IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/kyklos/v61y2008i2p189-214.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is Entrepreneurial Success Predictable? An Ex‐Ante Analysis of the Character‐Based Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Marco Caliendo
  • Alexander S. Kritikos

Abstract

This paper empirically analyzes whether the character‐based approach, which focuses on the personality structure and the human capital of business founders, allows prediction of entrepreneurial success. A unique data set is used consisting of 414 persons whose personal characteristics were analyzed by different methods, namely an one‐day assessment center (AC) and a standardized questionnaire, before they launched their business. Results are partly unexpected and weaker than previous ex‐post findings: first, we found correlations between the AC data and the questionnaire in one subgroup only. Second, the predictive power of the AC data is slightly better than that of the questionnaire, but lower than expected in theory. Interestingly, for those subgroups where the AC data have low predictive power, the questionnaire does better. Third, when success is measured in terms of employees hired, the character‐based approach is a poor predictor.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Caliendo & Alexander S. Kritikos, 2008. "Is Entrepreneurial Success Predictable? An Ex‐Ante Analysis of the Character‐Based Approach," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 189-214, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:kyklos:v:61:y:2008:i:2:p:189-214
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6435.2008.00398.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.2008.00398.x
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-6435.2008.00398.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gaylen N. Chandler & Steven H. Hanks, 1994. "Founder Competence, the Environment, and Venture Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 18(3), pages 77-89, April.
    2. Peter B. Robinson & David V. Stimpson & Jonathan C. Huefner & H. Keith Hunt, 1991. "An Attitude Approach to the Prediction of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 15(4), pages 13-32, July.
    3. J. Wagner, 2003. "Testing Lazear's jack-of-all-trades view of entrepreneurship with German micro data," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(11), pages 687-689.
    4. Caliendo, Marco & Kritikos, Alexander S. & Wießner, Frank, 2006. "Existenzgründungsförderung in Deutschland: Zwischenergebnisse aus der Hartz-Evaluation," Discussion Papers 253, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Department of Business Administration and Economics.
    5. Marco Caliendo & Frank Fossen & Alexander Kritikos, 2009. "Risk attitudes of nascent entrepreneurs–new evidence from an experimentally validated survey," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 153-167, February.
    6. Brandstatter, Hermann, 1997. "Becoming an entrepreneur -- A question of personality structure?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 18(2-3), pages 157-177, April.
    7. Pia Arenius & Maria Minniti, 2005. "Perceptual Variables and Nascent Entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 233-247, February.
    8. Evans, David S & Jovanovic, Boyan, 1989. "An Estimated Model of Entrepreneurial Choice under Liquidity Constraints," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 808-827, August.
    9. Marco Caliendo & Alexander Kritikos, 2010. "Start-ups by the unemployed: characteristics, survival and direct employment effects," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 71-92, July.
    10. J. Wagner, 2003. "Testing Lazear's jack-of-all-trades view of entrepreneurship with German micro data," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(11), pages 687-689.
    11. Bonnett, Celia & Furnham, Adrian, 1991. "Who wants to be an entrepreneur? A study of adolescents interested in a Young Enterprise scheme," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 465-478, September.
    12. Blanchflower, David G & Oswald, Andrew J, 1998. "What Makes an Entrepreneur?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 26-60, January.
    13. Joop Hartog & Ada Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell & Nicole Jonker, 2002. "Linking Measured Risk Aversion to Individual Characteristics," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 3-26.
    14. Edward P. Lazear, 2004. "Balanced Skills and Entrepreneurship," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 208-211, May.
    15. Kritikos, Alexander & Wießner, Frank, 2004. "Existenzgründungen: Die richtigen Typen sind gefragt," IAB-Kurzbericht 200403, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    16. Valerie J Sutherland & Cary L Cooper, 2000. "Strategic Stress Management," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-50914-6, June.
    17. Dunn, Thomas & Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, 2000. "Financial Capital, Human Capital, and the Transition to Self-Employment: Evidence from Intergenerational Links," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(2), pages 282-305, April.
    18. Milo Bianchi & Magnus Henrekson, 2005. "Is Neoclassical Economics still Entrepreneurless?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 353-377, July.
