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Measurement invariance of entrepreneurial personality in relation to sex, age, and self-employment

Authors:
Álvaro Postigo at University of Oviedo
Álvaro Postigo
Eduardo García-Cueto at University of Oviedo
Eduardo García-Cueto
José Muñiz at Nebrija University
José Muñiz
Covadonga González-Nuevo Vázquez at University of Oviedo
Covadonga González-Nuevo Vázquez
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Abstract

The analysis of sociodemographic variables such as age and sex has demonstrated their importance in entrepreneurial activity. Therefore, it is important to study the role these variables play in entrepreneurial personality. The aim of this research was to examine measurement invariance of the Battery for the Assessment of the Enterprising Personality (BEPE), and to study the differences in entrepreneurial personality as a function of sex, age, and being self-employed or not. The sample comprised 1170 participants (>30 years old: 76.1%; women: 60%; self-employed: 13%). We analyzed various levels of measurement invariance: configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance. The BEPE showed measurement invariance with respect to age, sex and type of employment at all of the invariance levels. We also found differences in entrepreneurial personality as a function of these sociodemographic variables.
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Measurement invariance of entrepreneurial personality in relation
to sex, age, and self-employment
Álvaro Postigo
1
&Eduardo García-Cueto
1
&José Muñiz
2
&Covadonga González-Nuevo
1
&Marcelino Cuesta
1
Accepted: 26 March 2021
#The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
Abstract
The analysis of sociodemographic variables such as age and sex has demonstrated their importance in entrepreneurial activity.
Therefore, it is important to study the role these variables play in entrepreneurial personality. The aim of this research was to
examine measurement invariance of the Battery for the Assessment of the Enterprising Personality (BEPE), and to study the
differences in entrepreneurial personality as a function of sex, age, and being self-employed or not. The sample comprised 1170
participants (>30 years old: 76.1%; women: 60%; self-employed: 13%). We analyzed various levels of measurement invariance:
configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance. The BEPE showed measurement invariance with respect to age, sex and type
of employment at all of the invariance levels. We also found differences in entrepreneurial personality as a function of these
sociodemographic variables.
Keywords Invariance .Equivalence .Factor structure .Sex .Age .Self-employment .Entrepreneurial personality
Introduction
Studying entrepreneurial activity is fundamental for the growth
and development of every country (OECD, 2019), as various
international reports have shown, including Entrepreneurship
at a Glance (OECD, 2018)andGlobal Entrepreneurship
Monitor (GEM, 2020). When it comes to attempting to explain
what underlies someone becoming an entrepreneur there have
been various approaches from the economic (Obschonka et al.,
2015) and sociological (Chell, 2008), to the psychological
(Baum et al., 2007; Frese & Gielnik, 2014). One of the different
lines of research in the psychological approach is individuals’
personal characteristics, with the study of entrepreneurial per-
sonality standing out (Kerr et al., 2018; Rauch & Frese, 2007b).
Entrepreneurial personality can be studied from global Big
Five-type models (Zhao et al., 2010), or through specific per-
sonality traits (Muñiz et al., 2014; Rauch & Frese, 2007a).
In line with the two theoretical approaches, various measur-
ing instruments have been developed based on the Big Five
(Sartori et al., 2016) and specific traits of entrepreneurial per-
sonality (Muñiz et al., 2014; Rauch & Frese, 2007a). Among
the latter, there are many instruments that measure specific traits
individually, but far fewer if one looks for a questionnaire that
combines the traits that make up entrepreneurial personality
(Suárez-Álvarez & Pedrosa, 2016). One of the instruments that
addresses this issue, evaluating eight specific traits of entrepre-
neurial personality in a single questionnaire is the Battery for
the Assessment of the Enterprising Personality (BEPE; Cuesta
et al., 2018). The BEPE shows a good fit to a standard bifactor
model with one general factor of entrepreneurial personality
and eight uncorrelated specific dimensions (Cuesta et al.,
2018). The specific dimensions are: Autonomy, Innovation,
Achievement motivation, Internal locus of control, Self-effica-
cy, Risk-taking, Stress tolerance, and Optimism.
