Sensory processing sensitivity and entrepreneurial intention: The strength of a weak trait

Abstract

Research on entrepreneurial personality traits has done a commendable job in developing theory and providing evidence for the consistent effects of the entrepreneurial trait profile (ETP) on various entrepreneurial outcomes. While research has established the fit between the extravert, conscientious and open traits and entrepreneurial intention (EI), the view that entrepreneurship may provide an alternative career path for people outside the norm has attracted increasing interest. In this study, we explore a counterweight to the dominant 'superhero' personality perspective by arguing that, in entrepreneurship, highly sensitive persons (HSPs) can attend to their own needs and skills, and turn their weaknesses into strengths. Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS)a fundamental meta-personality traitmay provide the crucial piece in the personality puzzle related to opportunity recognition ability (ORA) and the intention to act entrepreneurially. We adopt a person-environment fit approach and employ fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). We find that combinations of either SPS or ETP and ORA are sufficient conditions for EI. This study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial traits by inviting reconsideration of the stereotypical view of extrovert and open entrepreneurs and acknowledging the strength of a 'weak' trait. Highlights • We introduce sensory processing sensitivity to the entrepreneurship literature. • Highly sensitive persons with opportunity recognition ability have entrepreneurial intention. • A tradeoff exists between sensory processing sensitivity and the entrepreneurial trait profile concerning entrepreneurial intention.

Are social and traditional entrepreneurial intentions really that different?

“…In this process, the exact value of 0.5 illustrates the crossover point and maximum ambiguity. In the entire process of calibration, Mental represen tations of EIs the knowledge of the researcher(s) plays a crucial role, and decisions must be supported based on a solid theoretical foundation (Harms et al, 2019;Kraus et al, 2018;Ragin, 2008). Following the approach recommended by Woodside (2013), three anchors were created to identify the degree of membership for each condition in the dataset.…”

ADHD symptoms, entrepreneurial passion, and entrepreneurial performance

“…fsQCA is increasingly applied in management research (e.g., Chang and Cheng 2014;Dwivedi et al 2018;Fiss 2011;Frazier et al 2016;Zaefarian et al 2017) and, particularly, by entrepreneurship scholars (e.g., Del Sarto et al 2019;Harms et al 2019;Kraus et al 2017;Muñoz 2018;Muñoz and Kibler 2016), indicating both the method's robustness and usefulness for this study's purpose of also analytically embracing causal complexity.…”

“…Consequently, by indicating that "negative" and "excessive" characteristics are associated with entrepreneurial performance, this study, in concert with a growing stream of research (Wiklund et al 2018), supports the notion of equifinality in entrepreneurial endeavors and plurality in entrepreneurial logics for successful action. In a broader context, we expect the Gestalt perspective to be relevant for research on other mental health conditions and entrepreneurship, such as sensory processing sensitivity (Harms et al 2019), dyslexia (Logan 2009), bipolar traits (Johnson et al 2018), and mood disorders (Bogan et al 2013). Because entrepreneurship happens at the interface between the individual, opportunity, and environment, entrepreneurs with different characteristics will perform well under different conditions.…”

Exploring Protective Factors in Wellbeing: How Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Attention Awareness Interact With Resilience

“…Wyller et al (2017) propose increasing the ability to shorten "self-propelling erroneous cycles" as the main goal of the intervention. Harms et al (2019) oppose perceiving high sensitivity in terms of weakness and indicate that highly sensitive people can be very entrepreneurial because they process environmental and social stimuli more deeply and perceive social signals faster: They can quickly recognize opportunities; they are empathetic and creative. By engaging in entrepreneurship, they can shape their work environment in a way that suits them, e.g., by determining the rhythm of work and the level of workload.…”