The Big-Five Personality Model: Comparing Male and Female Entrepreneurs

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study differentiates female entrepreneurs from male entrepreneurs using the Big-Five Personality Model. The five factors include adjustment, sociability, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and intellectual openness. Adjustment determines confidence versus instability. Sociability measures extraversion versus introversion. Conscientiousness determines impulsiveness versus cautiousness. Agreeableness measures team-orientation versus self-interest. Intellectual openness involves practicality versus originality. Results indicate that female entrepreneurs are significantly more open than male entrepreneurs. They are also more adjusted, social and agreeable, but not to a significant degree. Male entrepreneurs are significantly more conscientious than female entrepreneurs. INTRODUCTION Today, women are starting businesses at a rate twice that of men (Allen, 1999). The Small Business Administration estimates that by the end of the year 2000, more than 40% of all businesses will be owned by women (Bygrave, 1997). Women-owned businesses employ more than 15 million workers in the United States and the sales generated amount to approximately $1.4 trillion (Nelton, 1996). With these demographic trends, interest continues to grow in the personal characteristics of female entrepreneurs, especially those factors that might explain their success. Research has predominantly focused upon the similarities and differences between male and female entrepreneurs demographically as well as psychologically. The purpose of this paper is to continue the study of female versus male entrepreneurs. The Big-Five Personality Model (Goldberg, 1990; Goldberg, 1992; Goldberg, Sweeney, Merenda, & Hughes, 1998) that has recently emerged from the field of psychology into business applications is used to analyze both genders. The paper compares female entrepreneurs to male entrepreneurs on each of the five factors. First, we describe the Big-Five Personality Model and discuss its recent applications to business research and gender differences. Next, we review research regarding similarities among and differences between male and female entrepreneurs and suggest hypotheses regarding the Big-Five Model. Then, we describe our research methodology. Finally, we discuss results of the study and draw conclusions. LITERATURE REVIEW With some controversy in the psychological community, the Big-Five Personality Model emerged in recent years as a or Great Theory of personality. While a discussion of the theoretical arguments pertaining to the Big-Five is beyond the scope of this paper, its proponents believe that the model is robust in that the personality of every human being, regardless of his or her culture, can be described utilizing the five dimensions (see Costa & McCrae, 1995; Digman, 1990; Goldberg, 1990, 1992; Goldberg, Sweeney, Merenda, & Hughes, 1998; Wideger & Trull, 1997). Disagreement exists regarding the exact vocabulary of the five factors (or superfactors); however, conceptually, the factors are these: (1) adjustment (on a continuum from stable to neurotic), (2) sociability (from extroverted to introverted), (3) intellectual openness (from imaginative and interested in many things to practical and narrowly focused), (4) agreeableness (from benevolent to belligerent), and (5) conscientiousness (from dependable and goal-oriented to undependable and impulsive). The interest of psychologists is not in describing a universal right personality (there is none), but rather in examining a person's score on each of the five factors in conjunction with other factors (e.g., education, age, gender, job). Recently, researchers have reported the Big-Five results contain implications for the workplace. The Big-Five in the Workplace In jobs involving personal interactions, one study reported that the factors of conscientiousness, agreeableness, and adjustment were related to job performance. …

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