Effects of Personality Traits on Entrepreneurial Intention in Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

Prior studies offer conflicting findings as to whether individual personality characteristics of students influence their intention to embrace entrepreneurship as a career choice. This study evaluated how the five big personality traits associated with entrepreneurial intention using a sample of 541 final year students in six Universities in Delta State, Nigeria. Hypotheses were tested using multivariate regression at 0.05 level of significance and findings indicated that personality traits significantly predict entrepreneurial intention. More so, the relations between three personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness) with entrepreneurial intention were significant and positive. Whereas, the association between extraversion and entrepreneurial intention was positive; the link between neuroticism and entrepreneurial intention was negative, however both relationships were insignificant. The study advocated that entrepreneurial development initiatives for Nigerian Universities should emphasize on the development of personality traits such as agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness, as these will enhance the eagerness of students to adopt entrepreneurship as a career choice.