Title: Personality traits and their impact on entrepreneurial processes and venture performance in the Nordic IT industry

Authors: Henrik G.S. Arvidsson; Ruslana Arvidsson

Addresses: University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu, Estonia ' Institute of Innovative Governance, Tohu 3-10a, 12012 Tallinn, Estonia

Abstract: The objective of this study is to examine the association between personality traits and the inclination to adopt the iterative methodology of venture creation expounded in entrepreneurial process theory and the subsequent effect on entrepreneurial success. In doing so, the study interlinks entrepreneurial process theory with personality psychology, aiming to discern the impact of personality traits on both the entrepreneurial process and subsequent venture performance. The study reveals a significant relationship between the Big 5 personality traits and the dynamics of the entrepreneurial process, affirming the results of earlier studies which elucidate the connection between openness to experience, extraversion, conscientiousness, and entrepreneurial success. Noteworthy is the departure from an Anglo-Saxon context, as the study unfolds in the Nordic countries, a region existing in a research vacuum in terms of the IT industry in an entrepreneurial sense, and not as commonly, in a north American or British context. Utilising a mixed-method approach and drawing on responses from 70 Nordic IT entrepreneurs, this research contributes nuanced insights into the complex relationship between personality traits, entrepreneurial process theory, and venture outcomes.

Keywords: entrepreneurial process theory; personality traits; Nordic; IT-industry; venture performance; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEXPORTM.2024.138445

International Journal of Export Marketing, 2024 Vol.6 No.2, pp.143 - 160

Received: 11 Aug 2023
Accepted: 02 Jan 2024
Published online: 03 May 2024 *

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