Entrepreneurial Traits
What the domain tests
Questions test identification of traits from behaviour, McClelland's need for achievement, locus of control and risk orientation.
Core rules
- Need for Achievement (nAch)-McClelland: desire to excel against a standard; entrepreneurs show moderate nAch, not reckless gambling.
- Internal locus of control: believes outcomes depend on own effort; external locus blames luck or fate.
- Moderate risk-taking: calculated risk after information search, not high risk.
- Other traits: initiative, persistence, opportunity obsession, commitment, information seeking, persuasion, planning, self-confidence, tolerance of ambiguity and adaptability.
- Traits are tendencies, not fixed labels; EDPs and experience can develop them.
Worked example
A candidate's bank loan is rejected. She asks the bank why, corrects her DPR, applies to two other lenders and starts with a smaller unit. Evidence: persistence after rejection, information seeking by asking why, internal locus by correcting her own application, and moderate risk by scaling down. Calling her a high risk-taker would be wrong: she reduced risk with information.
Traps
The biggest error is writing that entrepreneurs take high risks. They take calculated, moderate risks. Do not confuse nAch with need for power or affiliation. Do not claim all traits are innate; EDPs and experience develop them. Do not list traits without linking each to a behaviour.