2f

particular interest as a recent innovation in the individual differences literature ++ the

proactive personality scale. )sing a sample of # students, entrepreneurial intentionsere found to -e significantly associated ith gender, education, having an

entrepreneurial parent, and possessing a proactive personality. The strongest association

as found -eteen entrepreneurial intentions and the proactive personality scale.

*ierarchical regression analysis shoed that proactivity e0plained significant incrementalvariance in entrepreneurial intentions a-ove and -eyond that e0plained -y the other

varia-les.

!n a revie of trends in the entrepreneurship literature, 4artner 5997 identified eight themescharacteri8ing the maor issues of entrepreneurship. 2ne of these themes focused on the

entrepreneur as an individual, and the notion that entrepreneurship involves individuals ith

uni:ue personality characteristics and a-ilities. ;ithin this domain of research, five attri-utes

have consistently -een found to covary ith entrepreneurship< need for achievement, locus ofcontrol, ris=+ta=ing propensity, tolerance for am-iguity, and Type+ -ehavior 5Broc=hans 9#"/

Broc=hans and *orit8 9#6/ >urnham 99"7.

?espite these findings, a num-er of scholars have e0pressed dissatisfaction ith e0tant

=noledge of the personality+entrepreneurship relationship. $hell, *aorth, and Brearley 5997

suggested that disagreement on the meaning of@entrepreneurship@ has impeded researchprogress/ moreover, these authors advocated using trait terms hich descri-e natural categories

accessi-le to lay persons. 4artner 59##7 noted that theoretical models see=ing to e0plain the-road phenomenon of entrepreneurship ould -enefit -y including varia-les -eyond traits alone.

'o-inson et al. 5997 argued for more dynamic models of the entrepreneurship process. Shaver

and Scott 5997 identified the methodological ea=nesses of much. entrepreneurial traitresearch 5including the research that generated the attri-utes listed a-ove7 and argued for

consistency -eteen the specificity of measures and underlying constructs.
http://ehostvgw6.epnet.com/jndetail.asp?booleanTerm=%22Journal%20of%20Small%20Business%20Management%22&maindatab=Business%20Source%20Premier&searchTag=JNhttp://ehostvgw6.epnet.com/resultlist.asp?booleanTerm=AU+%22Crant%2C%20J.%20Michael%22http://ehostvgw6.epnet.com/resultlist.asp?booleanTerm=SU+%22ENTREPRENEURSHIP%22http://ehostvgw6.epnet.com/resultlist.asp?booleanTerm=SU+%22BUSINESSMEN%20--%20Attitudes%22http://ehostvgw6.epnet.com/jndetail.asp?booleanTerm=%22Journal%20of%20Small%20Business%20Management%22&maindatab=Business%20Source%20Premier&searchTag=JNhttp://ehostvgw6.epnet.com/resultlist.asp?booleanTerm=AU+%22Crant%2C%20J.%20Michael%22http://ehostvgw6.epnet.com/resultlist.asp?booleanTerm=SU+%22ENTREPRENEURSHIP%22http://ehostvgw6.epnet.com/resultlist.asp?booleanTerm=SU+%22BUSINESSMEN%20--%20Attitudes%22


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(erhaps as a result of criticisms such as these, recently little research has -een pu-lished

e0amining the relationship -eteen personality traits and entrepreneurship. $onsidera-le

attention has -een devoted to creating am-itious models of various entrepreneurial processes,such as ne venture initiation 5*erron and Sapien8a 99"7, entrepreneurial potential 5Arueger

and Bra8eal 997, and entrepreneurial motivation 5&aff8iger, *orns-y, and Aurat=o 997.

These conceptual frameor=s have significantly enhanced the precision of theory surroundingthe entrepreneurship process. *oever, the death =nell for the study of personality and

entrepreneurship may have sounded prematurely.

The proactive. personality scale, a recent addition to the literature on individual differences,

appears to have the potential for providing further insight into the personality trait+entrepreneur+ship relationship. The proactive personality scale measures a personal disposition toard

proactive -ehavior, an idea that intuitively appears to -e related to entrepreneurship. The purpose

of this paper is to e0amine empirically the e0tent to hich having a proactive personality isassociated ith entrepreneurial intentions.

