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Explaining Entrepreneurial Behavior: Dispositional Personality Traits, Growth of Personal Entrepreneurial Resources, and Business Idea Generation
Author(s) -
Obschonka Martin,
Silbereisen Rainer K.,
SchmittRodermund Eva
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the career development quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.846
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 2161-0045
pISSN - 0889-4019
DOI - 10.1002/j.2161-0045.2012.00015.x
Subject(s) - entrepreneurship , structural equation modeling , competence (human resources) , personality , human capital , psychology , german , social capital , big five personality traits , need for achievement , social psychology , business , sociology , economics , social science , mathematics , archaeology , finance , history , economic growth , statistics
Applying a life‐span approach of human development and using the example of science‐based business idea generation, the authors used structural equation modeling to test a mediation model for predicting entrepreneurial behavior in a sample of German scientists (2 measurement occasions; Time 1, N = 488). It was found that recalled early entrepreneurial competence in adolescence predicted business idea generation. This link was mediated by entrepreneurial human and social capital. Moreover, an entrepreneurial Big Five profile was associated with early entrepreneurial competence and predicted entrepreneurial human and social capital. Results underscore the relevance of the long‐neglected developmental approach to entrepreneurship.