Predicting multidimensional entrepreneurial success from personality.

There is a great deal of interest in entrepreneurship research, as it is often linked to economic development. Over the past years, several personality variables have been identified as typical for entrepreneurs or beneficial to entrepreneurial success (Rauch & Frese, 2007). The purpose of this study is to examine if these variables can be used to predict entrepreneurial success. We constructed a questionnaire to measure these variables on a population of Belgian entrepreneurs. An itempool was conceived based on existing scales and information gathered from interviews, and then tested on several psychometric criteria. The resulting personality profiles were then related to various success criteria, both economical and subjective. The results seem to indicate that our questionnaire can discriminate between different types of success. We therefore conclude that the personality of the entrepreneur plays an important role in the founding and growth of new ventures.