Because a common definition of entrepreneurship is lac=ing, it is incum-ent upon researchers todefine e0plicitly the meaning they ascri-e to the term 54artner 9#9/ 997. The central varia-le

in this paper, entrepreneurial intentions, ill -e defined as one1s udgements a-out the li=elihoodof oning one1s on -usiness. >or the research :uestions in this paper, differences in specific

tactics and themes of entrepreneurship 5for e0ample, creating a ne venture vs. -uying an

e0isting -usiness7 ill not -e e0plored. ?efining entrepreneurial intentions -roadly is consistentith the o-ectives of this research in that it avoids delimiting su-ects1 e0pression of

entrepreneurial intentions.

The study of -ehavioral intentions has a rich history in psychology 5for e0ample, 8en and

>ish-ein 9#7, and has -egun to appear in -oth conceptual 5Bird 9##/ Aat8 and 4artner 9##/

Arueger and Bra8eal 997 and empirical 5Brenner, (ringle, and 4reenhaus 99/ Arueger993a/ 993-/ Scott and Tomey 9##7 entrepreneurship research. Arueger 5993-7 argued that

entrepreneurial intentions are central to understanding the entrepreneurship process -ecause theyform the underpinnings of ne organi8ations. Because entrepreneurship occurs over time

54artner et al. 997, entrepreneurial intentions might -e vieed as the first step in an evolving,

long+term process.

The Proacti#e i$e%sio% o& Perso%alit'

Bateman and 4rant 59937 discussed the proactive component of organi8ational -ehavior andintroduced a measure of the @proactive personality.@ This measure of a personal disposition

toard proactive -ehavior is intended to identify differences among people in the e0tent to hich

they ta=e action to influence their environments. Bateman and 4rant defined the prototypic@proactive personality@ as one ho is relatively unconstrained -y situational forces and ho

effects environmental change. (roactive personalities identify opportunities and act on them/

they sho initiative, ta=e action, and persevere until they -ring a-out meaningful change. !ncontrast, people ho are not proactive e0hi-it the opposite patterns< they fail to identify, let alone

sei8e, opportunities to change things.

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(roactivity differs fundamentally from affective traits li=e ell+-eing and from cognitive traits

li=e locus of control. The proactive disposition is a tendency to initiate and maintain actions that

directly alter the surrounding environment 5Bateman and 4rant 9937. )sing the language ofBuss and >inn 59#7, proactivity is an instrumental trait -ecause it is part of a class of -ehaviors

that impact the environment.

'ooted in the interactionist perspective 5Bandura 9/ Schneider 9#37, the proactive approach

considers the possi-ility that individuals create their environments. !n the psychology andorgani8ational -ehavior literatures, the theme of interactionism holds that -ehavior is -oth

internally and e0ternally controlled, and that situations are as much a function of persons as vice

versa 5Schneider 9#37. 'eciprocal causal lin=s e0ist -eteen person, environment, and -ehavior5Bandura 97. ccordingly, individuals can intentionally and directly change their current

circumstances, such as -y choosing vocations for hich they are -est suited. Thus, -ased on

interactionist theory, and the -ehaviors associated ith the proactive personality, it seemsreasona-le that proactive personalities may -e dran to entrepreneurial careers.

This notion of a proactive orientation has -een discussed in other theoretical treatments of theentrepreneurship process. Shapero and So=ol 59#"7 spo=e of a tendency toard action and

initiative in their discussion of the social dimensions of entrepreneurial events. Arueger and hiscolleagues 5993-/ Arueger and Bra8eal 997 have included the concept of @propensity to act@

in their or= on entrepreneurial intentions and potential. Arueger 5993-7 used the desira-ility of

control scale 5Burger 9#C7 as a pro0y for propensity to act/ hoever, Arueger and Bra8eal5997 suggested that other measures of propensity may -e useful. The proactive personality

scale may -e such a measure.

