The effect of personality characteristics in the formation of entrepreneurial and innovative behaviors: the role of psychological capital

With this study, it is aimed to measure the effect of personality traits and the mediating role of psychological capital in exhibiting entrepreneurial and innovative behaviors of employees. First of all, the concepts of personality, psychological capital, entrepreneurship and innovation, which are the variables of the thesis, are examined and discussed in detail. The last part of the thesis includes a research in which the effects of positive psychological capital and personality traits on the emergence of entrepreneurial and innovative behaviors are examined. In this context, the stages and findings of the survey, in which 343 people participated, are explained with the survey conducted with the employees of the Turkish Grain Board, which is a public institution. The data obtained in the research were evaluated using SPSS (20.0) and AMOS (16.0) programs. Pearson correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses in the research. Explanatory factor analysis was used to calculate the reliability and validity of the scales used in the study. Composite reliability (CR) and mean variance (AVE) values were calculated for convergent validity. In addition, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) sample adequacy value was calculated to determine whether the scales were suitable for factor analysis, and the "Varimax" method was used as the principal component analysis and rotation method to determine the factor patterns of the scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the structure within the framework of the determined relationships. When the findings obtained as a result of the research were examined, it was determined that each of the personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, responsibility, neuroticism and openness to development) had a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial and innovative behaviors of the employees. It has been determined that psychological capital has a mediating role in the relationship between personality traits and entrepreneurial and innovative behaviors of employees. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, İnnovation, Personality Traits, Personality, Psychological Capital