Does personality of owners of micro enterprises matter for the relationship between startup capital and entrepreneurial success?

Abstract

Following the devastating effects of the recent global economic and financial crisis, both developing and developed countries are desperate to boost economic development and reduce unemployment rates. Consequently, entrepreneurship is being promoted. The resulting enterprises contribute to economic development and create employment opportunities. However, the contribution to economic development can only be realized if the enterprises themselves are growing. Whereas the contribution of both startup capital and personality to entrepreneurial success is well researched, the interaction between the two leading to entrepreneurial success has not been investigated. Using a sample of 384 owners of micro-enterprises from a cross-section of industry sectors in Uganda, The study examine the moderating effect of Big Five personality factors on the relationship between startup capital and entrepreneurial success. The study observes that startup capital, agreeableness and extraversion positively predict entrepreneurial success. Neuroticism, on the other hand, negatively predicts entrepreneurial success. Extraversion is the only factor in the Big Five model that moderates the relationship between startup capital and entrepreneurial success, highlighting the importance of interpersonal skills in microenterprises. The study also discusses implications for research, entrepreneurial education and support in relation to startup capital, specific personality factors.

Impact of personal cultural orientations and cultural intelligence on subjective success in self-employment in multi-ethnic societies

“…Our findings also re-affirm the importance of social competence in entrepreneurial success (Baron and Markman 2000). Relational competencies are particularly essential for managing small-scale enterprises in developing countries (Baluku, Kikooma, & Kibanja, 2016a) but also in multiethnic contexts. The quality of relations of the entrepreneur with significant others affects the ability to obtain funding, credit facilities, participating in entrepreneurial promotion forums, and capital resources.…”

Psychological capital and entrepreneurial outcomes: the moderating role of social competences of owners of micro-enterprises in East Africa

“…The study of success among microenterprises is dominated by the focus on economic parameters such as growth in sales, income and profits (e.g. Rindova, Barry, and Ketchen 2009;Baron, Franklin, and Hmieleski 2016;Robb and Fairlie 2009;Alom et al 2016;Qureshi, Aziz, and Mian 2017) as well as growth in number of employees in the company (Alom et al, 2016;Baluku, Kikooma, & Kibanja, 2016a). However, following calls to study entrepreneurial success beyond economic measures, there is increased research on subjective success, and thus increased focus on psychological processes and factors that are associated with entrepreneurial success.…”

Research of the Impact of Financial Dimensions and Entrepreneurial Capacity on Business Performance in Small and Medium Enterprises in Central Java

“…The business phenomenon states that the other biggest obstacle in developing SMEs is the entrepreneurship capability. The performance of SMEs increases if the entrepreneurship capability shows good value, as well as previous research that explains the dimensions of entrepreneurial behavior [12,32]. Preliminary research on the entrepreneurship capabilities of SMEs explains innovation.…”