Comparison of personality traits and demographic factors of the entrepreneurs: The case of Erzincan Province

Abstract

Purpose – Entrepreneurship is a major force that forms the economic basis of developed countries today. Entrepreneurs contribute greatly to the strengthening of the economy by using resources effectively, generating innovative ideas, providing employment opportunities, and creating various markets. Each of the entrepreneurial individuals has various personality traits. This study aims to compare entrepreneurs' personality traits with demographic factors. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in the study were obtained from 281 entrepreneurs who have their own business in Erzincan province between 01.05.2019-01.07.2019, using the survey method, which is the primary data collection tool. The Survey forms were analyzed with SPSS for Windows 20.0. Findings – In the study it is found that female entrepreneurs are more extroverted than male entrepreneurs while the agreeableness levels of male entrepreneurs are higher than female entrepreneurs, single entrepreneurs are more extroverted than married entrepreneurs while the level of conscientiousness of married entrepreneurs is higher than single entrepreneurs, conscientiousness levels of aged 43 and over entrepreneurs are higher than other age groups while young entrepreneurs were found to have more openness than older entrepreneurs. Agreeableness levels of entrepreneurs with postgraduate are higher than entrepreneurs at other education levels. As education increases, agreeableness increases. Conscientiousness levels of entrepreneurs with postgraduate are higher than other education levels. As education increases, conscientiousness increases. Discussion – It was seen that some dimensions of the personality traits of the entrepreneurs were statistically significant in terms of demographic variables. Previous studies on the subject were examined, similar and different results were compared with this research. In entrepreneurship research, it was emphasized that personality traits and demographic factors are important and should be the subject of other studies in different place time and examples in the future. Some suggestions have been made to support especially women and young entrepreneurs.