    19. Holmes, Thomas J & Schmitz, James A, Jr, 1990. "A Theory of Entrepreneurship and Its Application to the Study of Business Transfers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(2), pages 265-294, April.
    20. Robert E. Lucas Jr., 1978. "On the Size Distribution of Business Firms," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 9(2), pages 508-523, Autumn.
    21. Begley, Thomas M. & Boyd, David P., 1987. "Psychological characteristics associated with performence in entrepreneurial firms and smaller businesses," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 79-93.
    22. Kihlstrom, Richard E & Laffont, Jean-Jacques, 1979. "A General Equilibrium Entrepreneurial Theory of Firm Formation Based on Risk Aversion," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(4), pages 719-748, August.
    23. John B Miner, 1997. "A psychological typology and its relationship to entrepreneurial success," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 319-334, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lindblom, Arto & Lindblom, Taru & Wechtler, Heidi, 2020. "Dispositional optimism, entrepreneurial success and exit intentions: The mediating effects of life satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 230-240.
    2. Elli Diakanastasi & Angeliki Karagiannaki & Katerina Pramatari, 2018. "Entrepreneurial Team Dynamics and New Venture Creation Process: An Exploratory Study Within a Start-Up Incubator," SAGE Open, , vol. 8(2), pages 21582440187, June.
    3. Caliendo, Marco & Fossen, Frank & Kritikos, Alexander, 2012. "Trust, positive reciprocity, and negative reciprocity: Do these traits impact entrepreneurial dynamics?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 394-409.
    4. Staniewski, Marcin W., 2016. "The contribution of business experience and knowledge to successful entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 5147-5152.
    5. Joanna Tyrowicz & Magdalena Smyk & Barbara Liberda, 2017. "Talent workers as entrepreneurs: a new approach to aspirational self-employment," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 48(6), pages 571-592.
    6. Hongyu Ma & Federico Topolansky Barbe & Yongmei Carol Zhang, 2018. "Can Social Capital and Psychological Capital Improve the Entrepreneurial Performance of the New Generation of Migrant Workers in China?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, October.
    7. Martin Koning & Marie-Estelle Binet & François Facchini, 2010. "Les déterminants de la dynamique entrepreneuriale dans les régions françaises (1994-2003)," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00467900, HAL.
    8. Willebrands, Daan & Lammers, Judith & Hartog, Joop, 2012. "A successful businessman is not a gambler. Risk attitude and business performance among small enterprises in Nigeria," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 342-354.
    9. Marco Caliendo & Frank Fossen & Alexander Kritikos, 2014. "Personality characteristics and the decisions to become and stay self-employed," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 787-814, April.
    10. Ajay K Garg & Phillip NT Phaahla, 2018. "Factors Affecting the Business Performance of Small Businesses in Sekhukhune," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 10(4), pages 54-67.
    11. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    12. Elena-Loreni Baciu & Delia Vîrgă & Theofild-Andrei Lazăr, 2020. "What Characteristics Help Entrepreneurs ‘Make It’ Early on in Their Entrepreneurial Careers? Findings of a Regional Study from Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-27, June.
    13. Joyce Koe Hwee Nga & Gomathi Shamuganathan, 2010. "The Influence of Personality Traits and Demographic Factors on Social Entrepreneurship Start Up Intentions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 259-282, August.
    14. Haddoud, Mohamed Yacine & Onjewu, Adah-Kole Emmanuel & Al-Azab, Mahmoud Ramadan & Elbaz, Ahmed Mohamed, 2022. "The psychological drivers of entrepreneurial resilience in the tourism sector," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 702-712.
    15. Man Zhang & Patriya Tansuhaj & James McCullough, 2009. "International entrepreneurial capability: The measurement and a comparison between born global firms and traditional exporters in China," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 292-322, December.
    16. Mateusz Piwowarski & Danuta Miłaszewicz & Małgorzata Łatuszyńska & Kesra Nermend, 2019. "Multi-Criteria Assessment of the Company's Location Selection: A Dynamic Approach," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 215-230.
    17. R. Murugesan & R. Jayavelu, 2017. "The Influence of Big Five Personality Traits and Self-efficacy on Entrepreneurial Intention: The Role of Gender," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 3(1), pages 41-61, January.
