Saudi Women Digital Entrepreneurs, Personality Attributes, and Entrepreneurial Motives: A Mixed‐Method Approach

This paper examines the influence of personality attributes and entrepreneurial motives on the venture creation and entrepreneurial commitment of digital entrepreneurs. In so doing, the mixed method of sequential explanatory design was used, capitalizing on data collected from Saudi women digital entrepreneurs through more than 670 survey questionnaires and 22 in‐depth interviews. With respect to personality attributes, the quantitative results revealed that grit was significantly related to both venture creation and entrepreneurial commitment, whereas entrepreneurial self‐efficacy mediated the relationship between grit and venture creation. The qualitative findings suggest that although both grit and entrepreneurial self‐efficacy pushed Saudi women toward venture creation, grit, as a personality attribute, played an important role in pushing women to remain committed to their entrepreneurial ventures, despite societal condemnation of their entrepreneurship. With respect to entrepreneurial motives, the quantitative results revealed that although only autonomy was significant to venture creation, rewards and autonomy were both significantly related to entrepreneurial commitment. The qualitative findings demonstrate how intrinsic rewards influenced venture creation through motivating Saudi women to establish their own ventures as a way to gain freedom and challenge gender discrimination. They also reveal the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards on entrepreneurial commitment by showing how these rewards motivated women to expand their ventures, despite societal doubts about their ability to develop and grow successful ventures. The qualitative findings also highlight the influence of autonomy on Saudi women's venture creation and entrepreneurial commitment as a means to reclaim independence and self‐fulfillment.