Bateman and Crant59937 argued that the proactive personality scale may have implications for

vocational choice and entrepreneurship in particular. 4iven the definition of proactive

personality and previous research on the correlates of entrepreneurship, such an assertion isintuitively appealling. $onsistent ith the theoretical domain that entrepreneurs may possess

certain personality dimensions, the folloing hypothesis is offeredindings regarding gender differences in entrepreneurship 5particularly, that males

are more li=ely than females to -e entrepreneurs7 have -een e0plained in terms of or= value

differences 5Brenner, (ringle, and 4reenhaus 997 and psychological .characteristics 5Se0tonand Boman+)pton 997. %vidence from a sample of over #, people culled from the

9# ).S. $ensus indicated that education is positively related to entrepreneurship and self+

employment 5'o-inson and Se0ton 997. >inally, studies have shon that people having aparent ho is an entrepreneur are more li=ely to e0press entrepreneurial intentions themselves

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5Arueger 993a/ 993-/ Scott and Tomey 9##7. Thus, -ased on previous findings the

folloing hypotheses are offered5,#7D#.33, pF.7< Males reported higher

entrepreneurial intentions 5MD.37 than did females 5MD".7. main effect also as found

C


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for education 5>5,#7D.99, pF.7< MB students reported higher entrepreneurial intentions

5MD.9"7 than did undergraduate students 5MD".3#7. The main effect of the presence of

entrepreneurial parents as also significant 5>5,#7D9.3C, pF.7< Su-ects ith role modelsreported higher entrepreneurial intentions 5MD C.37 than did those ithout such role models

5MD".#7. Together, these results provide support for *ypotheses , ", 3, and .

To test *ypothesis C, hich predicted that the proactive personality scale ould e0plain

additional variance in entrepreneurial intentions -eyond that accounted for -y the demographicvaria-les, a hierarchical regression analysis as performed. >olloing the recommendations of

$ohen and $ohen 59#37, the control varia-les +gender, education, and entrepreneurial parents ++

ere entered into the regression e:uation first. The proactive personality scale as the lastvaria-le entered into the e:uation.

The results of the hierarchical regression analysis are displayed in Ta-le ". Together, the three

control varia-les accounted for percent 5pF.7 of the variance in entrepreneurial intentions.

The proactive personality scale e0plained an additional percent 5pF.7 of the variance in

entrepreneurial intentions over and a-ove variance accounted for -y gender, education, andentrepreneurial parents. Thus, *ypothesis C as supported. The complete model accounted for

3 percent of the variance in entrepreneurial intentions.

iscussio%

The results of the present study indicated that a variety of individual difference varia-les are

associated ith entrepreneurial intentions. 4ender, education, and entrepreneurial parents ere

all associated ith entrepreneurial intentions. Students ho reported higher entrepreneurialintentions tended to -e male rather than female, MB students rather than undergraduates, and

had at least one parent ho oned a -usiness. The central findings of this study concerned the

relationship -eteen the proactive personality scale and entrepreneurial intentions. (roactivityas positively associated ith entrepreneurial intentions/ furthermore, the proactive personalityscale e0plained a significant amount of additional variance in entrepreneurial intentions even

after all other varia-les ere entered into a regression model.

The results of this study contain several implications. >irst, these results contri-ute to the

literature concerning individual differences in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intentions.2ther researchers have hinted at the connections -eteen proactivity and entrepreneurship, -ut

this paper is the first to empirically demonstrate that proactivity is associated ith

entrepreneurial intentions. Second, consistent ith 4artner1s 59##7 concerns, this study did notloo= at a personality trait in isolation/ rather, an effect as shon for proactive personality a-ove

and -eyond several demographic varia-les.

The findings regarding the proactive personality scale are consistent ith the interactional

psychology perspective 5Bandura 9/ Schneider 9#37, hich postulates that people influencetheir environments as ell as vice versa. !ndividuals select, interpret, and alter situations. (eople

may -e e0pected to see= out environments that offer opportunities to capitali8e on individual

strengths and needs 5Schneider 9#37, and the characteristics of an environment are in partdetermined -y the types of people ho dominate that environment 5*olland 9#C7. Thus, one

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e0planation for these findings is that more proactive people tend to envision creating situations++

such as forming or -uying a -usiness++that ill allo them to capitali8e on their personality.

These results also provide further evidence for the utility of the proactive personality scale.$oupled ith recent findings regarding associations -eteen the proactive personality scale and

transformational leadership 5Bateman andCrant

9937 and the criterion validity of the proactivepersonality scale 5Crant99C7, this relatively ne construct appears to have the potential for

e0plaining variance in organi8ational phenomena. Moreover, these findings are consistent ithprior research suggesting the importance of a @propensity to act@ in udgements a-out

entrepreneurial careers. *aving a proactive personality may -e an important element of this

propensity toard action.

!n considering the generali8a-ility of the findings, potential limitations should -e addressed.

