IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v144y2022icp250-263.html

Entrepreneurship: What matters most

Author

Listed:
  • Rosado-Cubero, Ana
  • Freire-Rubio, Teresa
  • Hernández, Adolfo

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study about particular personality traits that entrepreneurs display. Supported by a survey involving 1,135 responses from students enrolled in master's degree programmes taught across five cities in Spain, we identified the relevant characteristics that determine the personality traits of a likely entrepreneur. We found some key aspects such as previous knowledge of the business, high level of initiative, open-mindedness and coming from an entrepreneurial family environment, with no other distinctions made for other factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosado-Cubero, Ana & Freire-Rubio, Teresa & Hernández, Adolfo, 2022. "Entrepreneurship: What matters most," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 250-263.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:144:y:2022:i:c:p:250-263
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.087
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014829632200100X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.087?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Porfírio, José António & Felício, José Augusto & Carrilho, Tiago, 2020. "Family business succession: Analysis of the drivers of success based on entrepreneurship theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 250-257.
    2. Thomas B. Astebro & N. Bazzazian, 2010. "Student startups and local economic development," Post-Print hal-00654319, HAL.
    3. Aderemi O. Adewumi & Andronicus A. Akinyelu, 2017. "A survey of machine-learning and nature-inspired based credit card fraud detection techniques," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 8(2), pages 937-953, November.
    4. Manju Puri & David T. Robinson, 2013. "The Economic Psychology of Entrepreneurship and Family Business," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 423-444, June.
    5. Vossen, Alexander & Ihl, Christoph, 2020. "More than words! How narrative anchoring and enrichment help to balance differentiation and conformity of entrepreneurial products," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    6. Gieure, Clara & Benavides-Espinosa, María del Mar & Roig-Dobón, Salvador, 2020. "The entrepreneurial process: The link between intentions and behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 541-548.
    7. Basco, Rodrigo & Calabrò, Andrea & Campopiano, Giovanna, 2019. "Transgenerational entrepreneurship around the world: Implications for family business research and practice," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4).
    8. Huang, Bin & Tani, Massimiliano & Zhu, Yu, 2021. "Does higher education make you more entrepreneurial? Causal evidence from China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 543-558.
    9. Bosma, Niels & Hessels, Jolanda & Schutjens, Veronique & Praag, Mirjam Van & Verheul, Ingrid, 2012. "Entrepreneurship and role models," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 410-424.
    10. 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.
    11. Karami, Masoud & Read, Stuart, 2021. "Co-creative entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(4).
    12. Petra Gibcus & Elissaveta Ivanova, 2003. "The decision-making entrepreneur; Literature review," Scales Research Reports N200219, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    13. Unger, Jens M. & Rauch, Andreas & Frese, Michael & Rosenbusch, Nina, 2011. "Human capital and entrepreneurial success: A meta-analytical review," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 341-358, May.
    14. William D. Bygrave & Charles W. Hofer, 1992. "Theorizing about Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 16(2), pages 13-22, January.
    15. repec:use:tkiwps:332 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. David Audretsch, 2014. "From the entrepreneurial university to the university for the entrepreneurial society," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 313-321, June.
    17. Rosado-Cubero, Ana & Freire-Rubio, Teresa & Hernández, Adolfo, 2021. "UNDERSTANDING triggering skills for ENTREPRENEURS: The case of ESIC," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    18. Hmieleski, Keith M. & Sheppard, Leah D., 2019. "The Yin and Yang of entrepreneurship: Gender differences in the importance of communal and agentic characteristics for entrepreneurs' subjective well-being and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 709-730.
    19. Stroe, Silvia & Parida, Vinit & Wincent, Joakim, 2018. "Effectuation or causation: An fsQCA analysis of entrepreneurial passion, risk perception, and self-efficacy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 265-272.
    20. Rey-Martí, Andrea & Tur Porcar, Ana & Mas-Tur, Alicia, 2015. "Linking female entrepreneurs' motivation to business survival," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 810-814.
    21. Staniewski, Marcin Waldemar & Awruk, Katarzyna, 2021. "Parental attitudes and entrepreneurial success," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 538-546.
    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. Elouaourti, Zakaria & Ibourk, Aomar, 2024. "Empowering African entrepreneurs: The crucial role of financial inclusion in mediating the relationship between contextual factors and entrepreneurial willingness," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    2. Schneck, Stefan, 2025. "The origins of entrepreneurship: How parental role models and socialization shape later entrepreneurial intentions," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1678, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Wei, Binhui & Wang, Runtao & Lin, Xiakaifeng & Zhao, Chunkai & Luo, Mingzhong, 2024. "The long-term effect of childhood left-behind experiences on entrepreneurial activities in adulthood: Empirical evidence from China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    4. Llorens-Marin Miguel & Hernandez Adolfo & Puelles-Gallo Maria, 2025. "Decoding hotel reviewers: Insights from a decision tree analysis," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 20(2), pages 81-92.
    5. Yang, Rui Xuan & Liu, Zhe, 2025. "Fintech and urban entrepreneurial activity," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    6. Hongying Li & Kaili Lu, 2025. "How Does Femininity Affect Entrepreneurial Success?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 7429-7449, June.
    7. Hayward, Mathew & Cheng, Zhiming & Zhe Wang, Ben, 2022. "Disrupted education, underdogs and the propensity for entrepreneurship: Evidence from China’s sent-down youth program," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 33-39.
    8. Liu, Feng & Long, Xiao & Dong, Lin & Fang, Mingjie, 2023. "What makes you entrepreneurial? Using machine learning to investigate the determinants of entrepreneurship in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