    18. Tyrowicz, Joanna, 2011. "What distinguishes entrepreneurs? Evidence on the motives for self-employment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 112(3), pages 226-229, September.
    19. Rotger, Gabriel Pons & Gørtz, Mette & Storey, David J., 2012. "Assessing the effectiveness of guided preparation for new venture creation and performance: Theory and practice," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 506-521.
    20. Joanna Tyrowicz & Joanna Nestorowicz, 2010. "Cynicism Starts Young: Age and Entrepreneurship over Transition," Working Papers 2010-02, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vivarelli, Marco, 2012. "Drivers of entrepreneurship and post-entry performance : microeconomic evidence from advanced and developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6245, The World Bank.
    2. Enrico Santarelli & Marco Vivarelli, 2007. "Entrepreneurship and the process of firms’ entry, survival and growth," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 455-488, June.
    3. Coduras, Alicia & Saiz-Alvarez, José Manuel & Ruiz, Jesús, 2016. "Measuring Readiness for Entrepreneurship: An Information Tool Proposal," MPRA Paper 86603, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Milo Bianchi & Magnus Henrekson, 2005. "Is Neoclassical Economics still Entrepreneurless?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 353-377, July.
    5. Marco Caliendo & Frank Fossen & Alexander Kritikos, 2014. "Personality characteristics and the decisions to become and stay self-employed," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 787-814, April.
    6. Erik Stam & David Audretsch & Joris Meijaard, 2009. "Renascent entrepreneurship," Springer Books, in: Uwe Cantner & Jean-Luc Gaffard & Lionel Nesta (ed.), Schumpeterian Perspectives on Innovation, Competition and Growth, pages 223-237, Springer.
      • Stam, F.C. & Audretsch, D.B. & Meijaard, J., 2006. "Renascent Entrepreneurship," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2006-017-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    7. Traikova, Diana, 2013. "Determinants of non-farm entrepreneurial intentions in a transitional context: Evidence from rural Bulgaria," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 72, number 72.
    8. Vivarelli, Marco, 2012. "Entrepreneurship in Advanced and Developing Countries: A Microeconomic Perspective," IZA Discussion Papers 6513, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Kameliia Petrova, 2012. "Part-time entrepreneurship and financial constraints: evidence from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 473-493, September.
    10. Audretsch, David B & Meijaard, Joris & Stam, Erik, 2005. "Renascent Men or Entrepreneurship as a One-Night Stand: Entrepreneurial Intentions Subsequent to Firm Exit," CEPR Discussion Papers 5342, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Wim Naudé, 2008. "Entrepreneurship in Economic Development," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-20, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. McCann, Brian T. & Folta, Timothy B., 2012. "Entrepreneurial entry thresholds," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 782-800.
    13. Rachel G. Childers, 2011. "Being One'S Own Boss: How Does Risk Fit In?," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 56(1), pages 48-58, May.
    14. Alina Sorgner & Michael Fritsch & Alexander Kritikos, 2017. "Do entrepreneurs really earn less?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 251-272, August.
    15. Ross Levine & Yona Rubinstein, 2017. "Smart and Illicit: Who Becomes an Entrepreneur and Do They Earn More?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 132(2), pages 963-1018.
    16. Hessels, Jolanda & Brixy, Udo & Naudé, Wim & Gries, Thomas, 2014. "Skill Variety, Innovation and New Business Formation," IZA Discussion Papers 7889, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Daniel Lechmann & Claus Schnabel, 2014. "Are the self-employed really jacks-of-all-trades? Testing the assumptions and implications of Lazear’s theory of entrepreneurship with German data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 59-76, January.
    18. Justin Van Der Sluis & Mirjam Van Praag & Wim Vijverberg, 2008. "Education And Entrepreneurship Selection And Performance: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 795-841, December.
    19. Shai Bernstein & Emanuele Colonnelli & Davide Malacrino & Timothy McQuade, 2018. "Who Creates New Firms When Local Opportunities Arise?," NBER Working Papers 25112, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:kyklos:v:61:y:2008:i:2:p:189-214. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0023-5962 .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0023-5962 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.