>irst, the cross+sectional design focusing on -ehavioral intentions ea=ens the e0planatory

poer of the study. ;hile the intention+-ehavior lin=age is ell esta-lished 5for e0ample, 8en

and >ish-ein 9#7, and entrepreneurial intentions have -een studied previously 5for e0ample,

Arueger 993a and 993-7, a longitudinal design folloing the students1 career choices over timeould -e prefera-le. ;hile this study provides compelling evidence for the relationship -eteen

proactivity and entrepreneurial intentions, it ould -e inappropriate to generali8e these results toactual entrepreneurial -ehaviors li=e starting a ne -usiness until such a relationship is

confirmed -y empirical research. Second, the sample chosen did not vary significantly across

some important dimensions. >or e0ample, the range of possi-le educational levels and e0posureto entrepreneurship courses as restricted in the present sample. 'elatedly, age as not included

as a control varia-le -ecause of sample homogeneity. Third, some may critici8e the use of a

student sample -eyond the restriction of range issues descri-ed a-ove. *oever, -ecause the

appropriateness of a given sample is a function of the type of theory e0plored and the maorconstructs of the model 54artner 9#97, students may -e more appropriate for research into

individual differences and vocational intentions than for other research :uestions. Arueger5993-7 provided a num-er of cogent arguments supporting the use of student samples to studyentrepreneurial intentions.

'egarding opportunities for future research, studies might profita-ly employ other definitions of

entrepreneurial intentions. >or e0ample, proactivity may -e more strongly associated ith

intentions to start one1s on -usiness++a significant environmental change++than ith intentionsto purchase an e0isting operation. >urthermore, it ould -e useful to e0amine the relative

importance of proactivity compared to the entrepreneurial traits listed earlier 5for e0ample, need

for achievement or ris=+ta=ing propensity7. (erhaps most importantly, future research shouldassess the relationship -eteen proactivity and entrepreneurship -y using more heterogeneous

samples and studying various entrepreneurial -ehaviors. >or e0ample, proactivity could -e

e0amined in a matched sample of practicing entrepreneurs and organi8ational managers, or usedto predict levels of success among entrepreneurs. ;hile intentions are an important step in the

process of -ecoming an entrepreneur, it is vital that future research move -eyond intentions and

focus on specific entrepreneurial -ehaviors li=e starting a small -usiness.

Co%clusio%s


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This study e0tends the literature into individual differences and entrepreneurial intentions -y

considering a relatively ne -ut potentially important individual difference varia-le, the

proactive personality scale. >urther, this research e0pands on the theme that has emerged in theentrepreneurship literature in hich the traits, characteristics, and a-ilities of entrepreneurs are

considered important determinants of attitudes and -ehaviors. The results of this study suggest

that the proactive personality scale may -e a useful addition to the armament of personalityvaria-les predictive of entrepreneurial intentions.

Table + escri*ti#e Statistics a% Correlatio%s &or All Variables,a-Legend for Chart:

A - No Heading

B - Mean

C - SD

D - Entrepreneurial Intentions

E - Proactie Personalit!

" - #ender

# - Education

H - Entrepreneurial Parents

A B C D E

" # H

Entrepreneurial $%&'( (&)* +&*%, --

Intentions -- -- --

Proactie &$. $)&/$ &01c2 +&,

Personalit! -- -- --

#ender .&'/ .&0/ &)$1c2 &./

-- -- --

Education .&(. .&(. &)01c2 &)1c2

&$1a2 -- --

Entrepreneurial .&%0 .&0/ &))1c2 &.(

Parents &.$ -&.% --

a nD#. Values in parentheses represent coefficient alphas.

- pF.C. c pF..

