Entrepreneurs and social media: a personality-driven deep dive

Purpose This study investigates the influence of entrepreneurs' personality traits on their likelihood of adopting social media as a strategic marketing tool. Given social media's growing significance in shaping individual and organizational behaviour, this research aims to uncover the psychological determinants that drive its adoption within entrepreneurial contexts. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research design was employed using semi-structured interviews with 10 entrepreneurs. The data were analysed thematically through NVivo software. The analysis explored how the big five personality traits (openness, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism) along with core entrepreneurial characteristics, influence entrepreneurs' perceptions and utilization of social media platforms. Findings The findings reveal that both personality dimensions and entrepreneurial traits significantly shape entrepreneurs' perceptions of social media and their willingness to integrate it into business strategies. Perceived innovation characteristics of social media emerge as key mediators linking individual traits to adoption intentions. Entrepreneurial traits positively influence innovation perceptions, while all Big Five traits except neuroticism show significant effects. Practical implications Insights from this study can help policymakers, incubators and digital training programs tailor interventions that align with entrepreneurs' psychological profiles to foster social media adoption. Originality/value This research extends existing knowledge by integrating personality, innovation adoption theory and entrepreneurship. It highlights the nuanced mechanisms through which individual differences drive digital adoption behaviour among entrepreneurs.