Person-entrepreneurship fit: why some people are more successful as entrepreneurs than others

Abstract Person–organization fit research suggests that the closer the match between individuals' attitudes, values, knowledge, skills, abilities, and personality, the better their job satisfaction and performance. We suggest that the closer the match between entrepreneurs' personal characteristics and the requirements of being an entrepreneur (e.g., creating new companies by transforming discoveries into marketable items), the more successful they will be. Specifically, we argue that to the extent entrepreneurs are high on a number of distinct individual-difference dimensions (e.g., self-efficacy, ability to recognize opportunities, personal perseverance, human and social capital, superior social skills) the closer will be the person–entrepreneurship fit and, consequently, the greater the likelihood or magnitude of their success. This framework offers potentially valuable new avenues for assisting entrepreneurs in their efforts to exploit opportunities through the founding of new ventures because the dimensions of individual differences we identify are readily open to modification (e.g., through appropriate, short-term training).