Table . Results o& Hierarchical Re/ressio% A%al'sisLegend for Chart:

A - 3aria4le

B - delta 51sup )2

C - Entrepreneurial Intentions6 p of delta

D - Entrepreneurial Intentions6 7erall 51sup )2

E - Entrepreneurial Intentions6 Beta

A B C D E

#


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Control 3aria4les:

#ender &.00 &.$ &.00 &)$$

Education &.0) &.$ &.' &.*

Entrepreneurial parents &.() &.$ &$% &).%

Proactie Personalit! &$/$ &.$ &%.* &0%$

Re&ere%cesA89en6 Ice6 and Martin "ish4ein +$*.,& ;nderstanding Attitudes

and Predicting Social Behaior& Engleheor!& Engleho?as S6 and =& Michael Crant+$**%,& @>he Proactie

Co?ponent of 7rgani9ational Behaior6@ =ournal of

7rgani9ational Behaior $0+),6 $.%-$$&

Bird6 Bar4ara +$*,& @I?ple?enting Entrepreneurial Ideas: >he

Case for Intention6@ Acade?! of Manage?ent 5eie< $%+%,6

00)-0(%&

Brenner6 7& C&6 Charles D& Pringle6 and =effre! H& #reenhaus

+$**$,& @Perceied "ulfill?ent of 7rgani9ational E?plo!?ent

3ersus Entrepreneurship: or 3alues and Career Intentions

of Business College #raduates6@ =ournal of S?all Business

Manage?ent )*+%,6 ')-/0&

Brochaus6 5o4ert H& +$*),& @>he Ps!cholog! of the

Entrepreneur6@ Enc!clopedia of Entrepreneurship& Ed& Calin

A& ent6 Donald L& Seton6 and arl H& 3esper& Englehe

Ps!cholog! of the Entrepreneur6@ >he Art and Science of Entrepreneurship& Ed& Donald L& Seton and 5a!?ond &

S?ilor& Ca?4ridge6 Mass&: Ballinger6 )(-0&

Burger6 =err! M& +$*(,& @Desire for Control and

Achiee?ent-5elated Behaiors6@ =ournal of Personalit! and

Social Ps!cholog! 0+',6 $().-$(%%&

Buss6 A&6 and S& "inn +$*/,& @Classification of Personalit!

>raits6@ =ournal of Personalit! and Social Ps!cholog!

()+),6 0%)-000&

Chell6 Eli9a4eth6 =ean Hahe

Entrepreneurial Personalit!& London6 England: 5out-ledge&

Cohen6 =aco46 and Patricia Cohen +$*%,& Applied Multiple

5egressionCorrelation Anal!sis for the Behaioral

Sciences& Hillsdale6 N&=&: Lahe Proactie Personalit! Scale and

748ectie =o4 Perfor?ance A?ong 5eal Estate Agents6@

=ournal of Applied Ps!cholog! . +0,6 (%)-(%/&

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"urnha?6 Adrian +$**),& Personalit! at or: >he 5ole of

Indiidual Differences in the orplace& London6 England:

5outledge&

#artner6 illia? B& +$*,& @ho is an EntrepreneurF Is the

rong Guestion6@ A?erican =ournal of S?all Business $)

+Spring,6 $$-%)&

----- +$**,& @So?e Suggestions for 5esearch on Entrepreneurial

>raits and Characteristics6@ Entrepreneurship >heor! and

Practice $0+$,6 )/-%/&

----- +$**.,& @hat Are e >aling A4out hen e >al A4out

EntrepreneurshipF@ =ournal of Business 3enturing (+$,6

$(-)&

#artner6 illia? B&6 ell! #& Shaer6 Eli9a4eth #ateheor! and Practice6 $+$,6 (-)$&

rueger6 Norris "&6 and De4orah 3& Bra9eal +$**0,&

@Entrepreneurial Potential and Potential Entrepreneurs6@

Enrepreneurship >heor! and Practice $+%,6 *$-$.0&

Naff9iger6 Douglas &6 =effre! S& Horns4!6 and Donald "& urato

+$**0,& @A Proposed 5esearch Model of Entrepreneurial

Motiation6@ Entrepreneurship >heor! and Practice $+%,6 )*-0)&

5o4inson6 Peter B&6 and Edhe Effect of

Education and Eperience on Self-E?plo!?ent Success6@

=ournal of Business 3enturing *+),6 $0$-$('&

5o4inson6 Peter B&6 Daid 3& Sti?pson6 =onathan C& Huefner6 and

H& eith Hunt +$**$,& @An Attitude Approach to the

Prediction of Entrepreneurship6@ Entrepreneurship >heor!


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and Practice $'+0,6 $%-%$&

Schneider6 Ben8a?in +$*%,& @Interactional Ps!cholog! and

7rgani9ational Behaior6@ 5esearch in 7rgani9ational

Behaior& Ed& Larr! L& Cu??ings and Barr! M& Sta

proactive personality and entrepreneurship

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