The Use of Personality and the Five-Factor Model to Predict New Business Ventures: From Outplacement to Start-up☆☆☆

Abstract The increasing number of layoffs among middle- and upper-level executives has made self-employment a more common outcome of outplacement counseling. At this point, however, research that identifies the personal characteristics of new business starters is rare or plagued with methodological problems. This research represents a unique opportunity to study a specific behavior (i.e., starting one's own business) under longitudinal conditions less susceptible to some of those criticisms. We examined personality characteristics of a sample of outplaced executives as predictors of subsequent new-business start-ups. The results are discussed in terms of contributions from a prospective design and in terms of the application of the five-factor model to secondary data sets.

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