    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. Rosado-Cubero, Ana & Freire-Rubio, Teresa & Hernández, Adolfo, 2021. "UNDERSTANDING triggering skills for ENTREPRENEURS: The case of ESIC," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. Shahid, Pirzada Syed Rizwan, 2023. "Founder's Human Capital and the Entrepreneurial Process Duration," OSF Preprints yf6mg, Center for Open Science.
    3. Kyle Scott, 2025. "The Need for Virtue in Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: Mitigating the Destructive Side of Entrepreneurship," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 319-343, August.
    4. Bhairab Talukdar, 2025. "How psychological determinants influence entrepreneurial success behavior? Evidence from migrant entrepreneurship," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Andrea Asoni & Tino Sanandaji, 2016. "Identifying the effect of college education on business and employment survival," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 311-324, February.
    6. Gloria Leonor Ortiz Morales & Juan Carlos Ramos Aguilar & Katherin Yineth Lozada Morales, 2022. "Culture as an obstacle for entrepreneurship," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Marco Caliendo & Alexander S. Kritikos & Daniel Rodríguez & Claudia Stier, 2023. "Self-efficacy and entrepreneurial performance of start-ups," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 1027-1051, October.
    8. Ribes-Giner, G. & Moya-Clemente, I. & Cervelló-Royo, R. & Perello-Marin, M.R., 2018. "Domestic economic and social conditions empowering female entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 182-189.
    9. Bijedić, Teita & Butkowski, Olivier K. & Kay, Rosemarie & Suprinovič, Olga, 2020. "Bestimmungsfaktoren des regionalen Gründungsgeschehens - eine Machbarkeitsstudie," IfM-Materialien 280, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    10. 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.
    11. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich & Martin Obschonka, 2018. "Historical Roots of Entrepreneurial Culture and Innovation Activity - An Analysis for German Regions," Jena Economics Research Papers 2018-007, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    12. Bird, Yanhua & Li, Junchao (Jason) & Zhu, Yiying & Liao, Zhenyu, 2025. "Gender and social entrepreneurship fundraising: A mission drift perspective," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    13. Alexander Konon & Alexander Kritikos, 2018. "Prediction Based on Entrepreneurship-Prone Personality Profiles: Sometimes Worse Than the Toss of a Coin," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1012, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    14. Evila Piva & Vincenzo Butticè, 2025. "Team-level drivers of human capital accumulation by entrepreneurs," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 52(2), pages 501-524, June.
    15. Keshab Acharya & Gregory R. Berry, 2023. "Characteristics, traits, and attitudes in entrepreneurial decision-making: current research and future directions," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1965-2012, December.
    16. Konon, Alexander, 2015. "Personality traits, subjective learning, and entrepreneurial decision making," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112805, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    17. Jörn H. Block & Andreas Landgraf, 2016. "Transition from part-time entrepreneurship to full-time entrepreneurship: the role of financial and non-financial motives," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 259-282, March.
    18. Jiahao Zhuang & Hongyi Sun, 2024. "Perceived Institutional Environment and Entrepreneurial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Risk-Taking Propensity and Moderating Role of Human Capital Factors," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(1), pages 21582440241, February.
    19. Brändle, Leif & Rönnert, Anna-Lena & Moergen, Kristie J.N. & Zhao, Eric Yanfei, 2025. "Social class origin and entrepreneurship: An integrative review and research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(4).
    20. Madawala, Kalani & Foroudi, Pantea & Palazzo, Maria, 2023. "Exploring the role played by entrepreneurial self-efficacy among women entrepreneurs in tourism sector," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:eee:jbrese:v:144:y:2022:i:c:p:250-263. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.