The interaction of leadership and personality among Chinese and American nascent entrepreneurs

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the intersection of leadership and personality among nascent entrepreneurs in China and the USA to further understanding and provide application of the personality traits of entrepreneurs and how that affects their leadership. The goal is to extend and deepen the comprehension of what makes entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs to improve fostering this powerful economic engine.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample was collected that comprised a total of 422 respondents, 58.8 percent male and 41.2 percent female. There were 209 surveys from the USA with a gender segmentation of 61.7 percent male and 38.3 percent female, and 213 responses from China with 55.9 percent male and 44.1 percent female. The Least Preferred Coworkers Scale was used to measure leadership and A Very Brief Measure of the Big 5 Personality Domains was used to measure personality in entrepreneurs.

Findings

In this paper, all of the “Big Five Personality” components were correlated to the Least Preferred Coworkers Scale. The significant correlations include LPCS with Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Emotional Stability, and Lack of Conscientiousness. Only one of the four correlations demonstrated a bi‐cultural significance which was Openness to Experience.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the limited research that can be found between cross cultural entrepreneurs. Value is added not just through the study of Least Preferred Coworkers Scale and The Very Brief Measure of the Big Five Personality Domains, but through the comparison between cultures at the intersection of leadership and personality. It also provides insight into how to develop nascent entrepreneurs in both countries founded in empirical data.

Citation

Singer, L. and Millage, P. (2013), "The interaction of leadership and personality among Chinese and American nascent entrepreneurs", Journal of Technology Management in China, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 44-54. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTMC-04-2013-0020