A data-driven approach exploring the entrepreneurial-managerial spectrum

Entrepreneurs are responsible for starting new ventures, often with high risk and innovation, while managers oversee existing organizations, optimize operations, and achieve predefined goals. Although frequently seen as a dichotomy, entrepreneurs and managers share responsibilities for building and sustaining a business, and hence, this could also be studied as a spectrum. Previous research has individually examined specific aspects of entrepreneurial (vs. managerial) work, but limited studies have examined their effects holistically. Using a wide range of survey instruments, we took a data-driven approach to explore the entrepreneurial-managerial spectrum. Exploratory factor analysis revealed five latent factors driving variance in our data: Negative Emotions, Fulfillment and Support, Creative Capacity, Collaborative Personality, and Decision-Making Avoidance and Hypervigilance. When analyzed as a traditional dichotomy, we found that entrepreneurs scored lower than managers in Decision-Making Avoidance and Hypervigilance, and Collaborative Personality. As a spectrum, data suggested (1) an increase in Creative Capacity with more entrepreneurial experience and (2) a decrease in Decision-Making Avoidance & Hypervigilance with more entrepreneurial experience. On the other hand, emotional health and career success remained similar across groups. Overall, we explored the complex profile of entrepreneurs and managers as a step toward understanding the dynamic and unique combination of personality, cognition, and emotional health across the entrepreneurial-managerial spectrum. Our study provides a first step toward an integrative lens through which future work can extend to develop programs that improve entrepreneurial decision-making and creativity, with practical implications for organizational behavior, leadership development, and cultivating entrepreneurial mindsets within existing organizations.