Relationship between emotional intelligence, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial orientation, and entrepreneurial success

Research on entrepreneurial success - particularly entrepreneur psychology among Malay entrepreneurs - is still at early stage. Past attempts to explain the influence of the psychological factors on entrepreneurial success remain unconvincing. To investigate this issue in detail, this research was conducted to examine the psychological factors, emotional intelligence, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy as independent variables of entrepreneurial success, and entrepreneurial orientation as the mediator among Malay entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Grounded by the resource-based view, theory of human capital, and social cognitive theory, the researcher modelled and tested the constructs and their relationships. Data for all the variables were collected through self-administered survey questionnaires. A total of 605 Malay entrepreneurs whose names were listed in the Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) registry participated in the study. Using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modelling (CBSEM) as the primary statistical technique for data analysis, the research revealed that psychological factors were found to have a significant effect on Malay entrepreneurs’ success. As predicted, entrepreneurial orientation was found to mediate the hypothesised relationships with moderate effect size. Overall, the research findings are drawn from validating the theoretical model concerning its constructs, and their relationships provided a good understanding of the factors that impacted the entrepreneurial success. Based on the findings, the theoretical and practical implications of the study as well as the limitations and suggestions for future studies were also discussed.