The Role of Dark Personality Traits in Shaping Entrepreneurial Intentions Among Indonesian Migrant Workers

Exploring factors influencing an individual’s entrepreneurial intentions is crucial in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial practice. While prior works focus on the influence of positive personality traits such as risk- taking propensity, innovativeness, and locus of control, the dark triad of personality has recently become a spotlight in entrepreneurship research. Building on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study aimed to examine the influence of dark tetrad personality traits – Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy – on entrepreneurial intentions. Moreover, it tests the mediating role of a positive attitude toward entrepreneurship between the dark triad of personality and entrepreneurial intentions.The paper uses a survey method for data collection, administered in electronic and paper form. The authors use partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses on 178 Indonesian diasporas.The result of this study revealed that Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy have a positive and significant influence on entrepreneurial intentions, and the positive attitude toward entrepreneurship mediates the effect of dark triad personality on entrepreneurial intentions.Keywords: Dark Triad; Machiavellianism; Narcissism; Psychopathy; Entrepreneurial Intentions; Positive Attitude toward Entrepreneurship