Autonomy refers to the motivation toward entrepreneur-
ial creation as an attempt to achieve certain individual free-
dom (Van Gelderen & Jansen, 2006). Innovation is defined
as the interest in and willingness to search for new ways of
doing things (Rauch & Frese, 2007b). Achievement
motivation is defined as the desire to achieve standards of
excellence (Suárez-Álvarez et al., 2013). Internal locus of
control refers to the causal attribution that the conse-
quences of a behavior depend on oneself (Suárez-Álvarez
et al., 2013). Self-efficacy relates to the conviction that one
can effectively organize and execute actions as well as
persist when faced with obstacles in order to achieve
*Álvaro Postigo
postigoalvaro@uniovi.es
1
Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo s/n,
33003 Oviedo, Spain
2
Rectorate, Nebrija University, Madrid, Spain
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01685-9
/ Published online: 31 March 2021
Current Psychology (2023) 42:3160–3170
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... In the case of DIF, only the BEPE has taken it into account, both in its version for adolescents and in its version for adults . Even more neglected is measurement invariance, since only the BEPE in its adult version has analyzed this psychometric aspect (Postigo et al., 2023). Both are essential, since they make it possible to identify, roughly speaking, whether the content of the items that make up the instrument is biased and, therefore, prejudices a certain group, whether men or women, young people or adults, entrepreneurs or non-entrepreneurs, among other possible populations (Pendergast et al., 2017;Sandilands et al., 2013;Zumbo, 2007). ...
... Fourthly, it appears that measurement invariance has only been studied in two groups in relation to age and to being an entrepreneur or not. With regard to age, only two groups were taken into account, with the cut-off point being 30 years of age (Postigo et al., 2023). Future data collection should take this aspect into account, studying measurement invariance and differences in entrepreneurial personality across the different stages of life (Zacher et al., 2019;Zhao et al., 2021) or, at least, contemplating the age cut-off points set by major international reports such as the GEM report (18-24;25-34;35-44;45-54;55-64 years;GEM, 2020GEM, , 2021. ...
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... Differences between men and women have also been found in more specific personality traits. Postigo et al. (2021) examined the enterprising personality of 1170 subjects using the Battery for Evaluating Enterprising Personality (BEPE; Cuesta et al., 2018) and found statistically significant differences by sex in Stress Tolerance and Risk-taking, with men scoring higher than women. No differences were found between men and women in Internal Locus of Control or Achievement Motivation. ...
... According to the mean scores, men scored higher in Stress Tolerance and women scored higher in Achievement Motivation. The sex-related differences in Stress Tolerance are in line with the findings from Postigo et al. (2021). ...
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Chapter
  • Sep 2020
This chapter attempts to discuss the life span of entrepreneurial activities across the GEM member countries. The motivation, objectives, and background of this chapter will be addressed throughout the next subsections in detail. Additionally, the data used in this chapter is on the basis of the overall time (from start to failure) of entrepreneurial activities which has been elicited from the reliable GEM dataset.
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Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship
Article
  • Mar 2020
Many observers, and many investors, believe that young people are especially likely to produce the most successful new firms. Integrating administrative data on firms, workers, and owners, we study start-ups systematically in the United States and find that successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged, not young. The mean age at founding for the 1-in-1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0. The findings are similar when considering high-technology sectors, entrepreneurial hubs, and successful firm exits. Prior experience in the specific industry predicts much greater rates of entrepreneurial success. These findings strongly reject common hypotheses that emphasize youth as a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. (JEL G24, J14, L26, M13, O31)
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To reverse or to not reverse Likert-type items: That is the question
Article
  • Feb 2020
Background: The suitability of using reversed items in typical response measures has been a matter of controversy for many years. While some authors recommend their use, others reject them due to their undesirable effects on tests’ psychometric properties. The present research intends to analyse a third alternative based on the use of reversed items plus a procedure to control response bias effects. Method: We analysed two forms of the same test, one with direct and reversed items and another composed only of direct items, and compared them both before and after applying a procedure to control response biases. Results: The factorial structure and factorial reliability of both versions was almost equivalent after controlling response biases. When no effect biases were controlled, the version with both types of items exhibited less acceptable psychometric properties. Conclusions: The use of reversed items is not advisable without the application of a procedure to control response bias effects. When such effects are mitigated, the results are equivalent to those obtained with only direct items, but with the added value of controlling for acquiescence effects.
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