ANTECEDENTS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF GENDER IDENTITY, GRIT, THE DARK TRIAD, AND BARRIERS TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurs play a vital role in the modern day economy. Knowing what causes an individual to become an entrepreneur has fostered much attention in academic literature, but not enough of the research has looked into individual level variables that could cause an individual to have an entrepreneurial intention. This study addresses this need in research by utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior to investigate entrepreneurial intention. Not all entrepreneurs are alike. Some entrepreneurs are motivated by financial gains while others are motivated by social concerns. The individual characteristics of entrepreneurs may not be identical, but it is believed that there are similarities. This current study uses a self-report survey approach to examine the potential impact that barriers to entry into entrepreneurship will have upon an individual’s commercial and social entrepreneurial intention. This study will also examine the moderating effect of gender identity, grit, and the Dark Triad of personality upon the previously established relationship of the three TPB antecedents to intention and commercial and social entrepreneurial intention